Very good heavy rock. I could live without the acoustic guitars and bluesy bits but the bass playing and drumming is absolutely elite. It’s a good, fun record.
Best : What Is and What Should Never Be
Worst: Thank You
Way better than I remember and certainly better than I expected. The beats sound pretty outdated now but the songwriting is sound and it’s an album jam-packed with big tunes.
Best: Vow
Worst: A Stroke of Luck
One of my favourites. Have been a fan since it was released. Arguably the best album they ever made. A huge progression from Badmotorfinger and one of the best rock albums of the decade. It’s so powerful and reveals something new with every listen.
Best: My Wave
Worst: (no bad songs)
Yuck.
Okay… I can understand why people like this so much. The musicianship is fine. It’s a rock album that sounds a bit different to what else was on offer in 1970. The drumming is good, sure.
However, horrible singing, horrible lyrics. Guitar solos where there doesn’t need to be a guitar solo. The songs seem to last forever even if they’re sub-5 minutes. I genuinely abhor songs like Child in Time; people really love to cherish a song like this. I don’t get it. But like what you like, I don’t care.
Personally, this has fallen in a generated slot close to Led Zep II and Superunknown by Soundgarden, both of which blow this out the water on every single level, particularly the vocals and guitar playing.
It didn’t stand a chance. I don’t think Deep Purple will ever be for me but I’ll give it a 2/5 based on understanding why it would appeal to other people and I enjoyed some of the drumming.
Male, pale and stale.
Best: Speed King
Worst: Child in Time
Thoroughly pleasant music from Mali. I enjoyed the guitar playing in particular along with the call and response singing. Blues traditionally ain’t my bag but this was an easy album to enjoy. Rhythmically, it transcends “the blues” and there’s more melody in here than you can shake a stick at. A great example of why this project exists. I’m not sure I’ll revisit this particular album many times again but it deserves its place here. Interesting story behind band too, I’m glad they’re documenting their challenging experiences in this way. Music is politics. Music is protest, A good album indeed.
Very good pop music. If I’m being picky, some of the lyrics feel a bit cliché and I imagine the production will feel a little dated in the coming years but you absolutely can’t argue with the quality of the songwriting and the vocals. I enjoyed this far more than I expected.
Best: Green Light (Writer in the Dark also excellent on many levels)
Worst: no bad songs
Damn good. I’m hoping this is one of many NY albums on the generator. This is one I often go back to. Pretty much flawless but yeah, Running Dry is a slog. The rest of it is terrific with several standouts. A great into to NY for new fans.
Best: Cinnamon Girl
Worst: Running Dry
Fun, camp pop. Extremely 1993. Ends with a strong run of songs. They definitely went super commercial here and I remember the string of hits from this era. Some fab singles and a few deep cuts that still sound great all these years later.
Best: Liberation
Worst: Dreaming of the Queen
This is a pretty remarkable album. If you know, you know. There are times when it sounds like all the musicians are playing different songs at the same time but I wouldn’t change a thing. Not my favourite VM album but I love it all the same. Several songs on this make me cry. Ireland forever.
Best: Sweet Thing is a perfect song
Worst: Beside You is an absolute rabble
When it bangs, it bangs. The bangers are really damn good, a couple of Madonna’s best singles here. There are 2/3 tracks that really don’t live up to the high standard of the rest of the album but I really enjoyed most of it. I personally prefer William Orbit’s production to Mirwais- it’s more enveloping and immersive but these are small things. A great pop album and a great timestamp in Madonna’s career.
Best: What it Feels Like For a Girl
Worst: I Deserve It
Horrible music. Lacking humanity on every level. Look, these guys can play their instruments but it all feels clinical and performative. There are occasional moments where the melody cuts through the histrionics (Starlight) but the majority of this is ultra-compressed and genuinely unpleasant to listen to. No Muse is good news.
Tremendous political punk. Rippers from start to end. You’ll love it or hate it. An essential punk rock album.
I’ll say this - Don McLean has a rich, mesmerising voice. The album doesn’t grab you for the duration but these are well-written songs with very good vocals and lyrics. (This dude seems like a dick judging by his behaviour against his wife and daughter.) This passed 39 minutes of a long drive. Nothing I’d go back to again outside of Vincent. Ultimately, fuck Don McLean.
Impeccable, gentle, top tier jazz from a trio of wonderful musicians. Well recorded and effortlessly digestible. Bass playing is out of this world.
Fantastic. The hits on this LP are, obviously, some of the best pop singles of the ‘80s but some of the deep cuts (Kings Cross in particular) are among the most memorable songs they ever wrote. Excellent lyrics. Music is politics. A perfect snapshot of being a queer person during Thatcher. May she rest in piss.
