1001 Albums Summary

Is this secretly a soul album? The piano crisply bounces like it's being played by a church organist (well, maybe a Unitarian church) who finally gets to let loose on the piano. Bowie sings like he's trying to make sure his neighbors on Mars hear him. He's smooth and raspy simultaneously, sometimes rambling like a preacher who just HAS to get this sermon out before they keel over. The electric guitar sounds like it was possessed by a higher power, with the solos searing atop the rest of the instrumentation (reminds me a lot of guitar solos in Usher songs). I'm certainly familiar with David Bowie, and have heard this album before, but I've never really sat down and LISTENED to it. There's not a ton of classic rock albums from the early 70s that I'm super into, but with this certainly having a lot of unorthodox influences and the expansive vision of Bowie as he wrote and recorded, maybe that's part of the reason that I am finding myself enjoying this more than I expected. I don't know how "revolutionary" it sounds as I listen 54 years after it's release, but it still sounds fresh and interesting. It sounds lively and important. It just sounds GOOD.

I love the first song. This production is great. Everything sounds really clean and crisp, each instrument shining through. It has a really cool new wave feel to it that I enjoy... and then, the next song. Some bullshit fake ska/sea shanty shit, but this third track is growing on me as it keeps playing. As I continue on, I can hear some connections between this and some of the emo/gothy bands that came a decade or two later. Big AFI vibes on tracks like "Never Had No One Ever". That vibe carries over onto "Bigmouth Strikes Again", which along with the title track sound like really interesting U2 b-sides. This album came out a little later than I expected, and contextualizing it as a 1986 album, the germs of college rock being planted here are evident and welcome. I expected Morrissey's vocals to wear on me eventually, but they never did. They really fit the sound. I don't know how often I'm going to listen to this in the future, and the second + third song were a real letdown after that killer opener, but all-in-all, I enjoyed this more than I expected.

Alright, I have definitely heard this album but I don't remember anything about the songs (minus the ubiquitous "One"). I know it's infamous for having very little bass in the mix, and it's the first album with Newsted on bass after Cliff Burton died. In my head, the album's not much of a departure, if at all, from what came before it. I don't know, maybe it's the mood that I'm in, but I'm just not really feeling it. I'm not a huge metal guy, so maybe that factors in. I can hear the riffs, and I'm bobbing my head to them. It definitely grooves. Songwriting-wise, it doesn't feel like they've missed a beat here (and I honestly probably like it more than Master of Puppets). I think it's mostly the production. It's like ALL treble, no low-end at all. Is there a remaster of this that improves on it? Is this pretty common for thrash? It's honestly just really hard to listen to. I think I would like it more if it sounded better. Probably could have just been eight tracks as well, this thing is over an hour. Well, at least I always have "One".

What can you even say about this album that hasn't been said before? It's damn near perfect. Every note, every flourish, everything is immaculately placed. Even a goofy-ass song like "The Girl Is Mine" works because Jacko and crew took it so seriously. This is genuine art. I never get tired of listening to it.

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this. I'm not a big classic rock guy in general, and what with having heard a bunch of these songs so many times over the years on classic rock radio, I wasn't expecting to really get into this album. Boy, was I wrong! This truly took me on a journey. The production was really unique, in that it didn't feel like a modern recording in any way, and yet it still felt relevant and important. Definitely not dated at all. The songwriting was really good, and even the songs I've heard a million times just made more sense with their place in the tracklisting. I wish I could have listened with the lyrics to get the sense of the full story, but I was working and that just wasn't an option. I really enjoyed this. A pleasant surprise.

Okay, so as it turns out, as I was getting ready to listen to this, I realized I was confusing them with The War And Treaty this entire time. I knew this was a band of white guys and not a Black duo, but I was expecting a more folk-y sound. Imagine my surprise when "Under The Pressure" kicked in! This is really cool. I can hear a little Springsteen in the vocals, and a little Death Cab-via-Jimmy Eat World in the music. Not listening the closest to the lyrics, but they give off a really isolated and lonely vibe. Is this one of those bands that has kind of a different sound every album? Not sure on that one, but they feel like they'd have the ability to do so if they desired. A little bit of 80s too, as "Disappearing" has a big "Running Up That HIll" vibe to it. Yeah, I was straight up vibing to this. This felt really good, really haunting and I can see this, after a few more listens, just crawling into my guts and refusing to leave. I'm normally not a fan of a lot of multiple 7+ minute songs on one album (I definitely said "ugh" out loud when I first saw this album was an hour), but the time flew by. This is great.

Okay, so there are some interesting grooves on this album, but as a whole this album is kind of boring. I was kind of excited as it started - "Chic Cheer" is a fun opener and it was cool to hear the source of the sample of this Mary J. Blige song from my high school days. "Le Freak" is obviously a classic but it goes on for too long (although I suspect this is partly in order to help get more play in the discos back in the day). It just kind of gets boring after that. A lot of these songs are long but to no end, there are no dynamic changes or big musical mix-ups in them... they just sort of keep going and going. "At Last I Am Free" is one of the most boring songs I've heard in a long time, it just does NOTHING. I appreciate Nile Rodgers and certainly respect the career he's built and the influence he's had on so many songs and musicians, but this album just doesn't do it for me at the end of the day. Honestly, if all of these songs were no more than 4:30 in length, I probably would have rated it a little higher. I think the only tracks I would listen to again are "Chic Cheer", "Sometimes You Win", and "(Funny) Bone".

Quick review before bed: This was a very enjoyable listen. Good production, good songwriting. Didn't get to pay close attention to the lyrics, but both the words and the music felt upbeat and melancholy simultaneously, which is something that I LOVE in music. Will absolutely be listening to this again. I knew the name and the genre, but never the music, and now Joe Ely has a new fan.

