1001 Albums Summary

First couple discs are excellent, so much good outside of the tracks I knew (My Sweet Lord, What is life). Started to throw me after that, but maybe I was just getting exhausted from it

Finally all caught up. Nothing stuck out really, but it was a nice easy listen, and obviously time of the season is a psychedelic classic. I love "she's not there" from their previous album too

Impressive to release an album like this 30 years past your peak. Older, slower, and probably wiser. Very understated instrumentation that I feel is quite complex the more you focus on it One of these days I'll go through his discography front to back like I did the beatles. He's only released 40 albums so shouldn't take too long

Big fan of Pixies' Doolittle and not so much anything else, this came out a few years after that. Guitar and bass work is sorely missed from Pixies, what remains is quite enjoyable though. (Although I do see Joey Santiago played on a few)

I mean come on Medley at the end is absolutely goated,golden slumbers/carry that weight/the end was a recent discovery for me, been rattling around my head for weeks

Good but not my fave by them, first time I heard it all the way through in ages. Bit too grandiose for its own good, funeral is better

Really interesting album. Literally only knew them from the fatboy slim remix, just assumed they were a bit of a one hit wonder. Had no idea the guy was indian, and all that influence was really cool, plenty of variety aside from that

Very good, was happy to immediately listen again. reminds me that I need to listen to songs in the key of life all the way through

Interesting album, immediately recognised the title track from the first GTA5 trailer. Spoken word gobbledygook started to become grating around the fifth track they did it

Not to diminish what must have been a massive crossover hit, but this would have went hard if I was playing Fallout: New Vegas I only listened to Volume 1, hope that's okay. Might come back to the rest as I did enjoy this, went down very smooth

Absolutely one of the best albums ever, so so many all time great tracks crammed on here

Made me realise how classic take five is, and did enjoy trying to count the time signature between the more obvious "Kathy's Waltz" and the more odd ones

Pretty good, I always assumed it was a 90s album

Didn't do much for me unfortunately, veered too far between a lesser Portishead (Opening Track vs Sour Times in particular to my ear) and.. carnival music?

Didn't do much for me unfortunately, though I love their soundtrack for Sorcerer (and I think GTA5?), and appreciate their massive contribution to early electronic

Love it, somehow don't feel qualified to articulate further

Used to listen to this loads, a shame I've gone so long without listening, and maybe a shame that they were hailed as the next daft punk due to being a french electronic duo, but always felt like they scratched a different itch, and never really reached the heights of this album. Love the "revvy" distorted sound incorporated throughout Some of my favourite moments - Godzilla theme opening to Genesis - Transition from Phantom into Pt 2, and the way Pt 2 incorporates the melody of DANCE - Waters of Nazareth intro How did "The Party" come out like 2 years before Kesha's "Tik Tok"?

Pretty good album of mostly covers

Interesting that we got 2 final albums in a row from legendary artists released shortly before their deaths, this one extremely so Beyond the almost mythical status of the album at this point, it's an extremely experimental and bold delve into jazziness from an artist that historically always leaned more towards rock, surely made possible by being led trustingly by his contributors. I think this might be the first time I've heard this since it came out (10 years ago!), appreciated it a lot more this time around

Not quite my cup of tea, but credit for flying by at a ridiculous BPM without a single song reaching over 2 mins

Very fun album, like the soundtrack to a cool halloween party I never went to

Classic from the first note of cherry coloured funk really

Absolutely phenomenal imo, such a great variety of beats, fun interludes, lyrics I haven't even begun to dig into. Somehow I'd never properly heard B.O.B before now and it's such a good track. Need to try Aquemini and Speakerboxx/love below

Simply fine and listenable, unfortunately not quite what you want from an album You Must Hear Before You Die. Felt like it released sorely late - in 1999 the britpop ship had surely sailed? (pun intended)

Wasn't really notable but pleasant enough I suppose?

Probably the only totally essential smiths album, the rest of their best songs are scattered across compilations and albums with lesser tracks. Love the jangly guitar of a lot of the tracks, and lyrically I do think it's all fantastic, very witty My fave tracks are Frankly Mr Shankly, "Cemetry Gates" (sp) and Bigmouth Strikes Again, all songs which happen not to be total downers and are all quite funny. Cemetry Gates is probably my favourite overall There Is a Light is obviously great but it's almost too iconic to highlight. I think they probably should have ended it with that track rather than "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" which doesn't do much for me really, but they probably weren't thinking too hard about track placement. Something about the way the volume fades out and back in at the start really pisses me off for some reason

Too nostalgic for this to not rate it on enjoyment alone. Jesus of suburbia has to be one of the quickest feeling long songs ever, and it's packed full of catchy riffs

Immediate first impression is that Everything Everything do a similar (but better) thing musically, vocally and lyrically, but I'll concede that there's some great complex drumming going on all through the album. Maybe this one's very much of its time and just hasn't aged very well?

