1001 Albums Summary

I can respect and appreciate the influence that blues greats like B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, et al have had on music, and I enjoy listening to it in short stretches. But while this may be an unpopular opinion, the repetitive nature of the songs and actual repetition of standards by various artists wears on me after a while. It's a genre best enjoyed live, which I give this album a tip of the hat for trying to capture. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could, but it falls short of great.

This album was even more "meh" than I expected it to be, and I expected it to be pretty darn "meh." Van Morrison's whiny brand of mildly upbeat folk gets really old really fast, with not enough variation across the album to keep it interesting. Even the titular track offered little reprieve as we've all heard it enough times to dismiss it. Sure, I was happy to let it blend into the background and create a mood that I didn't hate, but I was left unimpressed.

Had never heard of Frank Ocean before this listen, and rather than research I just pressed play. Immediate impression ("Thinkin Bout You"): this is mumble rap. This ain't my thing. But the beat was groovy and there were 15 more tracks, so I stuck with it and let it do its thing. The R&B vibes of "Sierra Leone" brought me back in, and I found the shades of Stevie Wonder in "Sweet Life" pretty encouraging. Three throwaway minute-or-less noise tracks in the first six was a little annoying, but there's some substance in there. Middle of the album had an experimental Tyler the Creator vibe with "Super Rich Kids", "Pilot Jones", and "Crack Rock," then "Pyramids" brought the term Prog Rap to mind, in a pretty okay way. "Lost" could have been a Gorillaz B-side, "Monks" a Childish Gambino C-side, and between the two, "White" had John Mayer in it, I guess. "Bad Religion" went from Prince (DEARLY BELOVED) to Phantom of the Rap-era in an unneeded way. "Pink Matter" definitely had Andre 3000 in it, and I have no idea wtf the point of that "Forrest Gump" song was. After the way the 2nd half of the album fizzled out, I found "The End" pretty unnecessary, but not altogether unwelcome...

*long, contemplative, shoe-gazing sigh* The Cure have always been an enigma for me, one that I generally like in small doses, so the 8 track, 43 minute runtime seemed adequate. I have their Greatest Hits, and with a quick comparison of tracks I was shocked to find that this album had NONE of those, which made me wonder how, of all their albums, this one made the list. Intriguing. *pouty side glance* From the moment I pressed play this was familiar. Synthesizers, discordant guitar, driving bass drums (almost tribal at times), and then those first lyrics, "it doesn't matter if we all die" told me I'd been here before, even if I'd never heard this album. Pop sensibilities that strive to hold you at arms length. A slow, methodical, melancholy flock of seagulls. Cryptic, nearly nonsensical lyrics with emotionally charged word choices. Death, slaughtered, scream, blood, moon, dream, scream, cry, etc, etc... And in the middle of it all, Robert Smith's droll, angsty, reverberating whine making every song, regardless of tone and tempo, sound vaguely the same as the one before it. No track by track breakdown to see here, just a cartoon dog sitting in a room filled with fire and smoke... I mean, I kinda liked it. But you know... *exaggerated eyeroll* Whatever.

It was 1993, and there was angst enough for everyone to have as large a helping as they liked. Grunge had stormed onto the scene and sucked all the air out of the room, seemingly poised to dominate the decade. Then Billy Joe Armstrong and the boys came along and dropped a Dookie on it. Call it Post-Punk, Pop-Punk, Skate-Punk, or whatever else you like. Pulling from influences like The Ramones and The Clash, but with the pop sensibilities of The Kinks. Tracks like "Longview" and "Basketcase" got so much play that it makes an honest, thoughtful review of them difficult, and gives one no choice but to evaluate through a lens tinted by nostalgia for an album heard dozens of times before. I hit play and "Burnout" is over before I've even settled in. "Having a Blast" is over before I've had time to actually start having one, and I'm reminded that this 39:22 album of 14 tracks (nope, 15 counting the hidden "All By Myself ") has an average track length of just over 2.6 minutes. It's not fast paced, it's FRENETIC. And while each track sounds similar to the ones on either side of it, they're different enough (and over quickly enough) that they compliment rather than blend. The best it has to offer is in the first two thirds, though, and just when you decide you still love it, it challenges that perception by managing to somehow be a little too long, with the "filler" bunched together at the end. But that, too, is over quickly, before you have time to be salty. And in the end, you're left feeling slightly exhausted by an album that scratches a nostalgic itch and still seems to stand the test of time.