This was fine. I've heard some Hole songs before (including the singles from this album) but never a full album before. I think I had the impression they were more grungy, and there were some songs on here where I could feel that influences in the composition of the tunes. Production-wise, though, it felt very crisp and shiny. Not a bad thing, but I imagine this was an album where they decided to "level up" in some way, or take the next step in their progression as a band. I wish Courtney's singing voice was like %15 better. When she's belting lyrics out, she sounds great, but there are a lot of times where she just sounds... bored of this project. I guess a lot of grunge singers probably did too, and I'm trying to remember that it's easy to shit on Love and trying to be fair in my analysis. I generally like her, but it just didn't hit consistently for me here. It sounded nice, and I enjoyed it alright, but I probably won't listen to it again. I'd check out the earlier albums, though.

This was a good listen. Although I appreciate jazz music, I'm rarely in the mood to listen to it, unless it's something like this. I like the inclusion of R&B and funk and disco elements... a few of these tracks had almost a Rick James feel to it, and damn am I just a sucker for this. I did find my mind wandering a bit after listening to this, but I'd happily put it on again.

Truly just a beautiful, brilliant album. Staying punk while simultaneously expanding the meaning and influence of the word, this is an album that sounds fresh with every listen, and holds something new to discover at every turn. I will say I would probably give it 4.5 stars if I could - I *do* think it runs a little long at 19 tracks - but given the significance and importance it played in the rise of my favorite genre of music, I'm happy to bump it up to 5.

What did I know about this album/artist before I listened? I know these dudes were huge in the hard rock/heavy metal scene of the late ‘80s. I’ve heard the singles a bunch and know about their personalities. I’m presuming that, as a whole, it’s not going to stray very far from what I’ve heard so far - I assume that the singles are very good indicators of what the album sounds like as a whole. What are my first impressions? “Welcome to the Jungle” is a great opening track. That guitar delay gets your attention and forces you to tune in, and by the time you know it, the entire band is playing and I imagine this sets the tone for the album. It feels both gritty AND over the top. What genre(s) come to mind as I listen? Are there any specific artists that are evoked? Hard rock, absolutely. There are parts of this that don’t sound very far apart from glam metal (“Nighttrain”), which I feel like would be something GNR would be mad about being associated with (if they even had an opinion about that kind of thing). “Paradise City” is like basically just Aerosmith. I never noticed that before. I would have slotted them to be a little more “metal” overall, but these riffs are filled with blues-based boogie that you don’t generally hear in metal. “Think About You” screams 80s new wave in the chorus. Is the production appropriate for the sound/era? I like the production. It sounds a little dirtier than a lot of the metal that was on the radio at the time, but it also fits alongside it very well. The clean guitar that kept popping up in the second half of the album was nice. A clean guitar playing a lick over distorted rhythm guitar is a sound that always sticks out to me, and I wasn’t expecting in that “Think About You” chorus, but it mixed the sound up in a way when the album really needed it. None of these songs needed to be 6+ minutes, let alone three of them. What did the lyrics evoke? What did the singer sound like? Were the lyrics more simple or clever, direct or vague? Axl has more swagger in his voice than I think I gave him credit for. He sounds build for radio rock, but also has personality and attitude in his vocals. That swagger allows him to get away with some grace notes in a few songs that clearly clash with the chords, but aesthetically work. The lyrics seem pretty straightforward, ruminations from a derelict who thinks he’s on top of the world now that he’s moved to LA. Let it be known that these dudes always said what was on their mind, consequences be damned (let’s not talk about “One in a Million” from the following album). What is your favorite track/why? Least favorite/why? Most - “Nighttrain”, “Paradise City” Least - “My Michelle”, “Anything Goes” What sort of situation/vibe would you find yourself playing this album in? Playability factor? I’d probably listen to this again, but to be honest, I don’t know when. Maybe if I need something at work that’ll keep me moving. Final summary? I think this is the kind of album that I like and appreciate more than I would ever specifically listen to. I enjoyed jamming to these singles again, and some of the deep cuts were fun, but I don’t really see myself returning to this album very often, if at all. I wonder if hearing a good chunk of this album on the radio for decades makes the rest of it feel anticlimactic in a way? Like, there were few surprises coming into this. It does the job it’s supposed to do. I’m sure this was a game-changer back in ‘87, but it’s hard to hear that now.

Well, this was the first album that made me go look up the criteria for how the albums for this project were selected. It's interesting to see that this got a ton of critical acclaim. This is fucking BORING. This is the kind of thing I put on when I'm reading and want something that is barely sound, just to have a little noise meandering in the background. While I admit that my knowledge of DJ work is not the deepest, this doesn't seem any more remarkable than any of the laid-back electronic stuff that had come out the decade prior. I just don't get it. I'd give it a 1.5 if I could, but since I can't, a 1.0 it is.

Quick review since I'm at work: this is very good. Good folk-inspired pop while also pulling from psychedelic rock, prog, and even a little proto-David Byrne in the vocals. Many songs went in different directions than I was expecting, and the vocals were nice and the lyrics were interesting. Will definitely listen to this again. Favorite tracks were "Over The Hill" and "I'd Rather Be The Devil (Devil Got My Woman)".

I've certainly known a bunch of Elton John singles over the years, but this is the first full album of his I've listened to. I enjoyed it well enough! Some good musical diversity, and a lot of the lyrics were more varied in topic and tone than I expected. His voice is great. This album cover is fucking awful.