One of my favourite albums since I was about 15 yo, and imo one of the strongest debut albums anyone has ever released. Perhaps I'd not feel as strongly if I heard it today for the first time, and maybe I'd think it's all a bit millennial cringe (like yesterday's), but then I'd be a different person with different taste. An absolute landmark of indie, even if Win Butler is trying everything in his power to diminish it I feel like nearly every song has the band pouring nearly everything they've got into it, with so much energy and catharsis throughout. I'd never really heard anything like "Wake Up" before, and it was probably the major catalyst that sent me down the indie rabbithole that I'll never get out of (along with In The Aeroplane), but needless to say I love most of the others. Kettles is eh, but it works as part of a transition between the high energy of "Power Out" and "Wake Up"

I fear I did not have the prerequisite amount of drugs to get a kick out of this I also probably wasn't paying the right amount of attention, a bit daunted by its length so trying to get through tracks between work calls and whatnot rather than soaking up the whole thing in one go. Random thing that annoys me about streaming older albums is that it often doesn't make it clear where the gaps between sides/discs are which can be kind of important to understanding the flow of an album, especially a concept one like this. Give me Sledgehammer and Solsbury Hill anyday tho

Hell yeah brother

Didn't do much for me in a first listen unfortunately

Always loved the first 4 tracks (Intro being generation-defining in a way, impressive work for an instrumental track), but then kind of falls off a cliff into a forgettable (but not unpleasant!) chasm for me. One of those album covers which looks like the music sounds, if you relate the black void of the cover to the sparseness of the tracks

Really didn't do much for me, but this being female hip hop from 1989 hasn't escaped me either

Weak

Liked but not loved it. Some phenomenal tracks but they can't escape the circus music allegations

A legendary pull imo, really appreciated the chance to dig into this album further than "Pictures of You" and "Lovesong", both of which I've loved for a long time I love the way they build their songs on this, often taking minutes before any vocals come in, but in the meantime creating wistful moody soundscapes that draw you in with their repetition, but allowing for some quite catchy melodies throughout. Second half doesn't leave much to cling to by comparison, but not to the point where I'm unwilling to 5* this

HELL YEAH BROTHER Loved this review someone left: "unclear if the album would be better if it were just "Highway to Hell" 10 times"

another longstanding fave of mine. (yes this review is all in lower case) the grand daddy king of album covers that look like the album sounds it's a cliche but it really can't be overstated how important it is to listen to this a bit louder than you'd probably like to as there's so much buried in the mix "only shallow" is an immediately great track from the first 4 drum hits, but the rest of the album takes a bit more time to sink its teeth in. for me "when you sleep" and "sometimes" were the next obvious "catchy" tracks. then i sort of realised one day that "to here knows when" is like being carried away on an ethereal wave "soon" starts almost like a stereotypical 90s british alt rock track that someone like stone roses might have made (suspiciously similar to fool's gold), until they switch on the hoover about 45 seconds in

Real good, probs would be a 5 with another listen or two

Born too late to be there for this recording and give myself hearing damage, sad times Initially I was listening to the non-40th anniverary edition on Apple Music, and for some reason the first track was the original studio recording of Ace of Spades, I was thinking "wow was this recorded live???" then I realised

A classic for good reason, what luck that the first prog rock album is still one of the greatest Maybe the most iconic album cover vs how many people have actually heard a track from the album? Can you think of anything that it applies better to? Used to listen to this a bit 10+ years ago, in that time Epitaph is weirdly one of the ones that sticks in my head more than the well-known bookends. This one doesn't half prog out like, some tracks go on outrageously long - Schizoid man in a jazzy way that bands like black midi owe a huge debt too, Moonchild in a more calm way that makes you forget you've got an album on. Not a big deal anyway since there's only 5 of them so it doesn't outstay its welcome First heard the title track in Children of Men (really really great film if you've never seen it). The constant drum fills are so good, makes the organ(?) so satisfying as a payoff to them Kanye was absolutely a genius for using this for POWER, recontextualising a 60s prog sample onto a maximalist hip hop track which literally paints himself as a 21st century schizoid man is a masterstroke, but I digress In case you're wondering what the frontman Robert Fripp is up to these days, this is what the frontman Robert Fripp is up to these days https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khkKfMotNoI

Just don't quite get it yet after 2 listens, but glad I've heard it if that makes sense

First time I've heard the full full album, but I'm a bit of a casual fan so knew maybe half the tracks? Definitely one of the best if not the best britpop album (certainly not best if The Bends counts). Plenty of great tracks throughout (I liked Feelingcalledlove which I'd not heard before) Common People is one of those perfect songs where the lyrics are witty, with some quite unique social commentary about the class divide, but then completes the package by being an absolute banger that you want to belt out every lyric to if you're lucky enough to hear it in the right setting