Massisve Attack is a group that I have been aware of but never taken the time to explore, and I'm very happy that I got the opportunity here. Immediately gave me proto-Gorillaz vibes in the greatest ways, while also exhibiting a a range og vocal styles (including soulful and well-placed offerings from Shara Nelson). There's some experimentation that really works here, and some that falls flat for me, but it's varied beats and rhythms made it anything but boring, and I repeated a few tracks (namely "Safe From Harm", "Unfinished Sympathy", and "Daydreaming," all of which I discovered after had been released as singles). One of the first on this list that I was unfamiliar with and plan to revisit, this one's the kind of 3.5/5 that I don't mind to round up.

I'd heard of but not listened to MGMT, and what I took to be a club album at first glance evolved into a genre-bending surprise of an album that wore all of its musical influences on both sleeves (despite the cover having none). Shades of The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan (parts of Pieces of What totally reminded me of The Man in Me), David Bowie, Pink Floyd and Porno for Pyros laid over with the melodic (and sometimes unmelodic) synth pop that stormed to popularity in the early 2000s. More mellow than Matt and Kim or Two Door Cinema Club, and maybe closer to the Flaming Lips (who I always really wanted to like but still don't) or Modest Mouse, I can recognize just as much if not more of the bands that came AFTER them (Capital Cities, Owl City, Temples, Walk the Moon, Ghost of a Sabre Tooth Tiger and Tame Impala) in here. The most played songs per Spotify are certainly highlights (Electric Feel is one of my favs), but 4th Dimensional Transition (a nod to Perry Ferrell?) and Of Moons, Birds and Monsters gave a great addition of psychadelia that I was impressed to see by that point in the album. All of that to say that this one kinda hit me where I am, and I liked it quite a damn sight better than I thought I was going to. For the first time in this list I started an album over as soon as it was finished, and I look forward to exploring some more of their stuff. Definitely worthy of a 4.25/5 to me.

I wanna start by saying that I do like CSN and sometimes Y, and recognize Stills as a primary songwiter for the group. He's a highly prolific and talented musician whose numerous solo and group projects in the late 60s and early 70s are varied and loved. That said, seeing a double album of Stephen Stills on my feed this morning didn't exactly excite me. Maybe it's just too familiar. I'd never listened to this album, vaguely recognized a few songs ('It Doesn't Matter' and 'Johnny's Garden,' maybe?), but it's the same folksy-blues-grassy mandolin fronted hillbilly rasp that you expect it to be... And a whole heaping helping of it. Like a granny plopping another spoon of gravyless taters on your plate, this one ain't over until you're about to burst at the seams. Streaming services will hide from you that the album itself was divided into four thematic sides—The Raven (latin-rock), The Wilderness (country & bluegrass), Consider (folk), and Rock & Roll Is Here to Stay (rock and blues—and while I can hear it after the fact, it's a distinction that would have been lost on me without having it pointed out. Sure, some songs are better than others and there's a bit of variety to be had, but the extended runtime evens out the lumps. Don't get me wrong, the musicianship and execution is solid. The production is decent. But it's not moving any needles, and it feels SO LONG. It's just a workmanlike collection of songs that sound vaguely like everything else Stills has touched, which perhaps helps emphasize the strength of his collaborations with CSN and sometimes Y by showcasing the lack of those elements. It's a 3 that gets rounded down to 2.5 for being too long winded, which out of respect I'm gonna round back to a 3/5. NOTE: Listening to 'Colorado,' I'm going to need someone to explain to me why they didn't sue the pants off of Bad Company for releasing 'Shooting Star.' It's as if Paul Rodgers said, "I like this song, but what if it wasn't so boring?"