Hole - Live Through This What did I know about this album/artist before I listened? I know Courtney Love. I know this was her band that maybe she had when she met Kurt? I know they were associated with grunge as well. I’ve heard the singles from numerous albums but never a full album. I know that her live performances (at least in the most recent decades) have been not the greatest, but she sounds fine on all of the singles I’ve heard. I’m wondering if that will hold up over a full album, and I wonder if there is any diversity in sound (the songs from Celebrity Skin I know feel more “alternative” than “grunge”). What are my first impressions? I’ve heard this first song “Violet”, so it wasn’t a surprise, but it makes sense that it’d be the opener based on what I know about the band. Courtney sounds angry. The music sound straight out of the 90s and of the time (complimentary). What genre(s) come to mind as I listen? Are there any specific artists that are evoked? I mean… grunge. 90s alternative. Kurt Cobain/Nirvana. Did Hole have a different sound or even exist before the two of them met? I don’t really know the timeline, but as intertwined as their two names are (fairly or not), I wonder if there was an influence on either’s work from the other. Is the production appropriate for the sound/era? I mean, I think it sounds exactly like the era that it came out of. There’s a good balance of soft/loud dynamics, with interesting chord choices, but all still based in verse-chorus composition. I would personally not have so many song parts where the tempo changes or the music drops into a completely different feel (that bridge part of “She Walks Over Me” is a stain on an otherwise excellent song), but I get that was of the time and is a personal preference gripe. What did the lyrics evoke? What did the singer sound like? Were the lyrics more simple or clever, direct or vague? The lyrics are interesting. They feel direct - it seemed easy to read each set of lyrics and know what Love was singing about - but also like there are a ton of parts missing from the story. Like, fragmented thoughts or phrases that are stapled together in some order to tell the story. That feels very 90s, but not in a derogatory way at all. Courtney’s voice is ragged-but-melodic. I don’t know what her childhood was like (I guess I could make a guess given some of these lyrics), but she sounds both anxious AND world-weary from her past. It makes for an interesting combination. What is your favorite track/why? “She Walks Over Me” - I love the energy on this one. Good melody, interesting/fucked-up lyrics, great vocal performance. Just a well-written song. Least favorite/why? “Doll Parts” - It’s just kind of boring. I don’t find the melody very interesting, and the music plods along without much variation or spice. What sort of situation/vibe would you find yourself playing this album in? Playability factor? This is something I could see myself just putting on to listen to as I do my bullshit at home. 90s stuff is basically ambient background music in my brain, so this fits right in. Final summary? Love her or hate her, Courtney Love makes herself known when she’s around, and this album is no exception. I can’t say this is the most original album from the time, but I don’t know who else could have written and performed this. She feels every word she’s singing and that passion and truth shines in the performance. I don’t know how often I would actually listen to this (grunge is not something I regularly reach for), but I won’t be mad as these songs slowly creep into my regular algorithms. I can imagine why Hole isn’t the first band people bring up when talking about this era, but this belongs. Recommended tracks: “Violet”/”Plump”/”She Walks Over Me”

What did I know about this album/artist before I listened? Okay, I know that they are an indie rock band, maybe from Canada? I’ve heard exactly one song from - “Keep The Car Running” - which I don’t believe is on this album (*checks* it is not). They won Album Of The Year at the Grammys in the early 2010s for the album The Suburbs. I bought cheap tickets to see them at some point in the last ten years that I ended up selling to Timmy (the guy who recommended this album!). Like, I know who they are and some of their significance, but I have not knowingly heard anything from this album. What are my first impressions? First song was okay. I like the music and the way that the sonic elements were being introduced bit by bit. It all built to a satisfying climax and an extended outro, which when done right, I am a sucker for that kind of thing. I liked the lyrics enough, I imagine this is going to be an album full of aching and loss based on the tone that has been set (the thing IS called Funeral, after all). I didn’t mind Win Butler’s vocals, but I’m interested to see if I get tired of him by the end of this album. He has a warbling, wandering quality to his voice that isn’t awful, but I don’t know that I’m going to be into it after 50 minutes. What genre(s) come to mind as I listen? Are there any specific artists that are evoked? "Une année sans lumière" had a little bit of 90s Springsteen popping in (appropriate, given I know he was a stated influence among bands like this and the Killers as the 2000s went on), and I heard a little Jimmy Eat World on this and “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”. Is the production appropriate for the sound/era? I mean… I don’t know that you could get more early 2000s indie here if you tried. I guess I knew that this was a larger-sized rock band and had at least one multi-instrumentalist playing some non-standard rock instruments, but it was still a surprise to hear the accordion and the strings when they came up. Listening to this helps contextualize a lot of the bands I was seeing/playing with in the mid-2000s Kalamazoo DIY scene, where this was really rampant (and perhaps even more experimental/indie?) and the vibe felt really pompous/highfalutin’. What did the lyrics evoke? What did the singer sound like? Were the lyrics more simple or clever, direct or vague? The lyrics are my favorite part of the record. The first half of the album tells a story of a town hit with a power outage in the middle of winter, and I can see where my first impression came through here. Definitely more of a set of lyrics devoted to aching than loss, necessarily. The second half of the record is just… other songs, which is fine (I don’t necessarily think a conceptual suite of songs has to encompass the entire album), but it hits different after the telling of a saga of songs. I was concerned about what to expect vocally as the album went on, but I’m finding myself warming to Butler’s voice. It’s also nice that he’s not the only vocalist here, as Régine Chassagne has a lovely voice and I wish she’d take lead on more songs. What is your favorite track/why? “Neighborhood #2 (Laika)” - The verse sounds like an indie-rock version of a punk rock call-and-response-type song, and it segues nicely into a chorus with a different vocal feel. The two seem like they should clash, but they work really well. Least favorite/why? “Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)” - I liked the lyrics to this, but it with most of these songs pushing five minutes, this one felt too long and too drab. Not enough variety in the music and not enough momentum to really warrant the length. “Crown of Love” - Look, I’m just gonna say it, 6/8 is not my favorite time signature, so if you’re gonna write a song with that signature, it’s gotta HIT. This was a boring, meandering dirge, and the abrupt switch into an upbeat 4/4 for the last minute felt more jarring than a heightening of emotion. What sort of situation/vibe would you find yourself playing this album in? Playability factor? I suppose I could see myself putting this on if I was in an introspective mood in the middle of the night. (maybe I’d be lucky enough to fall asleep if it was late enough) Final summary? I was really interested to listen to this, and as it turns out, I had heard a few of these songs already. (I swear, I always assumed “Wake Up” was a Polyphonic Spree song!) As the album went on, though, my mind was wandering and I was less engrossed in this listen. The first half was neat in concept, if not execution, and I was hoping for a satisfying build as the album continued into the second half, but it seemed like it lost steam after that. Interestingly, that’s how I felt about a lot of these songs as a whole: these tunes kept seemingly building to something, but then couldn’t deliver in the end (most of these songs were too long anyway). I wonder if the album had been sequenced differently, if that would have made a different. Switch side A to side B, and vice versa, and maybe reorder the non-suite tracks, and then at least it would have felt like there was a cool thematic climax at the end of the record. I dunno, I’m probably not gonna seek this one out for a second listen, but I’d politely ignore it if someone else played it.