Great, but not as great as Doolittle imo. Where Is My Mind is an unbeatable song that almost transcends genre, and the rest of the album sounds well, well ahead of its time, but aside from WIMM I don't love the tracks on here in the way that I love "Debaser" and "Wave of Mutilation" and "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and "Mr Grieves" and "No 13 Baby" and "Hey" and "Gouge Away". Where there were obviously punk acts making noisy fast music before them, Pixies were one of the first to let their songs be quiet too and have that dynamic, which makes all the screaming and distortion a lot more tolerable. I really love Gigantic for this

Really enjoyed it actually, even on shuffle

Idk, not as good as her later ones (listened to Vespertine for the first time recently and really enjoyed that), but a strangely good 90s dance album at times which isn't what you'd expect. I swear Big Time Sensuality is one of the best dance tracks of the 90s, and Venus as a Boy is really good

Honestly quite listenable in a rhythmic way, but it was a bit of a marathon listening to both discs. Would be decent for work or something but can't justify a 2

Absolutely elite songwriting, straightforward yet emotional and full of brilliant metaphor. It's strange hearing a load of songs for the first time and it feeling like you already know them somehow. Can draw a lot of comparison to Carole King's Tapestry - much like that it needs a few more listens from me - but already really like it

Unfortunately faded into the background for me after Roundabout, which is not enough credit to the band that went from this album to do "Close to the Edge" (which surely will pop up on this list if this did?) to somehow going on to write quintessential 80s pop cheese in the form of "Owner of a Lonely Heart"

First and last track were great, rest kind of faded into background but that's probs more my fault

Not bad, interludes between pretty much every song create an interesting flow. Seems frontloaded maybe? Almost funny how similar her voice is to Beyonce's Deserves another listen but I know deep down that I won't

Not for the day folks

Pyramid song is perfect, the rest ranges from bleep bloopy to great

Incredible production for a live album, there's simply no way it sounded this good in person so how did they do it? Very glad this one wasn't 2 hours long as the deluxe edition lead me to believe, mad that half the runtime is just My Generation

Makes total sense to be on the list, Elvis is Elvis. But naturally sounds incredibly dated as a result of being such early rock and roll. Fun hearing "I Got a Woman" which I know is a Ray Charles cover and was used for "Gold Digger". Incredibly disappointed to report that this version of "Blue Moon" pales in comparison to Sinatra's

What a consistently great album, no small order for a double. I knew Sir Duke really well already but hadn't heard any of the rest. Pastime Paradise made me sit up straight, can't believe he sampled Coolio. Definitely one I'll return to

*oh my god, I get it* Total vibe of an album, really messy and sleazy and bluesy. Flows right over you. Real real good, instant love from the first listen. Rocks Off on repeat for me now

Listened to the whole thing once 10+ years ago (downloaded to my PC 29/04/2015, yeah I'm an OG) Really good, like the older brother of Since I Left You that plays the drums too loud through the wall when it's trying to get to sleep. Love hearing Twin Peaks getting sampled in one of the latter tracks too. But hard to give 5* as it's not something I'd love to put on anytime and doesn't give you much to latch onto melodically, which by contrast I feel like SILY has in spades while doing a similar sort of thing

Good fun, very strange hearing Fairytale escaped from its typical Christmas quarantine Surprising mix of different genres despite all being rooted in the whole celtic punk schtick (although wasn't such a schtick when they did it I suppose) Second time I've heard Rocky Road to Dublin recently, it also features in Sinners in a great scene

Good flutey prog

Always liked their singles, but never heard this album past "An Ocean In Between The Waves", a song I wore out when I discovered it in summer of 2014. I could listen to the outro for that for a whole album straight, I swear This album's a bit of a funny one, it's always kind of teetering on the edge of being overlong in a lot of its songs - and the similarities to Springsteen run the risk of it all sounding a bit stale, not to mention the quite heavy use of drum machine - but there's something about the way the tracks end up locking into a groove that I'm happy to stay within that works so well for me. "Red Eyes" never fails to get me a bit hyped up with the "WOO!" and the lead guitar kicking in, kind of a basic trick but so so good imo Sam Fender's last album's sound owes a lot to this band (Adam from this band did produce it after all!)

What is this, The Velvet Underground & Rico? Really enjoyed despite the language barrier, and it's something I'd literally never ever have had a chance of knowing if not for it popping up on the list

Must be the most dirty, angry sounding album that somehow still manages to have mass appeal. One of my friends is an absolute NiN megafan but I find his whole discography hard to approach somehow despite his attempts. Heard this one maybe twice before in full, but probably heard "Closer" 100+ times. Loved his soundtrack stuff with Atticus Ross since Social Network, though admittedly usually as an accompaniment to whatever they're scoring (Except "Hand Covers Bruise", could listen to that on repeat, breathtakingly minimal) Like this one more and more on repeat listens, "Take the skin and peel it back" and there are some weirdly catchy melodies in here, and the industrial hellscape is weirdly addictive

Enjoyed on the relisten, not unlike pixies at times

Was alright, only listened once so can't give a great review. Prefer Tina's proud Mary

I know this is a total classic but not much really stands out for me after Rock with You