"You're back in your old neighborhood The cigarettes taste so good But you're so misunderstood You're so misunderstood" Full disclosure, this album was embedded deeply in my soundtrack of the late 90s, and I know every word of every song on both discs. It's the album that really seperated Jeff Tweedy and the boys from their Uncle Tupelo roots and let them forge their own sound, showcasing their incredible evolution from A.M. to Summerteeth. Obviously, I'm a big fan. Like a big pot of bubbly stew filled with chunks of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young, The Band, Glen Campbell, and Graham Parsons, seasoned with dashes of Velvet Underground, Buddy Holly and Sesame Street, it's rich, tasty, meaty and nourishing, but it's the broth that ties the whole thing together, warms the belly, and makes you want another bowl. Sure, I beat up Manassas yesterday for being too long and bloated, but in my estimation, this ain't that. The tempo, styles, and even genres range from song to song enough to give the variation needed to support its weight, and the sometimes bouncy, sometimes philosophical, but always poetic and relatable lyrics underpin its folk sensibilities and exude an intimacy beyond a few talented musicians making a buck. It's playful, raw, emotional, beautiful, and speaks to me in a way that few artists ever have. It's a 4.75 that easily rounds up to a 5/5 for me, and anyone who thinks highly of it should proceed directly to Summerteeth.

Okay, so I haven't read the book, but this album really made me start to question the process by which these albums are chosen. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this, and would even make the case that (being born in 1975) 80s pop hilds a special place in my soul. But even within its specific genre and being held amongst its contemporaries, this album, and indeed, ABC as a whole, is laughable at its worst and forgettable at its best. It offers nothing that I hadn't heard its prdecessors offer, and moves no needles. It's sorta fun, sorta bubbly, and no doubt funded a cocaine habit or twelve, but in the end, I'd never heard it before today and will be happy to pretend the same tomorrow. it's a 2.5/5 that I don't feel generous enough to round up.

I was familiar with Amy Winehouse's music, as well as her tragic Death by Misadventure, but had never queued up an entire album of her music and wasn't disappointed when it showed up on my list. Turns out, it was exactly what expected. Her voice is incredible, and there are some solid soul and R&B hooks to be found here. The lyrics are contemporary and personal, telling the story of an artist who was used to (and rebelliously proud of) making bad decisions in her life, love and otherwise. But it did droll on a bit for me, and while there weren't a lot of low points, there weren't really any highlights, either. I get the hype, but it wasn't talking to me, wasn't MEANT for me, and at times made me feel like I was eavesdropping. A solid 3/5.

This one turned out better than I initially thought, or at least got better as it went. It's no wonder it had completely escaped my attention at the time of its release, as this isn't normally my thing, but it was decent for what it was. 3.25/5

I hadn't ever listened to Morrissey in any meaningful way, and was intrigued when it popped up on the list. Boy did that pass quickly. How could I have made it this far in life without having appreciated the pseudo philosophical ramblings of a 3rd rate lounge singer who gleefully eschews any poetic framework or song progression? I seriously feel like I'm missing out on the joke somewhere. From the first track (if a pretentious twelve year old heard I'm Afraid of Americans once and tried to sing it from memory) to the last (You Know I Wish it Hadn't Lasted So Long), I couldn't wait for this poor excuse of an album to be over. He should be sorry. How can anybody possibly care how he feels? A quick look at the global reviews filled me with dread. Not that my opinion was an unpopular one (there's an ample number of folks who agree with my assessment), but that there are apparently two other albums of his forthcoming on this list. 0.125/5 rounded up to 1 because I guess I have to.

Some background: "Bossa nova, which literally means 'new wave,' was a blending of samba and jazz that rose out of a guitar school formed in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana neighborhood in 1956. While jazz music, which is typically swung, also contains syncopation, bossa nova is typically played without swing, contrasting with jazz." So to clarify, this jazzy music you're listening to, with Jazz in the title of the album, isn't really jazz. Got it. So anyway, I've always thought of jazz like wine. I like jazz when it sounds good, and I like wine when it tastes good. But the "this one's swung" and "this one's oaky" business is lost on me. I suppose I have neither the palate or the sophistication or the attention span necessary to distinguish the subtle notes and flavors, so I'm not going to try to do that here. I'm just going to say that this jazz (or distant cousin of jazz) isn't bad. I've had better, smoother varieties of that vintage that I like more (Herb Alpert and Vince Guaraldi, for instance), but there was nothing too off about it and it got me where I was going. It's a 3.5/5 that doesn't quite get to a 4 for me. But truth be told, I'm a whiskey guy, myself.