Okay… okay! This had way more layers and sounds than I was expecting. Based on the singles from this album, I figured it was going to be more of a straightforward rock album than what I ended up hearing. A lot of different instrumentation, time signature play, and sounds that really felt like they were taking me to another place. Chris’s vocals are great on here. Feels a little long, but most albums from the 90s feel long to me. I probably would have cut a few tracks from the end, but this is really good and I’d be happy to listen to it again.

This is really good "sitting on the porch on a Sunday afternoon" music, which is to say I like it but there's an exact mood I need to be in and I'm not gonna want to listen to it at any other time. I appreciate who Johnny was and what he stood for, and I like enough, but I'm just never jonesin' to put on a record of his. Prisoners do deserve some levity and a lifeline to the outside world, and I'm glad he did this.

Damn, this one was a bummer to listen to. First half had a bunch of songs that musically didn't match, as well as two wildly misogynistic tunes ("Stupid Girl" and "Under My Thumb"). Second half was a little better, but then it ended on "Going Home", an eleven-minute track that actually went nowhere. No interesting build or dynamics, just meandering around the structure of a song. Disappointing.

This was my second album after picking this project back up after a month, and upon listening, I regretted starting again haha. Not a song or melody on this album, just sounds and cacophony (derogatory). And I thought the Sex Pistols were bad!!

This was an enjoyable listen. I tuned in while working on some menus for work, and I found the chill, mostly-instrumental beats interesting enough that there were parts to pick out, but not so stand-out that they were disruptive to my work. What was this made for back in the day? It's not dance music made for the club. Was it just for chill vibes? Music to do drugs to, probably? My electronic music knowledge is lacking, but this was good and will enter the rotation of lo-fi beats/the Pure Moods comp/the rest when I need some work/study background music.

I knew the Bee Gees sounded different than the disco-era tunes most of us know them for, but I didn't think they were a country/folk-adjacent group who made concept albums about shipwrecks. I learned this album itself was an anomaly, was poorly reviewed upon first release, and started a downpoint in their career that didn't turn around until Saturday Night Fever. Very interesting! I didn't hate this - I really liked "Marley Purt Drive" and a few others - but ultimately this didn't really hold my interest through to the end. I could see myself bumping it up to three stars if I gave it a few more listens, but alas, so much music and so little time.

Okay, I was definitely put off from the start when I saw the total running time of this album, with over 50% of the songs longer than five minutes in length. That’s a tough sell for your boy! Interestingly, though, I found my mind wandering a little more in the first half of the record (the half with the shorter songs) and I was pulled back in after hitting all the long songs in the second half. They do a good job of keeping everything pretty simple, but making the pieces interesting with this crisp production where you can hear all of the different pieces layered wonderfully. It feels like none of the long songs really build to a crescendo, which normally I can’t stand, but they slowly burn and stay consistent until their eerie vibe pulls you into the abyss. It’s fair to say that I like this more than an hour ago when I hit play. I may not quite agree with Kyle Broflovski on this album, but it was a nice listen and worth my time.

This album was a blast! I've never actually heard a Queen album front to back before, and this was as theatric as I expected (both from the title of the album and my knowledge of Queen), but was way more silly and fun than I anticipated. The too-long a capella section in "The Prophet's Song" as well as "Love of My Life" kept this from getting a five star rating, but damn this was a great listen. Will be listening to this one again, and can't wait for more Queen!

This definitely sounded different than I expected, and came out a little earlier. I can hear the glam influence of the Ziggy Stardust years, but I wasn’t anticipating hearing some R&B and gospel mixed in as well. There were a lot of parts that reminded me of some of the art-rock-soul that infiltrated Peter Gabriel’s debut solo album, so much so that I had to see if Bob Ezrin produced this album first before ol’ PG (note: Bob Ezrin is not involved in this album). I think the first half had more life than the second half, as I found the second half to drag a bit before we reached “Fame” (and tell me this song wasn’t a precursor to PG’s “Big Time” eleven years later). I did enjoy this, but I was ready for it to be done by the time it ended. Would listen again though.

FKA twigs has a wonderful voice, and it's clear that she cares about what she's writing and singing, but I just did not get into this at all. The music was a little too cold and robotic for what I like in R&B - growing up in Michigan, Motown music is in my veins and I always want my R&B to retain some element of that groove and warmth/humanity I found in those old records. The melodies almost seem non-existent? There were a few tracks that I felt had okay elements to them, but there was no one song that I liked as a whole. Giving this one two stars because I think there's merit to this and I don't find it devoid of talent, but I just can't see myself ever listening to it again.

This artist was completely unknown to me, and I liked what I heard! There was a warmth in this R&B that reminded me of the old Motown records, where the heart would shine through and the music was tight and precise but not stiff. Guy's got a nice voice. I did kind of zone out near the end, and I wish the album was a few tracks shorter, but this was a nice surprise. I'd give it a 3.5 if I could, but alas.

I'm a fan of The Police (THE BAND ONLY), and this is an album I own and have heard many many times. I was ready to give it a 4 without listening to it when I decided to give it another spin, in the spirit of the project. I do still like it, but I'd honestly bump it down to a 3.5 if I could. The front half of the record is more disjointed than I remember. "Mother" is still one of the dumbest songs I've ever heard in my life. The album picks up from "Miss Gradenko" and doesn't relent after that. The singles still sound great and lively after all these years. I would have maybe put "Murder By Numbers" in the middle of the album, as it's not the strongest closer, but a good song nonetheless. I'm gonna stick with the rating I was ready to give it from the get-go, but I do probably think I prefer them when they were a little hungrier and scrappier earlier in their career.