Something almost conversational about most of Track B, between the...instrument and the...other instrument. Found this one a bit more interesting than some of the other jazz ones we've had. Points for sick album cover too

Nice and jangly, great basslines, great guitar/drum fills, and Morrissey whinging. What's not to love. Don't think I've heard any of these before aside from Headmaster Ritual and Barbarism Begins at Home, the latter of which contains probably their best instrumental work. I find it quite funny that their guitarist Johnny Marr became vegan after they made this album, I suppose you've kind of got to? Another fun fact about Johnny Marr is that he was in Modest Mouse for 3 years around the time of their 2007 album, which isn't quite interesting enough to bring up outside of this review, but perfectly serendipitous since I've been reccing them recently

Pretty great, not an ounce of filler. Heard Free Bird too many times at this point, though I'll always associate it with driving around the country in GTA San Andreas at far too young of an age. Do they really need 7 people? Food for thought

Not bad but not something I'd ever just throw on. Really enjoyed future days from can which this inspired me to listen to

Better than the album title would lead me to believe, bit like The Replacements' Let It Be in terms of being a bit of a hybrid between indie and punk

Pretty good, mountain song slaps

Good but I'm sick of the bayou boss

Bit boring glammy stuff. Jean Genie I knew.

Dunno what to make of this really, sounds both very of the 80s and very not at the same time. I think I'd rather listen to REMs first album if we're talking what came out in this genre/era, and some tracks are quite reminiscent of this. Strangely intriguing album cover, is it just me? Reminds me of an old book cover or something. "The The"'s song "This Is The Day" (great great track, give it a listen) is a lot like "Charlotte Street"

Wonderfully simple. Most of the tracks having just 3 instruments (including vocals) and some quite simple drums, and using that to pull some rockin tunes out of the bag is no small feat. Elephant is definitely better though. Fav track might be We're Going to Be Friends, a song so simple even I can play it

Really enjoyed, didn't realise the dreampoppy sound was around as early as 1984. I don't think it's as good as HOLV though

Guy who has only heard Carole King's Tapestry, listening to his second album: Getting a lot of Carole King's Tapestry vibes from this...

4* carried almost entirely by Like A Rolling Stone and Desolation row

Sound and vision elite. More so an Eno album for side B, for better and for worse

For 30 minutes, truly made me feel like the girl from ipanema

Went for the Bowie Mix, opinion seems strongly divided which is better so went for the OG. Raw Power is certainly apt. I know Search and Destroy quite well but hadn't heard any of the others. Didn't do much for me unfortunately. If you want rawer power "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a crazy sound for 1969

HOOOOMEWARD BOUND I WISH I WAS Can't listen to that song without thinking of The Leftovers using it in a brilliant karaoke scene. Fantastic show. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWGf8BT0YU (Doesn't make a lick of sense without context but take this as a rec) Love Simon and Garfunkel (not to mention Paul Simon's solo stuff, holy Graceland!), but more so their stuff off Bridge Over Troubled Water than their earlier stuff like this. I'd say I've been missing out. Love the blatant Dylan parody in "A Simple Desultory Philippic"

Appreciate it as very early folk, but found it a bit of a snoozefest

The kind of shit that Jez from Peep Show would claim to have created and been stolen from him. Quite interesting as an electronic album which sounds about 90% acoustic Not unlike Endtroducing, which I think manages to make more "iconic" sounding tracks than anything off this. That said, Belladonna managed to stand out for me despite being near the end - both of the album and my tether - really beautiful soundscape mixed with the heavy double(?) bass. Reminded me a bit of Mogwai

Smooth smooth smooth album, just don’t absolutely love it on my first full listen

One of those classic albums that does NOT sound like the cover. You'd expect some rock, but then you get Walk On The Wild Side - a pretty chilled out song - and Perfect Day which is pretty much a ballad (not to say these aren't great songs). Rest of the album is alright, but it just can't compare to the best of Velvet Underground Bit shocked that this came out in 1972 actually, I kind of had it pegged as an 80s album for some reason?

OOH Not sure about this one YEAHEHHHHH I bet it was sick to be there, but not sure how well the orchestra translates to some of these. WHOAAAAOOOWHOA Like you can't tell me Battery needed the orchestral treatment it had and that it improves on anything for example, I find it just kind of dilutes what is already there. Almost like videogame boss music mixed in with Metallica tracks at times COME ON And I'm maybe a bit salty about the 2h+ runtime but it's kind of par for the course for a lot of uncut live albums

Always wanted to give this one a go, heard it recommended loads. and I'd say it lived up to it on the first listen and a half. Got almost jumpscared by Corona, did not know the Jackass theme came from this. Despite being spread across 40-odd tracks, loads of variety and the short tracks mean its just constant new ideas being thrown at you. Very funky bass, which I guess you kind of need when you're only working with a single guitar aside from that

Great, moody, preferred the first disc with its heavier stuff

Sorta Tribe Called Quest at home innit? Rudeness aside, I thought this was alright