I had mixed feelings when this one popped up on the list, because Hole is Courtney Love, and it's hard to seperate Courtney Love 'the artist' from Courtney Love 'the widow of Kurt Cobain,' and not drag along all of the baggage that comes with it. Particularly with the loud and persistent (and vehemently denied) allegations that Cobain had ghostwritten much of their previous album, Live Through This. That album had been a departure from their two years prior debut album, Pretty on the Inside, and would be departed from significantly four years later with their commercially successful Celebrity Skin, featuring writing credits from her ex-boyfriend (before Kurt) and Smashing Pumpkins front man, Billy Corgan. All of that culminates in an album that exudes more pop-rock/glam sensibilities than its predecessor, with Corgan's influence discernible throughout without hijacking it. It's less aggressive and punky, more traditional in its arrangements, with a more polished production that is unabashedly fishing for the commercial success that it ended up finding. Come for the tabloid queen, but stay for Eric Erlandson, because yeah, this is his band, too (with songwriting credits on every track of all three albums, including solo credit for standouts Northern Star and Heaven Tonight). They aren't all bangers by any means, but there are a few solid tracks aside from the radio friendly opening title track that keep it interesting. I definitely prefer Live Through This, but there was much worse than this coming out in the late 90s, and I don't hate it. A solid 3/5.

Before I die, though? You sure about that?? Because while this isn't the most gawd awful album I've ever heard or anything, it's far from memorable or seemingly influential. Just eight of the blandest and most forgettable soft rock tracks I've listened to since I don't know when. You're telling me that this guy has thirteen other solo albums, and this is the one? Because it feels like a compilation of Neil Diamond's lowest rung, least liked fillers. It's a 2/5 out of respect for Dion and the Belmonts.

The first 15-20 minutes of listening to Jethro Tull are pretty great, but then I need to stop listening to Jethro Tull. I came to that conclusion while indulging in a Jethro Tull kick in college, when you're supposed to explore bands like Jethro Tull, and it's held true since. It's not because of the flute, mind you (though occasionally, it can be because of the flute), but because it's going to start to sound like it's repeating itself, even if it isn't. Their great tracks are great, their filler is boring, and their lyrics are so pretentiously British (which is great up to a point). Overall, it's a solid 3/5.

During the mid 1970s, "Arena Rock" was spreading like wildfire, and into that inferno Boston dropped the (at that time) greatest selling debut album of all time, the self-titled 'Boston,' garnering the band a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist (losing out to Starland Vocal Band?!?) All eight tracks on this quintessential classic rock album went on to receive regular radio play and the album itself would reach Diamond certification in 1990. So why am I not absolutely ga-ga over it? It would just never occur to me to put on a Boston record, and when most of these songs come on the radio, chances are that I'm going to change the station. ESPECIALLY More than a Feeling. Perhaps, being born in 1975, it was just so inescapable in my youth that it scarred me. Maybe I burned out on it before I truly had an opportunity to appreciate it. After all, it packs all of the rock elements I find appealing in similar acts (Styx, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult, Foreigner, Journey, etc...), and arguably forced them to change their own sounds/formulas to chase the same commercial success. So it should be further up my alley, but... I do like it, but I could never love it. It's a 3.5/5 rounded up out of respect for the game.

Stevie Wonder has a tendency to almost always live up to his last name, and this album marked a period where he really hit his stride. Smooth soul spiced with funky jazz, and a poetry in his lyrics that speak to the human condition in a subtly different way than most artists before or after him. This one's a 4.49/5 for me that I'll round down, if only because his next two albums get better and better.

I'd spent time listening to Prodigy, Daft Punk, Jamiroquai, and Moby, but hadn't really given Chemical Brothers a go and was happy enough to do so. At times driving and aggressive (particularly early on, when I was afraid it was just going to just be an album full of rave music), at other times hazy and ethereal, I had a real problem trying to square how an album could possess all of those quaities and still leave the impression of being boring and overly repetitive. A solid 3/5 that I honestly had higher hopes for.

I'm sorry, but this isn't working out. It's not me, it's U2. I don't hate them, but maybe that's just because I don't care enough about them to. I've tried at various points over the years to give U2 another chance, but they've never done anything for me and it's time to stop fooling myself into thinking that's going to change. It's a U-2.5/5 for me that I don't care to round up.

