This is my first full-length exposure to The White Stripes, and dare I say, the first time I've ever paid attention to "Seven Nation Army". That song is absolutely incredible, and while the rest is consistently great, it never reaches the heights of that song again. The two acoustic numbers disrupt the flow for me and "Little Acorns" is jarring too (but once that song kicks in, it's killer).
Already very familiar with this album.
Peak.
One of the best early alternative US albums; "Blister In The Sun", "Add It Up" and "Good Feeling" are songs for life. Perfect for this list as I believe this is deeply essential.
Heard before challenge.
This is where, for some, Neil really finds his stride. For me, it's another entry in an already stellar career up to this point that is affirmed by some really incredible songs. I'll always die on the hill of "A Man Needs A Maid", and I don't need to say anything else about "The Needle And The Damage Done"; plenty has already been said.
This album's hits have probably reached overplayed status for a lot of people but I gotta say, hearing them in the context of a record on nice headphones really brings out their character. Solid listen for the rest of it, too.
Heard before challenge.
For years, this was one of my favorite Radiohead albums. I've fallen slightly out of love with it recently but this is still one of their best works. "Videotape" might just be their best song.
Finally getting some proper exposure to Joan after knowing her connections to Dylan for the longest time. Hearing this with some of that work in retrospect and my other exposures to artists who seem to have lifted from her technique (I'm shocked that Happy Rhodes seemingly doesn't list Baez as a vocal influence, their styles especially with vibrato sound very very similar, and I love that) makes for an interestingly aware listen. Cool album.
Wow, finally getting into Sly, too little too late I suppose. I'm pretty unfamiliar with funk as a whole outside of some song-based examples but finally hearing a whole record in the style like this is great.
One of my favorite albums of all time and a bit of a life-changer at 15. The perfect prelude to the noise pop and shoegaze developments of the late 80s and early 90s, sickly-sweet hooks and melodies buried beneath a net of static, with vocal deliveries both apathetic and earnest all at once. An album for the ages and one that absolutely deserves to be here, in my opinion.
While I have always been more of a fan of Oldham's with the Palace Music project, this album spoke to me just as much as something like Days In The Wake or Viva Last Blues when I first heard it many years ago; it just didn't have the staying power or the obsessive replay factor that those two records had for me. To revisit it for this challenge was a beautiful, brilliant experience. Hearing this as an adult, for the first time in literal years, gives it some new depth. Will Oldham remains one of my favorite songwriters of his generation.
Not my favorite Steely Dan record but certainly an amazing way for them to open their career. I tend to give this one some flack because of the numerous vocalists (I've always been a believer that Fagen is the best vocalist for the group and should've been the only one from the start), but all of the Fagen-led songs here except "Dirty Work" tend to be my favorite. Special mention to "Brooklyn (Owes The Charmer Under Me)" though.
I went into this expecting to require context from the film - which I've wanted to see for a long time and just haven't gotten around to yet - but I was pleasantly surprised. This album flows wonderfully; light, airy (ha), not-so-secretly sad and very mysterious. Obscured. A bit of a Badalamenti vibe here at times. Some Mike Oldfield and Pink Floyd in there too, for good measure. Moon Safari this is not, and at this current moment, I feel that this is better.
I mean, seriously, what can I say about this that hasn't already been said? This album has been a key part of my life since I was 13 years old and even though it's no longer my favorite Floyd record, it's as essential as it comes. When I think of "art rock", this immediately comes to mind. Majestic.
My favorite PJ record of the two I've heard so far. "Dry" might be the perfect descriptor of the sound of this record. Definitely a raw record, one that doesn't compromise and favors authenticity and natural occurrence.
Musically, this is decent. I can't follow along with the vocals unfortunately but reading about this album, the story and passion behind it is fascinating. Not really sure if I'd put this in the book though.
I won't hide it here: this is one of my favorite albums of all time. A genuinely formative listening experience that has been the soundtrack to my journey in the last couple of years. The best thing to arise from the Steely Dan canon and that's saying something. Essential in every aspect, a must listen and one of the most brilliantly human albums ever recorded. Not to mention its incredible ability to test a sound system. A genuine dream production.