Nice and moody, a sort of hint at their later sound as compared to eg. “Boys Don’t Cry” from their first album

Not too shabby for country, but would certainly not return. Nice to know who kd lang is now, filed away in the memory bank for future crosswords

Basically the metal album as far as I’m concerned, master of reality might be even better

Not bad, crazy move having an atomic bomb as your first track, then a crying baby for the rest of the runtime

NOT a concept song about Thomas Edison, stealer of the light bulb from local Sunderland legend Joseph Swan Melody Fair is the most non-Beatles Beatles song I've ever heard outside of Mr Blue Sky Surely there's more essential Bee Gees than this

Probably my fave radiohead album atm in terms of not having played it to death. Some great great rocking tunes paired with some classic sad ones like fake plastic trees and fade out

Fabulous collection of songs, was surprised to know a few of these just from random pop culture when I was fully expecting to go into it knowing nothing

Spoopy but interesting through its concept

Short n sweet, love a 20 min punk album

Such outrageous talent, flexing after 5 albums straight of bangers with yet another one. Kashmir I knew really well from my Groovesharkin days, but somehow never heard the rest. How did I manage to listen to an 82 minute album the night of my daughter's birth? The answer is that I didn't, I only got through half of it, and I'm controversially basing my 5 star rating on that half alone. I will definitely return

Pretty great, could hear bits of some slightly more modern bands in this one from 1981

Wonderful without an orchestra behind it

Yeah funky funky RHCP doesnt do a lot for me unfortunately

The most new wavey new wave that ever waved. Assumed they were just a one hit wonder act, so this was much better than expected. Very strange album art

Not pleased about being made to listen to solo morrissey. He somehow has the worst taste in album artwork ever. Speedway did kind of knock my socks off though so credit for that

Love these on Graceland, so its sad to say that i cant get into a whole album of a capella with very little dynamism Faded nicely into the background of night time childcare though, so major credit for being in the right place at the right time

Literally had me grooving around my sitting room for half an hour with newborn in tow, a secret i share with the users of this website alone

Title track is inexorably linked with the opening scene of Trainspotting for me, and the passenger I’ve heard more times than i can count too, so good, as it turns out is the rest of this album Tonight might be the most obviously Bowie song ever, and you can feel his influence all over the album to the point where it may as well be a joint collaboration

Great production, kind of futuristic sound for lack of better word. Possibly one of the poorest album covers ever vs the content, which on first listen has some good “alternative” song concepts Major disrespect for including a 12 minute oscar acceptance speech track when i thought i was nearly done, “Can’t forget Tim Westwood” 😳

Did US as it was shorter and has paint it black Not as fond of this as their later work, and when you look at what Beatles/Beach Boys were doing in 1966 this clearly pales by comparison, though I appreciate they both lean much more towards pop than Stones

Was fine, felt ahead of its time maybe but not really drawing me back

Kind of Nick Drakey, another crazy talent to die so young

Love the prog/pop sound, but give me that 3 track run in Breakfast In America over this any time

Never heard this one somehow despite loving either or, definitely his heaviest musically though this doesn’t say much. Such a good songwriter, the definition of bittersweet, This album being no exception

Somehow totally escaped me until now that Neil Young is in this band and Crosby Stills Nash and YOUNG. Enjoyed this anyway

Been caught stealing is an absolute banger. Appreciate the energy compared to some of the recent albums we’ve had. Was not expecting a 10 minute long track but really enjoyed its build up

Hard to imagine someone starting this album without the prior knowledge of the absolute juggernaut of a song that is Seven Nation Army. Did anyone on this site hear it for the first time pulling this album? Is such a thing possible? Did Jack White write the riff knowing it would become the de facto sport chant? Is there an as yet undiscovered riff as simple as this one that could hit quite as well? All this to say - what an incredible song - but I’ve heard it enough for 10 lifetimes. Anyway I’m plenty familiar with this album. It’s stacked front to back with some light and much heavy, plodding along with the pure metronome of Meg Whites hypnotically simple drumming that largely serves to accentuate the ferocious guitar work, but hits in just the right way nonetheless on its own when it ought to. Couldn’t possibly give this anything but a 5. Fav tracks I just don’t know what to do Hardest Button Hypnotise Ball and Biscuit Medicine Little Acorns … Seven Nation Army

Pleasant but bored me

In the same vein as Nilsson I think, total killer songwriter, appreciate that this was a one-man job for basically the entire album, no mean feat and a true testament to ADHD and the drugs that can be abused to counteract it. I knew I Saw The Light from the Licorice Pizza soundtrack, which is full of This Sort Of Thing

1970! How tf did TV Eye come out in 1970, its so raw and noisy Like a demonic older brother of Exile on Main St maybe? Enjoyed this much more than the first Stooges

Feeling a bit harsh. Not quite as goth moody as the cure, not quite as iconic as a lot of their later stuff