Does not having heard a White Stripes album before now make me a bad Michigander? Not sure, but with Jack White being a saint around these parts, it was about time I gave an album a shot. This was fine, I guess. I think I would have preferred to listen to something that was more garage-y like their earlier stuff, because I was not expecting the level of production that this album brought. They do a good job of creating a full sound with just the two of them, just wasn't what I wanted to hear from them. Final note: I am firmly on the side of Meg White being a great drummer. You don't need to be a virtuoso to be impactful and play with feeling, and damn I felt every fucking hit she made on that kit.

A beautiful album with pretty vocals and a lot of cool instrumentation. Unfortunately, at 20+ tracks and a 73 minute run time, it suffocates under its own ambitious goals. It's just too much for a person to take in one sitting. But hey, as a Michigander, I'm just glad he never made it to recording Ohio.

Cut the number of tracks in half and then flesh out the songs. Sorry, Gen X, this sucks. Production is good and that's about it.

Kanye West is a bigot and an asshole. Was he always like this? I don't know. What I can tell you is that I bought The College Dropout in one of its first weeks way back in 2004 and, listening to it today, it is still every bit as wonderful as it was then. Innovative-yet-warm-and-inviting beats, lyrics that are simultaneously thought-provoking AND laugh-out-loud hilarious, created by a man full of swagger but at this point still possessed the ability to be humble. I put this on expecting the 73-minute track time to wear on me as the album went on, but no, this is a perfect listen from start to finish. I miss this Kanye.

Look, I know this is good, but I don't know enough about jazz to know how to talk about it. Read a different review. I liked it though!

These are beautiful songs, all performed impeccably and with the right amount of heart AND drama that gives this albums the accolades it rightfully deserves. The alternating high/low dynamics in "The Chain" unknowingly made a blueprint for decades of emo bands to come, and Christine McVie is truly a shining star on this record. So... why 4 stars? Three lead vocalists leads to too many disparate sounds on the record. It feel less like an incredible album by one band and more like a great compilation by several. The lyrical throughline is there for me, but sonically it just is slightly off enough to ding it slightly for me. Probably truly a 4.5 for me, but I have to work with the numbers I have here.

This is good porch-sitting, sunny day music. Al has a wonderful voice, but he does a little too much of what Pandora Music would describe as "excessive vamping".

This was alright at best. I wish the production was more early 80s than late 80s, because the vibe of the music composition was cool but got lost in that late 80s style of trying to make everything sound echo-y and lush and expansive... when the songs were just regular songs that didn't need all that. Vocalist had a cool voice but then would do these fast runs that reminded me of an English Anthony Kiedas (derogatory). Overall, some cool things on this album that unfortunately just never came together as a unit.

I was holding my breath putting this on after I saw that album length, but this held my interest more than I was expecting. Pretty decent. Lauryn's voice is really fun to listening to when she's rapping, she's also a good singer but some of these melodies just kind of wandered around with no real destination. The skits didn't really work for me, they felt added on to try to tie everything together when really, the songs were good enough that they could've just stood on their own. I enjoyed it more than this shit-talking review I'm currently writing would imply.

This was okay. This is like something I would put on to just blend into the background at a chill party, and not anything I would go out of my way to listen to. I just didn't understand why it was included on this list, as it didn't seem to be special or especially notable based on my research or its overarching influence. I did think "Ingoo Pow-Wow" was a cool merging of sounds and styles.

This is really good. I don't know what I can say about these beautiful harmonies and interesting arrangements that hasn't been said before about these guys, but this is a great and enjoyable listen. It was a little more rockin' overall than I was expecting! I knew "Our House" by name coming into this, but a few of the other songs were mainstays growing up with my parents' record collection that I couldn't really place until now. Really good, will absolutely listen again and would most likely buy the record were I to come upon it in the wild.

I appreciate the obvious talent within the group, and I liked the MC's voice and flow (kind of reminded me of Chali 2na), but ultimately I didn't care for these songs and won't listen to this again. I get why people like them, though.

I really enjoyed this. Folk music via pop/rock, and with some of the strings that permeated 70s country. McLean has a lovely voice, and while I didn't pay close attention to the lyrics, he felt very sincere and honest in what he was singing. Had the album been more full-band in its arrangements (about half was solely guitar/vocals), I may have bumped it up in its rating. Very happy to have heard this. Now if I could just get these Star Wars lyrics out of my head...

Lenny Kravitz has always seemed like a decent dude, and I don't mind that he's still doing his thing, but there is nothing about this album that I liked or want to experience again. It ain't the 70s anymore, bro.

Joan Armatrading is a name that I have seen before, but had no context as to her sound or story. I assumed by looking at the cover/release date that it would be some sort of singer/songwriter-type project, but I was not prepared for how much I loves listening to this. This is an album of contradictions, with music that is both super tight AND free-wheeling and carefree, with Joan's vocals being both gentle AND demanding your attention simultaneously. There are a ton of production tricks I liked with this, both the sound of the album and also mixing the vocals slightly lower at times, in order to make it feel like Joan is fighting for her life and demanding your attention. I was hooked within the first ten seconds. Absolutely wonderful.

This is fine, and the dude has a nice voice, but truth be told I liked the instrumentals the best.

A few upbeat moments ("Moving" was a highlight), but overall I wasn't into this. This is well-done English alternative rock, but maybe I just have an attraction toward the urgency of stuff from America, and there was no urgency on this album whatsoever.

This was a nice listen. Being only familiar in passing with the Byrds, this felt a little more country as opposed to folk, which is what I associate that band more with (maybe incorrectly?). The storytelling was nice, Gene has a nice voice, and it wasn't too long. Good album.