Maybe my favorite Big Beat album I've heard so far, a really engaging and energetic listen that rarely overstays its welcome. A powerhouse, but at the same time it also comes across very much like a product of 1997. Not that that's a bad thing.
This one's been on my list for quite some time now, glad to finally check it out. I personally believe that albums like Tommy perfected (or as close as you can get to it, I suppose) the early rock opera form, but this is nothing to sneeze at either. Side A in particular feels weirdly influential on the Elephant 6 music collective, which it very well may be. There is a gigantic bombast to this that I didn't expect from the Kinks, only really having heard their biggest hits from 64-66 and then "Lola". Exciting stuff.
ELP often holds the reputation of being one of prog's campiest, most ridiculous bands...and in the case of this, they'd be right. But it's impressive and theatrical and so grand and dramatic that I can't bring myself to hate this.
Although I will ask why this is in here and not Brain Salad Surgery or Welcome Back My Friends. There's two ELP records in here and neither one has "Karn Evil 9". What the hell man.
Finally, FINALLY hearing this one. I've been almost afraid to listen to it, as any record with a song like "Fast Car" is prone to failing to stack up to the power of its singular smash hit masterpiece. Thankfully the rest is quite great, but man, there is a REASON that song is still brought up and listened to today. Incredibly powerful songwriting here throughout, highly impressed.
Feels like a cross between early Queen and T. Rex with a markedly worse vocalist. Thanks but no thanks.
Regardless of any musical content, THAT is one of the worst album covers I've ever seen in my life. I don't know who approved dude on the right's ability to walk around shirtless and with that haircut, but they should be questioned. I don't want to think it's affecting my interpretation of the music, but it's a sensory nightmare. I can smell this picture and it's not pleasant.
I cannot tell you how long it's been since I last heard this album in its entirety. It's been at least 10 years. Revisiting it for this challenge has left me with complicated feelings. At 13, this was one of the best albums I've ever heard. At 23, it's just another Chili Peppers album. I've always been more of a Blood Sugar Sex Magik guy but when this album has its moments, they're incredible moments. When it doesn't...it's the Chili Peppers for every reason I dislike them. I'll save the gripes about the mix because everyone and their mother has mentioned them but it really only affects my opinion of a few songs. Eventually I'll hear the unmastered edition.
It's not quite Pink Floyd as we know them now, but it's an incredible record nonetheless. Barrett's contributions put them perfectly at home in the psych boom of 1967, and despite how quickly the Floyd would abandon the softer, childlike nature of Syd's work, they leave an impression and an impact here. Thus begins the output of one of the greatest bands to ever walk the earth.
Conceptually, this is wonderful, I love the use of the NYC street recording samples that Holmes acquired during his time there. There's a gritty cinematic vibe to this and I dig it. The only problem is I think every track goes on far too long and this is yet another dance album that approaches an hour long runtime.
And this was where I wrapped up the core Simon & Garfunkel discography with an album sometimes considered their best by the more folk-adjacent people. I gotta say, it's probably my 3rd favorite, only behind Sounds of Silence and Bridge Over Troubled Water. Still an absolutely great record though; undeniable songs like "Scarborough Fair", "Homeward Bound", and I truly adore that "Silent Night" sound collage thing at the end.
A lot more synth-driven than I expected. Growling bass throughout too. Pretty cool. Saw some people refer to this as "The Doors on speed" and that seems pretty accurate at times.
One of my favorite albums for over a decade now. Oldfield recorded this pretty much by himself at 19 which really makes me want to practice every instrument I've ever played for even a moment and become proficient at every single one. The ending of Part One always gives me chills. A brilliant masterful record. Its use in The Exorcist (as small yet iconic as it is) helps as well.
The intense vocal stylings of Neubauten meet the surreal disorienting dark-circus vibes of Foetus, but it's all in French. Maddening in a cool way but not really essential. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for the darker end of the industrial rock spectrum but not to many other people.