A shame to get this one before eg Astral Weeks, which i assume resides in the list somewhere, and sounds NOTHING like this Absolutely brilliant production for live recording, brass section great, sent into the mystic into lowkey transcendent territory. That said I probably would not have felt this way if it appeared 85 minutes into the album, but enjoyed this a lot more than expected despite the length 👀

ORANGE One of my favourite electronic albums, such an uncomfortable almost creepy vibe (true discomfort is found in their later Geogaddi), weirdly nostalgic sound, but with thudding beats that i’m happy to get lost in nonetheless. Roygbiv feels like the distilled core of the album that the rest all whirls around. Lovely synthy reverby melody. If you dont get it, listen to that until you do I think being a big half life fan primed me for liking this album somewhat, the HL2 soundtrack draws from this a lot imo Feels like every time I listen to it there’s some weird new vocal sample that wasn't there last time ORANGE

Good rockin tunes, don’t like as much as 4/Physical Graffiti

Vaguely fun slowly coming to the realisation that it’s an interpretation of some classical stuff that I’ve definitely heard before and trying to work it it was familiar due to being a motif from an earlier track or if it was a “cover” Also big up another Newcastle live album after motorheads

Kinda full of bangers

The ultimate modern mothers album Crazy good voice, predictable boring songwriting although quite interesting sparse production at times

A true modern goat, could be the most easily consumable album ever, there’s not a bad track on it To avoid the usual talking points, Alone together is probably my favourite underrated track, love the solo at the end, imo hard to explain is their best song generally Took me years to listen to New York City cops as my version never had it, a crime as it’s such a tune

Always liked dreaming of you, rest of album is pleasantly good too

Going to count this as another Newcastle album First full Police album I’ve heard, always liked all their popular singles Getting PTSD from hurting my fingers years ago learning the riff from Message in a Bottle

Crowd went fucking mad for it didn’t they

Not as fun as you’d hope

Enjoyed it about as much as is possible for a Vibraphone/accordion(?) album, 3 for exceeding my expectations but will decidedly not be returning

One of the easiest 5s ever. such an ambitious project, stuffed with a kaleidoscope of references to a state I may never visit, and with such a variety of great songs with fantastic songwriting. He played like 20 different instruments on this which is just mad Casimir Pulaski Day might be my favourite “sad song”, and very funny to think he didn’t come out until like 2023 when you read the lyrics to “Primordial Beast Of The Palisades” Very bold to have a song relating yourself to a pedophilic serial killer and have it not come off in the absolute worst way possible I always run out of steam a bit towards the end, first half is definitely stronger, but it’s all great still

Alright, High Speed is suspiciously similar to Subterranean Homesick Alien off OKC Suspect their next album is a lot better

Totally washed over me I’m afraid

Lots of variety, never knew what Eno sounded like before now, assumed he only existed in the form of drawn out synth tones and NYT crossword answers

Pretty fun, I’d obviously only heard lovefool

Certainly an album, hard to say it was an album of music. Going to be a very edgy contrarian and give this a 3, meeting it on its terms as opposed to expecting such things as songwriting and chords, and appreciating it for the total creepiness of Hamburger Lady and the bizarre aura it lent to breakfast. I will NOT be returning

One of many country albums on this list

Great great album. Something about the dull thudding percussion lends so much to the title track and The Boxer. For a slightly deeper cut, only living boy in New York is beautiful

Fine, didn’t expect the group behind “My Girl” to have a song like “Run Charlie Run”

Makes me severely question if Rammstein were in any way innovative. Didn’t love this but I do appreciate it for a very unique sound

Hell yeah brother. Dolby Atmos mix of this is phenomenal Tom Sawyer total classic, YYZ for some reason I know really well in particular, and is the reason I know the Morse code for Y and Z off the top of my head. Honestly had never heard the rest aside from maybe limelight once?

The best instrumental work on any hip hop album? Or just the best hip hop album? Feels like a very easy modern rap album to point to and say it’s the best one, so cohesive around its themes, steeped in jazz, filled with both bangers and deep songs, not even Kendrick’s voice is enough to take away from it (Although it’s great on Blacker the Berry). Can’t believe it’s been more than 10 years now, like Obama was still president when this came out? WTF? That “I remember you was conflicted” motif thing throughout the album culminating in an interview with Tupac at the end is really clever. Some might say a more respectful way of using the dead man’s likeness than how Snoop Dogg has resurrected him into the new Yakuza game Average rating on this site is a crime, though a very interesting distribution where most people gave it a 5 but it’s nowhere near top rated on the site because people have just gone “Hip Hop, 1”

George Michael literally only wants one thing and it’s fucking disgusting Surely the UKs answer to Michael Jackson, enjoyed this way more than I expected

Not very interesting. For contrast I totally adore exile on Main Street, which feels almost like a culmination, or a last hurrah, of that kind of bluesy rock and roll sound. This is more like pale imitation of what was around at the time

Wasn’t quite feeling it, I knew Thats entertainment already

THOM YORKE DETECTED, great feature My quest to understand PJ Harvey continues, this one is so different from the last one that popped, so much less abrasive

