Already listened to many many times before starting this list, an 80s classic and a personal bass guitar playing inspiration.
My only exposure to Afrobeat before this was Fela Kuti's Zombie, so this was a nice 2nd dip into the genre. Amazing rhythm section throughout the album.
Already listened to this album for the first time a few months ago due to a famous VGM composer's fandom for the band, and I see why this is such a revered album of the 90s. A great in-your-face, left-wing metal record that draws from other genres like funk and hip-hop as well.
Not the hugest Springsteen fan, as when it comes to bands dubbed "heartland rock" I'd much rather rock out to someone like Tom Petty who pursued a much harder/louder sound with his Heartbreakers.
Regardless, I can't deny The Boss has got some great pipes and catchy lyrics, and there's always some tasty guitar, piano or organ riffs and licks to go along with those lyrics.
8/10.
A great cross between art rock and the then nascent punk rock movement. "Gloria" is probably one of the strongest cover songs and album openers of 1970s rock. 8.5/10
Pretty good noisy, reverb-drenched indie rock, 7.5/10.
Not my favorite Heads album, but also not hard to see why it's on this list. Even besides "Once In A Lifetime" being a new wave classic, the rest of the album is no slouch. Big fan of the entire rhythm section in particular with all the amazing bass, drum and percussion work. Adrian Belew's session guitar work is also a treat.
9/10.
Before this album, I was only really familiar with Eno through his work with the Talking Heads, and before them his collaboration with Robert Fripp on the 1973 ambient album "No Pussyfooting". That ambient album with Fripp, in particular, has it's footprints all over this album, but now in a more tightly written art pop/rock sound. The session musician work is a treat, especially the bass guitar of Percy Jones, and Robert Fripp contributing guitar on a couple songs in his signature fuzzy, high sustain tone.
8/10
Not familiar with Dylan's work despite his reputation. Nice album after a couple listens, but not really wowing me in any particular way. Might come back to it at some point since I'll probably enjoy it more with a lyrics sheet pulled up.
7.5/10.
While I feel this album is probably hailed as a cult classic mostly due in part to the history surrounding it's recording than the music itself, it's still a neat folksy/psychedelic 60s oddity.
The songwriting can be very inconsistent at times in both arrangement and structure. Spence sounds genuinely depressed and spaced out for most of his time spent singing, actually a plus given that otherwise the often unintelligble lyrics would just fall completely flat.
Best listened to in mono, the stereo mixing is the one part of this album I can say is unequivocally awful.
6.5/10
Already very familiar with this album given that it's one example of my mother's musical tastes rubbing off on me. An amazing soul album, and I can count myself as one of the many bass players who have stuck a foam mute on their bass trying to imitate James Jamerson's parts on this album.
8.5/10
Motorhead play bluesy hard rock, and they play it *very* fast and *very* loud. I already know there's a few speed metal bands out there that probably crib off this band alongside Deep Purple.
A fun listen, and I'd already listened to a couple tracks before via the compilation album "No Remorse". Always a fan of Lemmy and his cranked to 11 bass guitar + smoked out growling vocals.
While I don't want to come off as a pearl clutcher, given that listening to Motorhead and not expecting crass lyrics is a little insane, the song "Jailbait" is pretty fucking grating to listen to. No amount of catchy riffs can really save it for me given the fact it's another embarassing rock song about pedophilia. Leave that type of songwriting to, I don't know, Jethro Tull I guess.
8.5/10
It's a neat album if only as a precursor to later industrial music. However, music bordering this close to noise just bounces off me. A couple cool ideas scattered here and there but they get lost among the rest, and the awful low budget production does not help.
4/10.
Nice live album. King's guitar and voice sound great, and his backing band also sounds like they're on their A game. If it wasnt for the crowd noises and King's chatter the production would almost fool me into thinking this was a studio recording. Not usually the biggest fan of this kind of piano and horn-heavy blues/R&B, but the songs here sell it pretty well and dont overstay their welcome.
8/10.
Not familiar with tango/nuevo tango, but I was familiar Gary Burton before this and his vibraphone is definitely what sticks out to me here, especially on "Vibraphonissimo".