Indie rock is not always something I'm into. Despite being a great age and demographic for its meteoric rise and popularity, there's a lot of it that just feels pretentious and kind of "better than" your Average Joe. Fleet Foxes is a name I've heard for a while but I expected them to just be more of the same indie rock. Instead, I was greeted with really lovely-sounding, folk-inspired indie pop with a rich vocal chorus on like every track. This is something I'm into, there's definitely a vibe of standoffishness but there's a larger theme of playing simple music around a campfire or in a living room that translates well to the production of this album. I kind of zoned out in the middle of the album, but in my defense I got sucked into a really good crossword. Recommended (both this album and crosswords).

I dunno, guys, I think I just don't like era of Brit rock. There were a few points where this surprisingly rocked out, which was cool, but overall the vibes were just too aloof and the songs went on too long.

This is fun to listen to - would be really good background music at a party - and MC Solaar clearly has a great flow, but it's just hard to really get into an album when you don't understand the lyrics.

I couldn't finish it. I really tried, even when the first song made me thing this just wouldn't be something I enjoyed. The lyrics are too whimsical and day nothing at all. The music and song structure are simply throw whatever sounds woodsy-mystical at the recording booth and see what sticks. Straight dogshit music.

The songs were okay. The noise tracks were garbage and unnecessary. It just kind of faded unnoticed into the background, which is rarely a good thing for an album like this, where immediacy is key.

While I have seen parts of the epic "2112" piece live, I believe this is the first time I'd heard it in its entirety. I liked most of it, and I think the storytelling (albeit so much like Anthem that maybe Neil Peart owed more than "insipration" to Ayn Rand) is the best part of it. The second half of the album showed them starting to show off in ways that would hint as to what was to come, but all-in-all this is still pretty in line with what rock sounded like at the time. I definitely prefer what they were doing in the 80s to this, but it's cool to listen to a band teetering on the precipice of the Rush we all know.

This was good. There were a lot of neat hills and valleys in the dynamics of the songs. I actually liked that the lyrics were in this band's made-up language, it allowed me to hear the vocal line as another instrument and not be distracted by it. Not something I would put on as like an emotional release or in my day-to-day, but this is good background reading music.

Something is keeping me from really getting full-on into Public Enemy, and to be honest, I'm not sure what it is. I like their message and the lyrics. I like the beats and how they don't relent (maybe that's part of it? Maybe I need a little bit of dynamics?). I like Chuck D's flow, Flava Flav's a little less but I'm still okay with it. Maybe it's just too much, too big all of the time. Of course, what with their mission and the evergreen garbage condition of the United States, I really can't blame them for being so upfront and demanding attention.

I'm not much of a psychedelia fan, but this was more enjoyable than I was expecting. With this being the first Zombies album I've heard, I wonder if this was the album where they attempted to rein it in a bit and try to make more of a run for pop. The song structures and melodies reminded me a lot of the first Fountains of Wayne album, and if the Zombies have more psych reminiscent of just good pop/rock songwriting, I'd be down to check that out. I'd honestly give this a 3.5, but I'll bump it up for mostly positive feelings about this album.

It's been a long time since I've listened to this album (I own it on vinyl somewhere), and the singles are absolute bangers, so I was pumped to spin this. Listening back, it's... fine? It's really short - eight full songs and one intro, the entire thing barely clocking at over half an hour - and it leaves you wanting more in a negative way. I felt like I was getting invested and then... plop, over, finito. I mean, the playing is great, David Lee Roth is hootin' and hollerin' like only he can, but it feels really incomplete. I dunno, it's good but I left feeling disappointed.

This is more upbeat than I was expecting from Nick Drake, a name I have known for ages but never got around to checking out until now. Very pretty and enticing musical arrangements, with expressive haunting vocals that almost foreshadow his early death through its timbre. 30% instrumental tracks is probably too many instrumental tracks for a ten song album, even though they were pretty. Very good listen.

I didn't enjoy this very much. I admit I came in with a chip on my shoulder, as this band was an archetype for the regional stuff that was considerably more popular than what I was playing in the mid 2000s (SKATE PUNK WILL NEVER DIE!!!), but I wanted to come in with an open mind. I just felt like right off the bat, the songs all sounded like lesser versions of better bands - I heard some particular Human League + Talking Heads influence, which sounds great, but also those two bands did it so good in the first place, why try to chase that again? A few tracks I recognized as friends' MySpace profile songs. A lot of the songs could've been trimmed down. I dunno, this wasn't a disaster but I hope I never have to listen to it again.

One of the old managers at the "hip" restaurant I used to work at, he would put on Jamiroquai for the background soundtrack whenever he was stuck on what to listen to. This band gives me PTSD from those days, but that's not exactly fair to the band to judge them on that. I did find the singer's vocals to be more impressive than I could really make out - very Stevie Wonder at times, which was a pleasant surprise - and I did like that some of the lyrics were socially minded, something I couldn't make out in the kitchen. That said, this kind of long-jam dance music just isn't really my thing, but I'll give 'em props for what they're doing.

It's just a very very pretty album.

This is a band whose name I've heard a million times, and (maybe thanks to the "Rocks") I did expect them to be heavier than they were. I really enjoyed this, though. There was definitely some 80s metal in here, but I heard some influences of new wave, glam, power pop... they can really do it all. I kind of wish they had picked one lane and not gone for everything, but really they pulled it all off. I'd happily listen to this again. What a fun album. Was kind of leaning toward four stars but I think I talked myself into a better rating as I typed this haha. Nice work, Hanoi Rocks!

A good album from a voice and songwriter who happens to get a little same-y in his composition after a while.

A good debut from a dude who's got his formula already realized, but he just needs to fine-tune it a little bit to get the stone cold classic albums that come later.