Bit one note. But not in a bad way

Probs the best “world music” we’ve had so far, not least because of the amount of English it features I guess Wtf is so funny Charles

One of those albums where 2 of the tracks are total total classics, and it almost dilutes the rest by comparison which is really quite good and varied

Yeah I think I’ll take the 38 minute one thanks What I will say is that it’s always interesting to hear something like Karma Chameleon that I’ve heard a thousand times out and about, but never on a good pair of headphones, there’s falsetto backing vocals for days. Rest of this album is very much an obligation to that single, but decently catchy nonetheless

Pretty great, loved this version of China Girl, great vibe outside of that

Enjoyed a lot more than expected. I was probably a bit primed for it as my friend is a big fan for some reason and I like some of her songs from the Magnolia soundtrack, but I was expecting some typical piano ballads and got a very guitar heavy album so was very pleasantly surprised

First half fantastic, Side B just ain’t doing it

Sort of the antithesis of Wu Tang/NWA who came out not long before this, instrumentals are much lighter as are the lyrics, though almost exhaustingly “conscious” at times. Nice high energy on most tracks

Great, one of the best voices ever. Probs would be a 5 if I gave it some more listens

Haven’t even listened yet today, but this is such a landmark indie record for me that it’s got me drafting my thoughts at 05:30. Instrumentation is so good on this. Album could be boring at a glance - and really is if you don’t get to know it a bit - but I’ve never heard anything like the opening track. Stop and listen to IATTBYH at some points and it sounds like total discordant chaos, but then these elements come together with a bit of guitar and piano - just a few chords for the whole song I think - and it sounds so good, before falling apart again in the outro, apt for a song I think is entirely about alcoholism ruining a relationship. Lyricism is fantastic on this track too “Still I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t easy” to name one of many simple but great lines on this album Then you dig into the album a bit and discover songs like “Jesus, Etc”, a crazy coincidence to have nearly came out on 9/11 and have lyrics referencing tall buildings shaking (along with the album cover of that building in Chicago, mental) I really love the more upbeat Heavy Metal Drummer too, I find it really catchy, as well as the way the prior track sort of glitchily transitions into it, and haven’t even really dug into some of the rest of the album which I love nearly as much

Pleasant, amazing voice, but doesn’t have Respect or Say A Little Prayer so obviously needs to be a 3

I wrote a nice review while listening but typically didn’t hit save so will sum it up: Heard once before in full, shame we didn’t get some of her earlier albums first Shameika is a strange bop Mad percussion choices, very unique Bit overrated by critics imo due to a combination of her earlier stuff being underrated, lyrical content and being a Covid era release

Can’t shake the feeling as we go through this list that new wave was a tragic mistake. Very catchy, but something about the sound is starting to grate on me For some reason can’t hear the Belinda Carlisle who sang Heaven Is A Place On Earth here

Pretty great, not a bad song on it, never heard a full prince album before. Funky and horny

Totally ripped off the Sinners soundtrack

Lovely voice, wild Wikipedia article

A GOAT for very good reason, not sure why I never tried to get into this when I love the first wutang album

Better than I was expecting given I don’t hear very much about this one compared to SFTD and LC…

Really enjoyed, veRrRrRrRry unique voice

Great energy but not much stood out that I can think to talk about which isn’t the best sign

THEY GOT MO ONIONS ON THIS THING? Great for background, not so good for active listening

Some quirky unpredictable tunes but wasn’t mega fond from the first listen

Very headbang worthy collection of tunes, somehow never gave them a go for the brief adolescent period that I was into Metallica/megadeth

Seriously gets better every time i listen to it Digging past the obvious masterpiece that is Eleanor rigby, you get a wonderful blend of pop and psychedelia. Manipulating the studio to produce Tomorrow Never Knows must have sounded utterly insane at the time, 1 year after songs like Help and Yesterday George’s eyes always creep me out on the cover, just me?

Classic. I’ve heard Take Me Out so many times, and the transition never fails to hype me up. Somehow have never heard a single track off the rest of the album before this. Very Strokes-adjacent

Big beats are the best, get high all the time. Trimmed a bit, could be such a tight album

Not drinking nearly enough cheap room temperature beer to enjoy this one as much as I should. A whiff of Springsteen about it

Very dour, some great sort of postpunky sound throughout, easy to get lost in the mood

So close to being anti-music, respect for how much it's trying not to sound good

Not sure I 100% get the appeal, really great production, especially on a nice pair of headphones, but I feel like I’m being teased for a drop that ends up never quite happening. Probably I’m too sober, and would reward a bit more listening. I feel like I've seen their next album cover for Rhythm and Stealth around online a lot more than this one, but apparently this one's meant to be better?