7.5/10
Some sick instrumentals and Winehouse's singing voice is pretty good, but most of the lyrics on this just bounce right off me. "Stronger Than Me" is an absolutely baffling fucking pick to open your album with. I could only hope to write a "relationship problems" track with such banger lines as "are you gay?" and "feel like a lady, and you my ladyboy".
7/10.
Cool psychobilly/punk rock album. Only stuff close to this I'm familiar with is The Cramps, who are also a fun listen. Songs are fast and don't overstay their welcome. Surprised to see Ray Manzarek of The Doors listed as producer.
8/10.
Fleety Mac are considered pop rock legends for a reason, and I see why this is grouped together with their 2 preceeding albums as a golden trio.
Nicks and Christie McVie have beautiful voices. Buckingham, while I'm not *too* hot on his singing voice, also joins the previous two to round out a very consistently strong singer-songwritiner trio. Fleetwood and John McVie provide a strong rhythm section, being the ever present but silent namesakes of the band.
It's pretty rare for more than 3/4ths of a double LP to not feel like padding/filler, which is a big accomplishment. I wish the title track had been the closer over "Never Forget".
8.5/10
I can't say this album is actually bad in any particular way: The songwriting is fine, with some cool riffs here and there, and the studio crew put some A+ work on display here with the production/mixing. Unfortunately, I can't say anything in particular really wowed me? I'm just not the exact target demo for this late 90s grungy alt. rock, I guess.
7.5/10.
Please observe my pin that reads "I REALLY WISH I WAS LISTENING TO CARLY RAE JEPSEN RIGHT NOW!"
6/10.
I personally prefer Rush of Blood to the Head, but this is still enjoyable pop rock.
8/10.
While a bit meandering at times, still an album of enjoyable folky 70s pop. Particularly enjoy the tracks featuring a more rocky, electric guitar sound like Armistice Day.
Looking forward to when this list has me relisten to Graceland, which is probably the one album of Simon's that 100% deserves its spot on the roster.
7.5, maybe an 8/10.
I guess when I remarked that Einstürzende Neubauten's Kollaps had some interesting ideas hidden amongst way too much chaotic noise, this list would give me an album that flipped that imbalance on it's head.
Absolutely amazing album. Besides the occassional and intentional breaks into harsher noise, which don't overstay their welcome, I cant really find any big weak link in this album's track list excluding Scooter/Jinx (which is just one of the already mentioned noisy feedback guitar breaks that bridges two other songs). All 3 of the main singer/songwriters provide great material.
9/10.
A longtime favorite of mine when it comes to 80s synthpop. One or two songs might not have aged too well (lol Sex Dwarf) but it still remains a fun and enjoyable listen. Marc Almond's sleazy and/or depressing songwriting has the perfect backing of either somber or ironically upbeat arrangements, provided by a cheesy but endearing setup of early 80s synths and a drum machine.
Not to strictly pigeonhole them into the descriptor, but as part of that demo myself I do find them as one of the best gay male artists in their genre/time period, right up there with Erasure and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
If you enjoyed this album their follow-up, The Art of Falling Apart, is also just as good.
8.5/10.
The album is at it's best when the songs are played fast, and at it's worst when they slow down a bit. I don't really care for David Lee Roth's vocals, but the Van Halens and Mike Anthony can play some good stuff when they want to. Really enjoy "I'm The One" with it's cheesy but endearing swing rhythm.
One of those albums that, while historically significant, kind of pales in comparison to some of the many bands it would inspire afterward going into the 1980s.
7.5/10.
Very enjoyable sample based hip-hop/trip-hop. Big fan of all the keyboard and string sounds used throughout, like "Organ Donor" building off a really cool Farfisa organ taken from one of Giorgio Moroder's albums.
8.5/10
While a respectable album without any total stinkers, I just can't really find anything that wows me. Guess I'm just not really here for softer, country-tinged rock, especially when compared to the louder, more bluesy sound I previously knew them for via the '69 Live/Dead album.