Beck's ability to fuse multiple genres that don't seem to go together into a single track needs to be studied. A pretty insane rise from Mellow Gold and One Foot In The Grave, which are respectable great records, but Odelay is a completely different beast. Hip hop, alt dance, alt-country, electronica, jazz...I know "alternative rock" can be a bit of a blanket name but this is truly alternative. And for a record like this to be a true mainstream breakthrough? Not really sure if you see stuff like this anymore.
While Rush have done the side-long suite thing on other albums, it's arguable that none of them were as great as 2112. Hemispheres might be my favorite full album from the group, but this was a formative record for me when I was younger and getting into prog. "A Passage to Bangkok" and "Tears" are my big takeaways from side B, don't shut the album off before giving those a chance. Lord knows I did plenty of times as a kid before I realized their greatness.
Wasn't sure what to expect but this sorta sounds like a British Hole at times, which I'm perfectly cool with. Also the Wire comparisons are maybe a little on the nose but not inaccurate. My only real gripe comes with the fact that a lot of these songs seem like they need some extra time to flesh themselves out and they just...stop. That isn't always a problem for me, but here it feels a little sudden.
I only wonder what would've happened if Justine had stayed in Suede.
The distillation of what seems to be every dominant rock/pop style from the UK over the course of about 30 years into a 40 minute listen (you can hear Kinks, Queen, the glam side of Bowie). Pretty admirable effort, but after getting another Britpop album yesterday, I might be just a bit tired of the genre already. If you're gonna send this stuff my way, give me Suede at least.
Okay maybe I missed something somewhere, but where the hell did this almost-psychedelic not-quite-shoegaze side of Morrissey come from? I know the jangle pop angles and the occasional slide towards Moz's love of glam, but wow, the few times here that it approaches those territories is worth noting. The Smiths have been one of my favorite bands for nearly a decade and I've loved the first two Morrissey records for nearly as long but this is unlike any of those albums. This is like the non-Smiths side of my taste finding the rest of my favorite genres all in one go. Jawdropping. And of course it's typical Morrissey with all of the lovable douchey-ness that comes with that. Brilliant.
Everything about this album's presentation is ballsy and deserves some acknowledgement for that alone, but the music doesn't really hold me. Very repetitive and not that engaging in most cases ("Burial" really wowed me in particular however). I think I'm more aligned with dub at the moment than pure reggae but we'll see once I dive into the other essentials that are on this list and beyond.
I wonder if my opinion would change if I smoked pot. Probably.
Fascinating lyrics and refreshing beautiful instrumentation, offputting vocal style. Also I noticed a lot of these songs started to blur into one another. Reminds me of the exact situation I had with Pescado Rabioso's Artaud (exactly the same setup except Spinetta's voice is gorgeous) but less worthwhile. An interesting effort and obviously put together with a lot of passion, but not for me.
Sufjan's very grandiose, slightly-too-lengthy "opus" (by general standards, not mine) has never been one of my favorite albums, much to my own disappointment. There are serious moments of greatness found here that I think prove Sufjan's ability not only as a singer and songwriter, but as a worldbuilder and an arranger. My problem with this album is its incredibly jumpy sequencing, obnoxious runtime (Sufjan imo is best consumed in 40-45 minute doses, not 75) and the unfortunate reality of being surrounded by overhype in the music-fan-sphere doesn't help much either.
I will say that revisiting it for this challenge caused it to grow on me slightly (probably influenced by my recent love of Carrie & Lowell), but I still struggle to see the deep impact that a lot of people feel from this, and I'm glad that others can get that experience out of this album.
What a bizarrely dreadful listen. This does not need to be an hour long in any universe. Why are half of the songs 5-6 minutes long? Why is one almost NINE minutes? Why do I have love for other really dated, arguably corny hip-hop albums from this time period but this one is like the aural equivalent of spoiled milk?