I was hoping to rate this one a little higher. Obviously Stevie is a genius, and we are both from Michigan and he is still held in well-deserved high regard here. I feel like there's a better album here if it was resequenced. The front half felt VERY heavy with ballads and quieter songs, and it did pick up in the second half (which features my all-time favorite Stevie song, "You Haven't Done Nothin'"), but it felt uneven. Like, it wasn't a bad listen, and I would probably put it on again or even buy it if I came across it, but I was just hoping for more I guess.

I'm sorry, guys, but I just don't think I like dance/techno stuff like this. Every song was too long. I felt no emotion to latch onto, either in the music or especially not in the lyrics. I can see the appeal of stuff like this if I was out in the club, but just being at home listening (especially listening while eating apple and oranges at the dining room table, prime techno circumstances for sure haha) fell just short of torture. It was just too much to be ignorable but not interesting enough for me to care. Sorry, Mr. Slim.

This is not a genre I'm wild about, but there were parts of this that I liked a little more than I was expecting. I like that it felt more like an electronic rock album at times than a techno album (apologies if this album is actually a subgenre of techno or something like that, I'm not well-versed on the subtleties of the genre as a whole). When I listen to music, what really pulls me in is an emotional hook - generally that's through lyrics/vocals, although music can certainly do it too - and this is just music for music's sake. It's hard for me to be sitting at my dining room table and have this on and be like "Fuck yeah I FEEL THIS". Maybe in a more appropriate context, I could appreciate this more, but as it stands I'm not gonna search it out to listen to again.

This is an album I had the pleasure of knowing before starting this project - it's one of my wife's favorites, and it's not hard to see why. While I've always had more respect for the Beasties as people/musicians than been an active fan, this album really brings the goods. Paul's Boutique kept the party vibe from Licensed To Ill but dropped the machismo and frat-boy vibes, pushing the music deeper and funkier, with lyrics that were wackier and simultaneously said more than they bothered to try to do on the debut. The extensive sampling is done with care and with respect to the source material, truly making innovative new sounds and vibes that set the course for mash-up artists for decades to come. This work reaches all the goals that these boys set out to accomplish. A masterpiece of its genre.

I knew when I saw a four-song album ran 75 minutes that I was gonna be annoyed listening to this, and sure enough, this was truly awful. Just noise and precious few melodies. The track with vocals had a few interesting moments that kind of reminded me of Mars Volta (I'll bet those dudes LOVE this band), but overall this was not for me at all. Yeet this shit into the sea.

I am not a big fan of 50s rock'n'roll, but I tried to come into this album with an open mind, knowing a few Buddy Holly tunes already. I dunno. The songs are okay, but honestly the backing vocals from the Crickets really put a damper on this album. Their too-smooth delivery on a lot of these songs seem to neuter whatever punch I expected to hear. Would probably give it three stars if Holly was the only vocalist, but here we are.

I admit I was caught a little off guard with this album. I was expecting it to be more hippie-psych and it just sort of was a little more rock than I'd have guessed. It dragged when it got quiet, and I honestly am unlikely to listen to it again, but I enjoyed it enough. My wife does "White Rabbit" at karaoke semi-often, so it was fun to like actually listen to it and hear the different parts while not surrounded by the clanging of a bar atmosphere.

Aretha! A wonder from my state! I know a lot of her singles but no full album, and knowing that a lot of music was focused on singles rather than albums from this timeframe, I wasn't sure how this record was going to play out. Truth be told, there was no need to worry. This is a truly beautiful album. Aretha's voice is warm and inviting, both demure and demanding simultaneously, with a delivery that makes you believe every single word she's singing. The musical production sounds wonderful - precise but still emotional, with the piano tone standing out as a highlight. Even the nightmares of having to dance to "Respect" at my first job were washed away when I actually sat down to listen to this. Absolutely steller album.

I can see why Peter Gabriel recruited Kate Bush to work with him later on in the 80s, because this felt like a companion piece to his first four albums. Loud drums, quirky orchestral and theatrical music, and wow, that voice. Truly so unique. I had known a little bit about Kate's performance style going in and I wondered if I was going to get tired of it as the album neared the end. Instead, I found myself being pulled in more. I'm ranking this as a four because, well, as much as I liked about it... I don't remember anything I listened to. I don't need it to be catchy to be good, but I'm not sure I walked away from it fully understanding what I just heard, I guess. Does that make sense? I could see this growing on me more with repeated listens, and I definitely want to hear this again.

What's to say about this band that hasn't already been said? Good pop/rock/power pop. I was surprised at how stacks this first album actually was... I guess I assumed all these hits were scattered across a few albums, but no here they all are. I still can't tell the two singers apart, which at that point, maybe just have Ric sing 'em all? Anyway, this was fun.

I didn't think I would like this album. I... didn't, but I'll admit it was a more interesting experience than I expected. I really can't tell how much of this is Zappa just trolling for fun and how much of it is purposeful musical expansion and experimenting. I guess that's probably part of the point of the album? With that, it's also the most aggravating part to me. I like to know where the artist stands on being either sincere or obnoxious. I will say the band is top-notch, which if you're going to be obnoxious, you have to be able to back it up with talent, and there's no denying that this band isn't talented. I'll probably never listen to this again, but I'm open to hearing more of his stuff to try to get a better read on him.

This was fantastic. It was both harder and softer than I anticipated, but it had edge and grit throughout. Iggy's voice sounds great, the band sounds hungry and ready to tear shit up. This is a great example of punk/proto-punk/whatever from the era. Plus, we love a Michigander around these parts!

Damn, this album is beautiful. I don't know anything about Senegalese music and therefore am ignorant on whether this is indicative of the sounds coming from the region, but if it is, I'm very interested in hearing more. Lots of tight, inventive grooves - numerous different grooves in one song, that in an abstract way almost felt like African prog. Youssou's voice is warm and playful, which I hope is respectful to what he's singing about (I did not look up lyric translations). I knew of him from his appearances on a few Peter Gabriel tracks, and his voice sounds even more self-assured and expressive on his own songs. A truly wonderful album to listen to. I can see myself putting this on in a lot of different circumstances. Great work.