7.5/10
Fun mashup of alt. rock and trip-hop influences. Enjoy the bass guitar and all the neat sampling and synth work.
8/10.
Conflicted on if I want to call this punk rock or some weird power pop record. Either way a fun listen, the singer sounds like if Jello Biafra came out of the UK instead of the US lmao.
8/10.
Neat little psychedelic melting pot of pop ,rock and other ecclectic musical influences. Kind of meanders in the middle, but songs like "Default" and "Silver Rays" are good earworm material.
7.5, maybe an 8/10.
For the first half this is an alright ska album, but the sudden nosedives into the more lounge/muzak influenced material don't really do it for me.
6.5/10.
I can see why this was Dylan's breakout album, hes got skill on the guitar and his voice is nice. However, I like my barebones guitar-only folk to be either a bit sadder or more biting in it's political themes (such as Phil Ochs' work going into the second half of the decade on "I'm Not Marching Anymore").
7/10.
Enjoyable house music, although what was, at the time, breaking new ground sometimes comes off as just a chore to listen to nowadays (could definitely stand for less of the cheesy vocal samples). "Red Alert" and "Being With U" are standout tracks for me.
7.5/10.
Insanely good album. I was already familiar with Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins (through Worrell's work with the Talking Heads, and Collins just by reputation as a bass guitar legend), but not really listened to much from the P-Funk collective beyond Maggot Brain and some of Mothership Connection. The grooves and solos throughout this album are so damn good, I can just completely look past the often nonsensical lyrics.
9/10.
Great listen. I love the cheesy samplings of martial arts films and I can't think of a single song with a weak beat behind it. Even my lily white ass, only having barely dipped my toes into the world of hip-hop, can see how influential this record likely is to the couple artists I have listened to before.
9/10.
This makes the first reggae album I've given a listen to now, and it pleasantly surprised me. The band can lay down some nice grooves, and I'm a fan in particular of the how core the bass guitar is in the mix.
8, maybe an 8.5/10.
While not my favorite album to come from the 60s psychedelia scene, still a fun album that effortlessly blends more folky influences into the popular sunshine/soft pop of the day.
8/10.
Not terribly huge on this kind of "Big Music" brand of 80s "folk" rock (AKA glossy 80s pop rock with some acoustic or clean electric guitar). Regardless, I don't totally hate the album given that most of it just sounds like an Australian knockoff of Simple Minds (who I do enjoy). The issue with this comparison though is that nine times out of ten I'd rather go listen to a Simple Minds record instead, and I don't feel like I'd miss anything important doing so.
7/10.
Essential jazz listening, even if you only stuck around long enough for Side A. Joe Morello and Paul Desmond are the real highlights here on drums/saxaphone respectively, and Brubeck himself has some great comping and vamps that really put the "cool" in "cool jazz".
9/10.
Not sure this one will be subject to a lot of repeat listens, but it's enjoyable enough despite not usually being into overly saccharine/twee pop. Peak Softboy Music(tm).
7.5, maybe an 8/10.
Soft country rock usually isn't my thing so I can't really drum up any glowing compliments about it, but still an enjoyable listen. Also saved for me by the fact that Emmylou has a nice singing voice.
7.5, maybe an 8/10.
Essential jazz fusion, especially for those usually more inclined towards rock or funk music (the latter of which is a heavy influence on this album's sound). As one of the synth vanguard of the 70s, Hancock works in some cool synth parts alongside his electric piano, and his backing band are all great as well.
9/10.
80s art pop classic. Production is very dense/reverb-heavy but works in favor of the songs here. I love all the various synth string arrangements scattered throughout almost every song. Not as overly experimental as "The Dreaming", but Bush can still write some eccentric but catchy songs on this album as well (Waking The Witch, most notably).
9/10.
Given the fact that I think Joni Mitchell is a fucking racist weirdo (just look up her history with blackface), it makes it all the more heartbreaking that her early albums like this and Hejira are actually really good. Woman's got definite songwriting skills when it comes to soft, jazz-influened folk rock, and her studio band sound great (her electric piano player in particular has some great parts).
8/10.