Best: I Want to Wake Up, Heart
Worst: One More Chance
First time I’ve listened to these albums in full since the mid-2000s and I was surprised at my reaction to them. Firstly, Speakerboxxx is hot shit. Barely a wasted note on it. Terrific. The Love Below always took a while to get going but that back end of it from Roses onwards is mighty fine. Made so much more sense to me at 47 than it did at 25. Very talented fellas. Sure, you could trim it down a little but I did the whole thing in one sitting and could happily listen again. I’m giving it a 4 because I don’t think it sits as high in the pantheon of hip hop, soul, r&b or jazz as others on this list but it’s 100% worth your time. Big Boi brings the party with Speakerboxxx and with The Love Below, Andre 3000 has made possibly the horniest album alive.
Best: GhettoMusick, Unhappy, Roses, Love in War
Worst: Most of the interludes
A genuine 5. I didn't hear this album until I was 21. The cover always put me off, I thought Jeff Buckley was gonna be a boogie-woogie guy or something. Anyway, I was in Corsica for some reason visiting a friend studying there and she had some Irish pals who adopted me for the weekend, made me drink Pastis and listened to Grace a hundred times. I've listened to it hundreds of times since. Magical music. I'm a big fan of Sketches for My Sweetheart, the Drunk as well. However, this feels like the only true Jeff Buckley album and it's perfect from start to end.
Best: Grace, Dream Brother, So Real
Worst: (no bad songs whatsoever, not even close)
This album is a cavalcade of ideas both musically and in terms of production. It stands up well in 2026. Truly front loaded but a solid set of songs. It’s crazy for a band to have three genuinely generational hits on their debut album. The hype was real, it didn't expand too much beyond this and the follow up but that’s not the band’s fault. People are fickle and it’s hard to sustain a vibe like this for long. This is a very good pop record and well worth revisiting if you were there in 2007 or whatever.
Best: Time to Pretend, Electric Feel, Future Reflections
Worst: (I can’t fault this record, it’s watertight)
I’m sure I saw this band live in the late 90s for some reason. It doesn’t stand up. Overall vibes are that it’s pretty boring music.
Pretty great to be honest. Bowie all over this but it’s an Iggy album at its heart. This is a goth album and you can’t tell me otherwise. Hope there’s more Iggy Pop on this endeavour.
Best: Funtime
Worst: Didn’t skip anything
A nice wee curveball for a Monday morning. Can’t say I’ve heard a lot of salsa music in my day but this was pleasant, well recorded and just the right duration. Excellent brass throughout, lovely arrangements. Can’t imagine I’ll listen to it again but it started my week with a bit of class.
Pastoral… uhhh… chamber folk? I was thrilled to have something I’ve never heard generated this morning. I think that’s the true test of whether or not an album should even be on this list.
I wonder how many people listening to this are familiar with bands like Wurld Series and Hermit Thrushes at their quietest?
Anyway, I enjoyed it. The interplay between the guitar lines and the Rhodes piano is quite spellbinding at times. The longer tracks particularly stand out with every musician having the opportunity to (gently) come to the fore on some level.
I would listen to this again, probably will.
Best: Penguin Cafe Single, The Sound of Someone You Love Who’s Going Away and it Doesn’t Matter
Worst: Coronation (yes one of only two songs with vocals. I can handle a warbly violin line but not when paired with a warbly vocal)
Afrobeat from the top drawer. Political too. Immersive and at times hypnotic music by a complicated genius. The drumming!
Deeply dull music for 60 year old white men. I never want to hear Mark Knopfler do another fucking guitar solo on a Fender Strat ever again.
I work in the hi-fi industry and I have to suffer Dire Straits on a regular basis. I’ll never understand the fascination with this band.
Boring music. Very boring music. Some of the drumming is nice and Sultans of Swing is a very good song but this is repetitive, boring trash.
Och, it’s fine. It’s melodic, it is well produced, Nora Jones has a lovely voice, the songs are decent throughout. It’s just a bit samey. I will add that I listened to this on my drive home from a mega stressful day at work and I arrived home completely relaxed.
Outside of that, I can’t think of an album that sums up 2002 more than Come Away With Me. This was EVERYWHERE. A cultural phenomenon.
I have no beef with Norah Jones. Lots of people will (do) love this album. It’s getting a 2; far too good to be a 1 and just not quite a 3.
Perfect pop music from Scotland. I always preferred the debut, You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever but this is a worthy follow-up. There was always a hint of soul in OJ’s music but it’s explored more here, particularly on the slower-paced tracks. Nice, clean production, great songs. A winner.
Best: Rip It Up, Flesh of My Flesh.
Worst: (none)
There’s just something so familiar and reassuring about listening to CCR. I think I could enjoy them on any day. This isn’t their best LO but one you shouldn’t miss.
Best: Lodi, Sinister Purpose, Bad Moon Rising.
Worst: The Night Time is the Right Time has never been a song I enjoy.