Loved this, always knew the title track as the theme song from Extras, and obviously Father and Son, but loved the opening track, seems weirdly prescient for a song 50 years old

A lot less of a one hit wonder than I expected, Jennifer sounded like a proto-Jesus and Mary Chain song

Like really catchy upbeat cure with Bowie vocals? The Corruption slaps for sure

Really pleasant, aged and funky, like a good cheese

Why can’t all pop be as bold and unique as this? Probably third time I’ve heard the full album, heard individual tracks countless times, and kind of sold me on the idea of modern pop music not being a total write off Such a great progression from Pure Heroine, by comparison, drenched in synth and pounding beats Production is absolutely fantastic, green light totally blossoms once it kicks in and doesn’t let up until bit of a ballad heavy midsection that isn’t quite as good imo Love Supercut, great concept of a breakup song for the YouTube generation, and I think perfect places is bittersweet euphoria too One of the rare times I’ll highlight a fantastic album cover too, manages to highlight the themes and the sound at the same time

Can’t believe I’ve not heard this before now, such a good sound, sugary sweet Scottish vocals paired with synth that throbs and twinkles in equal measure Always had them mixed up with Crystal Castles in my head who I haven’t heard either, just me?

Really liked Jesus Christ and the Femme Fatale cover, didn’t quite hold my interest across the sheer bulk of tracks, though I hear the influence in so many artists i love

Glad to hear this one as I never would have dug beyond pink moon otherwise, nice variety compared to the sparseness of the latter

Started decent, got bit boring, no doubt Eno to blame as his Bowie stuff suffers similarly

Nice and catchy from a band I've literally never heard the name of, reminded me at times of Replacements and even weirdly Idles in the vocals on one track

It’s almost like an alternative white stripes if they let Meg White do lead vocals One of those total indie classics that I never bothered trying to dig into despite loving all the stuff adjacent to it from the same era, though Maps is a song I’ve heard countless times. 4 this time, could easily be a 5 with a few more listens And yeah it’s great, totally flies by without a wasted track

Very arty farty beat poet at times, but some pretty great rockin tunes on here

Billy Joel writes a critical panned off broadway musical “No I won’t get maudlin” brother what are you talking about

One of those bands I always hear about, never have any reason to give them a go But a great early post punky sound, nice and consistent all the way through, great guitar tone giving a sort of wall of sound, going to stick with this…probably

Not sure about this one. I definitely prefer moving pictures, but side a was a great proggy collection of tracks, side B feeling more like MP. Did not pay attention to lyrics at all so no clue of the concept Okay listened again and read the lyrics, I like the admittedly thin concept, and the idea of someone discovering a guitar for the first time and learning how to play, mirrored thematically in the music by first plucking the open strings of a surprisingly well tuned E standard guitar, learning how to play with shocking aptitude.

1984 is crazy, loved the Rock Box sample. Quite funny that it’s got the “hardcore hip hop” genre on wikipedia when compared to wu tang and nwa that came soon after

Literally invented the electrical guitar or something like that, idk

Sort of an interesting collection of sketches, and so soon after Beatles broke up. Interesting that he did it all by himself at home, and encouraged me to go on and listen to ram since it came right after and I hear good things about it Update: Listened to ram, uncle Albert is an utterly fantastic track, played it on repeat about 10 times today, HAAAAAANDS ACROSS THE WATER

Blister in the Sun is like one of the weirdest earworms ever. Never heard anything else by them so was glad when this came up. Hearing a bit more made their acoustic punkiness a bit more obvious Ugly seems too good to be a bonus track

Cover goes hard, very 80s pastiche gradient despite being released in the 80s All the way is like 2 cure songs shoved in a blender, really good track though Going to listen a bit more, pretty sure I really liked it lol

Far too long and lyrical to really get into today, did kind of enjoy it though

Probably the closest any album has got to me understanding the “jam band” appeal, “Elizabeth read” was great, as was the rest of it tbf. Must be the first live album on this list not recorded in Newcastle lol

Great, had no idea that some of these songs came off this album (or at least the versions I know best) . Seemed to fly by which is always good for hip hop, which usually drags for me unless filled with bangers, I guess owing to the variety of spoken/singing

A quintessential "70s artist turns 80s" album, great how we manages to keep some of his sound despite the heavy synth throughout. Dancing in the Dark will always be a banger, if very cheesy

P L E A S A N T Title track easily best, not much stood out

Never heard more than “alright” which is surely a classic, surprised how “libertines” this sounds as a whole if that makes sense. Certainly weaker lyrics but the frantic not-quite-punk sound is there and obviously came first

Father John Misty has a lot to answer for is all I'm going to say, is this not his whole shtick? Much more catchy and pleasant than the rather ugly album art might lead you to believe, went in fully expecting twee-ness and got lush baritone goodness instead. Outer Space immediately stood out on first listen Some of the lyrics are very stupid, and certainly an eyebrow raise was had at the end of "JC Hates Faggots"...

Pretty great production/vocals, unfortunately wasn’t in the right kind of environment to enjoy it properly (ideally, my good headphones instead of 1 earbud, no children in the other ear!)