Some of the songs are a little too out there lyrically for me (Da Bitchez is just comically funny with it's wierd ass misogyny), but still overall not too bad. Nice beats and interesting choice of samples.
8/10.
(Review based on the 90s CD version I used to own/still have a rip of, which I believe has an expanded tracklisting from the original vinyl release.)
Classic live album. A couple songs are kinda whatever (Substitute/A Quick One), but the rest of their hits sound great with this hi-gain, hard rock live sound. The covers of the band's R&B favs are decent enough as well, and the jam version of Magic Bus that closes out the album is a personal fav.
Kinda wish the stereo mixing wasn't so extreme, I love Entwhistles bass but the album sometimes sounds weird to me given that it's not closer to/right in the center of the mix.
Sucks though that, like the Joni Mitchell album I also got this week, this is another album i gotta try and separate from the artist (lmao Pete Noncehend).
8/10.
It's just *fine*. Another album that I'd classify under "decent enough listen while alone but probably way better of a listen in an actual club setting". Some catchy electric piano/organ loops are really all that catch my attention here.
7/10.
Really enjoy the jazz influence that Fiona brings to what turned out to be a nice 90s pop record. Kind of gets a bit too soft for me sometimes going into the 2nd half, but still a nice listen.
Really like the piano vamp/riff on The First Taste, and Shadowboxer and Criminal definitely earned their slots as singles. Hearing Mellotron strings on an album is also always appreciated, one of my favorite sampled instruments.
8/10.
One of a handful of "sad music for sad boys" albums that's actually pretty damn good. Great balance of softer chamber pop and louder, more straightforward indie rock.
8.5/10.
Doesn't wow me as much as the Funkadelic records I've listened to (from what I understand this was meant to be George Clinton's more commercial/safer name to release under?), but that isn't to say it's a bad album: it still grooves and it still brings the funk. Always a treat hearing the bass guitar and keyboards that get featured on these P-Funk albums.
Album that likes to genre hop a bit, but sticks the landing really well for the most part. Fan of the more rock oriented tracks which have great hooks.
8/10.
Not generally a fan of this kind of 90s alt. rock, but I can respect it. "Satin Down" feels like a weird Iggy Pop/Stooges outtake to me at times, which is the only standout moment I can remember after repeated listens.
7/10.
Not really my favorite band ever, given that they kinda earned their reputation as some of the safest yet still popular pop rock, but this is still easily their best album. Clocks is definitely a guilty pleasure all-timer pop song for me.
8/10.
I'm already a fan of Simone from her "Sings the Blues" album, and this one also wowed me. Gold standard of 60s blues/R&B, absolutely in love with her voice and the arrangements on each song. "Four Women", her only self-written song on the tracklisting, is a definite standout here.
9/10.
That good funky soul music. Constant good vibes and I love the keys and guitar, but at the same time a couple repeat listens failed to leave any big lasting impression on me.
Solid 8/10, maybe a 7 if I was in a bad mood.
Very good stuff. Chrissie Hynde is a great songwriter, and I'll always have a soft spot for that certain singing voice a lot of women in rock had in the late 70s going into the 80s (ex. Patti Smith, the Wilson sisters/Heart). I also have a very soft spot for the chorus-heavy guitar tones of the same time period, which both Hynde and Honeyman-Scott deliver in spades.
9/10.
I'll admit up front I really don't care for this band already (Sweet Home Alabama is a grating single), but while this album isn't unlistenable or totally offensive it really does not click with me. If I want to listen to Southern US blues rock, I already enjoy the Allman Brothers Band and do not feel I'm missing much by not exploring Skynyrd's discography further.
6/10.
Kind of goes in one ear and out the other, another album that goes harder in The Club(tm). I do really like Narayan and Firestarter though.
7.5/10.
While it didn't really wow me in any particular way, Dennis is still a respectable songwriter. Sucks that, like Brian, he also had a pretty fucked up personal life.
7/10.
Probably the best Dylan album this list has served me so far, his voice and songwriting work much better for me with a full band arrangements.
8/10.