There’s a bathroom on the right.
One of his best, you already know. The suite in the second half of the album won’t be for everyone. Can’t argue with the first half though. Absolutely flawless.
Best: Speed of Light, Breaking Glass, Sound & Vision
Worst: Subterraneans
Took me 47 years to grow to like Elvis Costello. This is a very good collection of jaggy, rhythmic, smart new wave tunes. Great songwriting. Can’t deny it. God damn.
Best: the singles
Worst: the one with the shuffle beat
The only way this could be worse is if G. Love had an English accent. It’s not terrible music, it’s just trashy music. It’s not Mellow Gold by Beck and it’s (mercifully) not Fun Lovin’ Criminals but it is deeply 1994. I’ll give it a 2 based on the fact Cold Beverage is a song I know. This would have made a solid mini-album.
Look, this album is absolutely fine. There’s very little wrong with it. It was big at the time. I have no beef with The Charlatans… but this being an album I should listen to BEFORE I DIE? 🥴
Look, it’s a classic for a reason. Taking a point off because Lindsay Buckingham was a snake for not including Silver Springs on this. I needed more Stevie Nicks.
Best: Gold Dust Woman, The Chain, Dreams, You Make Loving Fun
Worst: Oh Daddy (it should have been Silver Springs)
Surprisingly good compared to how I remembered it. Quiet bits are intimate, the lo-fi bits are immersive and there are at least 5 top tier songs which is good going by any stretch.
Best: Everybody’s Stalking, Fall in a River, Another Pearl, Once Around the Block, Cause a Rockslide
Worst: Pissing in the Wind
Damn good. Maybe not as immediate as FOABP or ITANOMTHUB but still enjoyable and Chuck D sounds absolutely LOCKED IN HERE.
Perfect from start to end. A masterpiece. Love the production. Could listen to it forever.
Best: Head Over Heels, Mothers Talk
Worst: (no bad songs)
Why am I listening to the third Beta Band record? (It was fine)
I have never cared for the music of Nick Cave and I ain’t about to start now.
For an album recorded 50 years ago, it does have ‘ahead of its time’ vibes. It was definitely a choice to mix the tambourine louder than the drumkit on certain songs. Anyway, when it’s good, it’s good. However the joke wears thin by the end of the album. I’d say it does belong on this list mainly for sounding so weird and unique for the time. Bumping it up to a 3 because of that.
Goes by in a flash and is pleasant throughout with a handful of standout tracks (the ones you know already). Lyrics are pretty awful throughout - I, sky, why, etc. Some nice guitar work from George Harrison. It’s a decent record but nothing on what came 3 years later.
A real good, grimy time. Rudimentary in places in all the right ways. Feels other-worldly in places too. Think I was in the right mood to listen. Fun stuff.
It’s okay. Softer and gentler than I remember and that’s a shame. Some nice singles on this but much of it is kinda forgettable in terms of melodies. Nice production and I’m sure many people would really enjoy this.
Ach, it’s fine. I’m on a run of decent early-2000s albums right now and I’m getting a bit tired. This album is fine. The singles are fun and the production is good throughout. They have better albums than this.
The start of an incredible run of albums for Stevie and there’s plenty to like on this album. Three all-time classics on one album is a feat rarely achieved. Unfortunately, there’s also plenty that sort of just passes by without leaving a mark. Overall with a listen but the best was yet to come.
Best: You are the Sunshine of My Life, Superstition, I Believe (When I Fall in Love…)
A few catchy singles but really dips off at the end. I absolutely wasn’t in the mood for this today but there’s really not much wrong with it.
Your aunt is going to love this album. Not for me but Send My Love is a good song.
Oh you goths. This was pretty good, actually.
Long time since I heard this album and it’s just about as good as I remember it. A slight shift towards weird after the horrible ‘The Great Escape’ but plenty of reminders of how good a song these guys can write.
Not their best but not that far off it. A strong run at the end (until the final track.) Good to listen again. Hopefully Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife make an appearance.
Best: M.O.R., Look Inside America, Beetlebum, You’re So Great
Worst: Essex Dogs
Any Curtis is good Curtis. This doesn’t maybe have as many highs as some of his other LPs but it was a pleasurable listen. I completely forgot he wrote Hard Times, which I originally heard done by Huey Baby. Anyway, lovely stuff.
The easiest 5 so far. Some of my favourite pop songs. Sure, the production is very of the time but try to resist those melodies; you can’t!
Prefab Sprout get overlooked in the pop music pantheon sometimes. This is the place to start.
Best: Bonny, Appetite. If there’s one song you listen to from this album, make it one of these two.
Complete trash. Horrible songs, horrible singing, horrible production. Saying that, at least 2 songs are pretty iconic so I’ll give it a 2 based on that and that alone. I have a complicated relationship with music sometimes.