This album is fine. It's an album that starts strong, falters in the middle with some exceedingly average songs, then picks up a little near the end. If this were just some album put out by some band somewhere, I think it would be easier to simply enjoy it for what it is. Unfortunately, the story of Oasis has become so legendary and grandiose that it's hard not to listen to their recordings without the larger legacy in your mind, and in that regard, I don't know if they've truly released anything that lives up to their infamy. "Roll With It" and "Morning Glory" still slap, though. Anyway...

An album that was so chill that I forgot it was playing multiple times while I was supposed to be listening. This wasn't devoid of talent, but there was nothing to latch onto. It's completely ignorable, which in a way is worse than being bad.

I own three albums by the Police, and am familiar enough with them in a general sense and would even say I mostly enjoy them, but this is one I haven't heard until now. I listened to this, and it's okay - I'd say even very good at times - but it's got me wondering if I like this band as an album band or more as a greatest hits band. Every Police album has some stupid shit and weird decisions on it, and this is no exception. A one-dimensional instrumental as the second song stops the album in its tracks right as it begins, and whatever's going on with "Does Everybody Stare" falls flat. That said, there are some songs that are absolute bangers that channel the punk-adjacent energy of the debut, with "It's Alright For You" and "No Time This Time" being highlights. I dunno, kind of a mixed bag on this one. A record that showcases The Police at both their scrappiest AND starting to show off the cliches and heavy-handedness that would form the worst stereotypes for haters of this band.

Dusty's got a beautiful voice, but unfortunately a lot of these songs didn't really do it for me. I just wasn't wild about the way they were written, and I wonder as her career went on, if she ever had more control over being able to write songs herself. I'd listen to more, because I really did like her vocals, but overall I wasn't into this one. I will say the last third of the record was really good, which when you look at the list of songwriters (Hal David/Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Ray Charles) it's not a surprise that those hit the hardest.

Well, I was leery of putting this on after I looked Robert Wyatt up and saw that he was in Soft Machine, whose album I already had the displeasure of listening to. I saw this dipped a little more into genres that I am warm to, so I wasn't sure how I would feel putting this on. I'll certainly admit that this is more melodic, and there are actual SONGS on here and not just disjointed parts slapped together. That said, I'm not really into the dude's voice, and it meandered so far past the song's core at times that it just ended up lost. I read a bit about this dude's life and the tragedy that he faced, and you could hear the raw emotion and sadness in his voice. Got to give it up to him for deciding to keep going and make more music, but I don't want to listen to this again.

The paragon of Boomer divorced dad rock (complimentary).

Kind of a mixed bag on this one. I thought this was going to be more new wave-y, going on the name and knowing the approximate time frame of when the band existed. There is no mistaking the 80s era on here due to the production choices, but the blue-eyed soul vocals and composition were an interesting surprise. That said, not all the songs hit the same. At best, this dude tapped into Hall and Oates and George Michael-levels of songwriting richness, and at worst, the songs sounded like rejects from A Goofy Movie. Not terrible by any means, but probably not something I'll return to. I'd give this a 2.5 if that was possible, but I'm feeling generous today.

I remember reading an interview with The Mars Volta years ago where they talked about the influence of Santana on their music. Having mostly known the dude through singles (especially the later-era resurgence singles), that made me no sense to me. Listening to this today, I get it. Very rhythmic, lots of percussion, not as much guitar solo-ing per se as I was expecting, but more interesting noodling and texturing. I will say that it felt like it was just ending right as I was REALLY getting into it. Especially with the last track being a one-minute throwaway, it would have been cool if the album were just a little longer. Good, though.

This one is an oldie for me, but it's a goodie. I love how aggressive all of the MCs are. They desperately need you to understand how important their message is, how serious they are. They are LOUD. This is in start contrast to the beats, which are really laid back and have a quiet production that stands opposed to the mainstream success of gangster rap that was omnipresent at the time. It makes for a really interesting juxtaposition of styles that makes for a unique listen. The martial arts clips and skits work well together, adding a cool layer to an already gritty sound. The one thing I would say is it could stand to be trimmed a little bit, as the album starts to wear out its welcome as it rolls to the end. Still, I think it belongs on this list. This is essential listening.

This album sounds like barbecue.

I just don't know enough about jazz to talk about it. Like, I know who Miles Davis is, and I know he's GOATed by the community at-large. I did enjoy this, but I could genuinely say the same about any no-name jazz album, really. I'd just put it on and vibe. I will bump this up a little bit because I do love the way old jazz records sound. There's a warmth in the instrument tones and the production, a real working within the limitations of the time that I personally don't feel as much with newer records.

Okay, in my head, I never got around to listening to this because I assumed it was some sort of Brit pop that came out when Oasis was blowing up and it was going to just be that kind of sound that sometimes rocks out, but mostly has a laid-back vibe, in a derogatory "we don't give a shit about this" way. Well, fuck me, because I was completely wrong and I wish I had heard this years ago. I loved this. It was much louder than I was expecting, with melodies on melodies and really good, straightforward songwriting - the kind that just doesn't escape your head for days. I'm sure I'm not the first to point out that this album is like the songwriting of the first two Weezer albums mixed with the volume of the first Everclear albums, in a deferential way while not sounding like a ripoff. Really great stuff.

I had this album when I was in high school, and I remember enjoying it more then than I do now. Now mind you, there are some absolute rippers on this record - "Pyramid Song" is great, "Knives Out" is great. On the other hand, there are a few tracks that are just more errant noodling with Yorke's warbling vocals on top, which look: I think his vocals work really well when the song itself is good, but when it's just a nothing-burger of a track ("Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors"), it makes for a bummer of a listen. More than a handful of these songs aren't bad, but aren't really good either. They're just kind of... boring, which is not a great word to hear when it comes to a Radiohead album. I dunno, y'all. Kid A got the better songs from this project. More accurately a 2.5.