Gold standard dream pop album. Intelligible lyrics take a backseat and are more focused on the vocal melodies that bring all the dreamy guitars, keys, and drums together. Pitch the Baby has always been a favorite song of mine if only for that amazing chorus-drenched bassline. The bookend tracks are also standouts for me.
9/10.
I cannot wait until Eric Clapton fucking dies.
That said, this is the single album he's involved with I have actual nostalgia and a soft spot for, and it's mostly due to the fact Jack Bruce is a GOAT bassist/singer of 60s psychedelic rock. Ginger Baker is a capital C Character of rock music in himself and is also in top form.
"Sunshine Of Your Love" is a radio classic, but I also love "Dance The Night Away" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses"
8/10.
One of *the* concept albums/rock operas of '70s rock. While alot of the tracklisting can come across as filler (in my opinion, the film adaptation is a much better realization of Water's vision because of this), they don't overstay their welcome too long, and even divorced of context the biggest hits from this album (Another Brick in the Wall, Comfortably Numb, Hey You) can still go hard for an inattentive listener.
Just on the whole a very deeply angry and bitter album. I don't know when Roger Waters originally came up with the concept of the titular, metaphorical Wall to write the album's narrative around, but he uses it to vent many deep grievances he carried growing up in post-WWII Britain. Not hard to see why Waters was so deeply resentful of a conflict that stole his father from him. Other targets of hatred include the systematically abusive post-war British education, and the rising fascism of a Britain that ironically claimed superiority for having defeated Nazism.
It's kind of silly that I feel like I could type another couple paragraphs to defend the album from those who engage with it on the most shallow level and deride it as "we live in a society" junk, a critique which I could give leeway too if some of the loudest people shouting it are idiots like Doug Walker.
8/10.
Been awhile since I both saw this film and listened to the soundtrack on it's own. At this point I think the soundtrack is far, far more popular than the film itself and it's not hard to see why, given the great blend of funk and soul music Mayfield provides here.
8.5, maybe 9/10.
I'm not really as obsessed with Rundgren as I used to be a few years back, but this is still a really good album. Unfortunately it can feel at times like the record fell victim to the curse of a double LP being burdened with filler, as besides the smash hit "Hello It's Me" the rest of Side D falls very, very flat. That said, the rest of the album is a very fun journey through a ton of different flavors of 1970s pop rock, "Couldn't I Just Tell You" in particular will never get old.
8.5/10.
I don't really listen to contemporary R&B at all, and this was probably one of, if not THE best introductory album to it as someone who would call more "prog/progressive" genres his favorite. It's psychedelic and progressive/art pop leanings always kept me guessing throughout my 1st listen, and definitely earned a couple repeat listens after. Suite II is just a non-stop rollercoaster with 2 different multi-track runs that I adore, and Suite III is no slouch either.
9/10.
Fun disco-ish europop. Already knew Dancing Queen, of course, and there wasn't any track that let me down even if it is kind of just junkfood music. Love the synths.
8/10.
A neat performance of what I assume must've been alot of the popular standards of the 50s. Unfortunately time has not treated the material well and, while played and sung well (Vaughan does have a great singing voice!), it doesn't wow me in any particular way.
7/10.
Pretty cool album. I assumed this would be a bit more by-the-numbers alt. rock but the band get's pretty creative with the songwriting. Matt Bellamy's got some killer riffs, but his voice still needs to grow on me a bit. Chris Wolstenholme is easily one of the best bass guitarists of 2000s alt. rock.
I now can see why during a period where I was obsessed with Dream Theater, their song "Panic Attack" was derided as a Muse ripoff.
8.5/10.
Really creative sampling here with all of the 70s rock tracks used, and just off this album I can see why 808 beats are a backbone of hip-hop for a reason.
8.5/10.
The first few tracks are pretty good, but the rest doesn't impress. I love The Jam, but I struggle to see what makes a Paul Weller solo album important enough for this list besides charting at #2 on release.
6/10.
Nice choice of an album to show off probably *the* musician who helped popularize the Hammond/electric organ in the late 50s and 60s. Real nice blend of soul and jazz music, and full of tasty licks and smooth solos.