Annoying beats, annoying vocals (the last minute of "Underwater Rimes", good lord), songs that establish their finishing point upwards of halfway through the actual song ("Doowutchyalike" thinks it's so funny to fade out halfway through only to come back in, if it actually ended during that fade-out I might've been more favorable), and perhaps worst of all this is a concept album...with no tangible concept. 15 minutes of your hour-long album being a conceptual suite a concept album does not make. If the concept is that every song has over-the-top (albeit funny) references to sex and women, then sure it's a concept album. I guess that makes 2 Live Crew's As Nasty As They Wanna Be a concept album too. I don't even have a problem with overtly sexual lyrics, but I am not a fan of this presentation. For something that's supposed to be funky and dance-y, this is so lethargic. Finishing this felt like pulling teeth. I feel like i need to cleanse my palette with Eric B & Rakim or ATCQ after this.
Fiona's first album is one I haven't heard in many years, but "Criminal" is still a favorite after all this time. Revisiting it for this was a little more enlightening; I have more of an appreciation for the sort of atmosphere she cultivates. Dark, sultry, lonely and striking.
Bowie's jump towards soul is sometimes met with derision or muted disinterest, but I find it fascinating and refreshing. Maybe it's my hometown love of Philly soul, but the title track that kicks this thing off is so vibrant, smoky and smooth that I can't help but love it to death.
And so my first Dylan in the challenge is one of his earliest, and the first in the book. It's been some time since I heard this, almost 5 years actually. I've become acquainted with "Blowin' In The Wind" thanks to the 1967 Greatest Hits, but this is one I admittedly never really go back to in any capacity. It's a defiant statement, one that sets Dylan's legacy as a folk spokesman in motion, and it contains some of his biting, aggressive commentary ever. "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is an easy contender for the greatest (not my favorite, but the most "essential") Dylan song, of which there's probably a dozen that I'm not thinking of at the moment.
Also worth noting are the brilliant outtakes from this album, especially "Let Me Die In My Footsteps", which should've made the album in place of "Talking World War III Blues" which is one of the most meandering recordings I've ever heard out of Dylan. Oh well.
What a lovely record to revisit. While some give this album flack for leaning into that 80s sound even more than Hounds of Love, I think this is a charming, passionate record at its core, regardless of any production choices. Her voice is as strong and evocative as ever, so full of grit, yet delicate and insanely dynamic, and some of the tracks even remind me of some of her contemporaries that I have deep, obsessive loves of (The Blue Nile and Peter Gabriel come to mind a couple times here). I continue to believe that "This Woman's Work" could go down as her greatest song, for my money. What a way to end the album.
I'll be honest: my chances of ever going back to this are pretty low unless I have a reggae breakthrough, but this is pretty cool. More immediately accessible too.
Maybe I just don't know swing well enough but this is pretty engaging and energetic in a way that seems predictive of/aligned with the development of rock. Kinda nuts for 1956.
This is one you have to turn up loud to appreciate. Urge Overkill meets Fugazi meets Dinosaur Jr; vulnerable, aggressive, raw, passionate and regretful. If I heard this at 15 it might have changed my life.
Notable for its ability to be inoffensive and yet completely unengaging in almost every regard. I get the intent and the narrative but I actually have to be interested in the music to follow along with it, and frankly I'm not.
A foundational record to my musical upbringing. One of my first exposures to alternative rock and especially that of the 90s US alternative scene. A masterpiece in pretty much every regard, even if I rarely go back to it these days. "Silverfuck" is my pick for the Pumpkins' best song and it's not even close. What a monstrous record.
A sampling masterclass. Without this I'm not sure we have Donuts or even the foundations of vaporwave (i.e. Eccojams). While it's not one of my all-time favorite hip-hop records, I'd definitely call it an essential and I'm glad to see it here in the book.
I find it really funny that this is my first full length Pet Shop Boys record. Feels like the boys' answer to New Order's Technique, which I think is not only that band's best record but is one of the few house-adjacent records I can really dig. Pretty fucking good introduction.