8.5/10
Not my thing, but still a neat peak into pop music coming out of Northern England in the 80s. I hope their other 2 albums are worth the spots they have in this book/list though, because this album alone hasnt really sold me on them.
6.5/10.
A bit too old for my musical tastes, but I'll be damned if Sinatra's voice isn't legendary for a reason.
7/10.
Exactly what it says on the tin, just nonstop songs about murder. The songwriting likes to flip-flop alot from really dour and depressing to being more tongue in cheek, which is good because god damn I don't think I could make it through a whole album of songs like "Kindness of Strangers" without just getting really depressed. I do wish "O'Malley's Bar" was trimmed down a little, the 14-minute runtime had me just wanting the song to end by the end.
If nothing else I'm glad I got to hear "The Ballad Of Robert Moore & Betty Coltrane", it rules.
8/10.
The slower, more crooning songs kind of bounced off me during my first listen, but the more straightforward blues rock numbers made a good enough impression I can see myself warming up more to those slower songs if in the right mood. Really love the piano and electric organ whenever present. I just hope the whopping 4 other albums by Waits on this list don't disappoint.
8/10.
Starts off a bit slow but really started popping off by the end. Some of the lyrics can be hit-or-miss for me, but the production is amazing enough to carry those weaker verses, real big fan of the jazz-heavy selection of samples used. I'm very, very glad that a song titled "The Infamous Date Rape" did not turn out to be as bad as I would've expected by the name alone.
8.5/10.
Never listened to any sort of popular music from Brazil before, and this was a really good introduction. The reverb heavy production gives even the barebones acoustic guitar tracks an almost, for lack of better words, proto-dream pop quality at times. I think another reviewer compared it to Melody's Echo Chamber? And yeah I can see the comparison.
I just wish I knew a lick of Brazillian Portugeuse, because that language barrier is the one thing keeping me from fully enjoying the album. But even without knowing the language, the vocal melodies are superb throughout.
8.5/10.
An extremely avant-garde album that I thought would repel me on first listen, but it's got a certain charm about it I can't shake even if the album isn't gonna make me an instantly devout fan anytime soon. I've got a softspot for bands that refuse to set up shop around one specific sound, and The Residents definitely fit that bill. This feels like the missing link I never knew about between 60s experimental acts like Zappa or Cpt. Beefheart and 90s alternative rock bands like Ween or Primus.
If I gotta pick standout material, I was charmed in particular by the weird soul jazz homage of "Booker Tease" and the weird bell instrument arrangements of "Disaster". Constantinople is also a fun single/album opener, being the only song remotely close to being considered "conventional".
7/10.
I'm a little picky when it comes to what I want out of a 70s glam rock band; usually I just gravitate towards glam-influenced power pop that popped up later in the decade. Regardless, this is still a neat little time capsule to show off one of the genre's pioneering acts as they transitioned from folksy psychedelia to flashy hard rock. Get It On is a classic rock staple for a reason, its far and away the best song here.
7/10.
I don't know who was ultimately responsible for most of the production duties here between Lennon, Ono and Spector, but it just falls flat. "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama", the worst offender, sounds like it was recorded in a tin can, and not in any creative or endearing way.
Phil Spector already makes my skin crawl knowing all the horrible shit he got up to in his private life, but if this is the product you'd get by letting him in your studio post-1960s (his limelight era), I'm not impressed. Lennon's songwriting is the only thing keeping this from being a total flop because there is some decent material underneath everything that would make a decent 7/10 album with a better producer.
The title track is a funny staple of classic rock, also funny that he wrote an entire track getting mad at Paul McCartney. You know the arguments those two had would've been funny as fuck to listen in on back in the day.
4, maybe a 5/10.
I can never truly hate this kind of 90s britpop. However, even with really good instrumental songwriting and production, the lyrics needed another draft or two at times.
I'm not on the UK side of the pond, but I can see why this was probably a milestone album over there for a country slowly starting to move away from Oasis and Blur dominating the pop rock charts nonstop, but still craving that same sound (the Oasis influence in particular is all over this one).
6.5, maybe a 7/10.