This was a new one for me, and I'm sad to say that I think I like the idea of Otis Redding more than I liked this Otis Redding album. I mean, I LIKED it, but I didn't LOVE it the way I expected to, which was a letdown that I'm having a hard time putting my finger on. Am I depressed or something? And shouldn't it make it even better if I am?? There were so many of these songs that I'm familiar with, and maybe that's the problem. I know Otis wrote it, but hearing him sing 'Respect' I couldn't help thinking that Aretha's version is so much better. 'My Girl' made me want to listen to The Temptations. And 'Satisfaction' left me more than a little unsatisfied with my own dissatisfaction at this rendition. Still, it's historic, it's soulful, and Otis's voice is amazing. The ones I hadn't heard before carried it to a 4/5 that I honestly wanted and expected to be higher.

I have so many questions. They're all rhetorical though, because I don't care to know the answers.

Somewhat overlooked and a little underrated, The Offspring dropped radio hit after radio hit. Punk mingled with classic rock and pop sensibilities, their sound was accessible and their lyrics were poignant social commentary without sounding preachy. It's a album with several bangers, a few solid B sides, and a little filler. 3.5 that I'll happily round up.

It just ain't my thing. I understand if it resonates to you, if it does then don't hesitate to tell all your friends cuz the beats don't offend or annoy. And the lyrics, oh boy, lots of social injustices are stacked in these messges and the spoken word can communicate that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Or the one. It just. Ain't my thing. Unoriginal, maybe, doesn't rhyme or feel the need to be in iambic pentameter, free flowing and just going wherever it wants to like it was supposed to just go there for the sake of sounding profound. Beat poetry in a cafe in Queens or Brooklyn that doesn't concern itself with breaking new ground with all talk and no sing... It just ain't MY thing.

I get that this album isn't for everyone, but it's one that has stayed very firmly in my rotation. I really didn't go in for the whole nu-metal trend as a whole, but in a subgenre filled with Korns and Limp Bizkits, Linkin Park had a sound and style that stood head and shoulders above the rest. Aggressive and hard edged like the others, their instrumental wall of sound blended with the vocal pairing of Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda to provide a range of melody and emotion the others lacked, and their debut album had banger after banger without a single skippable track. It's a 4.5 that the 25 year old in me insists I round up

A second Chemical Brothers album on this list inside of a week is pretty unfair to them. Was NOT in the mood for a rave when this came up, and very seldom am. Glad it mellowed out and got more interesting after a few tracks, but still isn't anything I'd ever reach for or recommend. But I liked it maybe slightly better (and certainly not less) than the last one, so I'll give it the same 3/5.

I've always had the impression that Jack White is remarkably overrated but had never taken the time to sit down and test the theory. Now I have, and can confirm. But I've concluded it's his voice that drags everything down for me, as a good bit of the instrumentation is pretty solid and might be listenable if he'd stop with the whiny pseudo screaming. The rock piano in particular was pretty cool and compelling, and he has a handle on tempo that made for a decent ride overall. He just needs to recognize that not all music needs lyrics, especially if they're sung by him.

"teenage angst has paid off well / now I'm bored and old..." Do I even need to press play? I've known every lyric, note and inflection of this album for over 30 years, and I'm happy to take it for yet another ride today. Is it Cobain's Magnum Opus? Debatably. Is it one of the greatest albums from arguably the greatest decade of rock music? Undeniably. With not one wasted track (or LINE for that matter), In Utero wasn't just angsty, it was a dissertation on it. Gritty and raw in the most exquisitely produced way (Cobain railed at length on Mtv about having paid Steve Albini $2 million to do so), it epitomized grunge in a way that few albums could. In turns angry, sad, melancholy, and apologetically hopeful, it spoke to the personal disillusionment and cynicality that an entire generation coming of age in the early 90s felt about the world that would be their inheritance, and the self-loathing dismissiveness that came with it. Maybe that's overstating it. Maybe it just rocked my fucking socks off and left an indelible impression on a dude LOOKING for all of that. Either way, it's a 5/5 from me that Nevermind will also receive when it has its turn on this list.

Did you know that 50 Cent had been shot 9 times back when he was a crack dealer in Queens, New York?? Street cred aside, this album is pretty gawdawful. At least nine tracks have mentioned 20 inch rims, 152 people have died, and I've heard the N word enough to make Eminem uncomfortable (just kidding, Eminem LOVES the N word). And it is LONG. Like, Steven Stills called and suggested you at least split your hour-and-fourteen minutes of same sounding shit and drive-bys into four parts and name them after animals type of long. Give me Geto Boys, NWA, or Cypress Hill over this repetitive nightclub fodder any day. But he did get rich, and he didn't have to die trying...

This one missed me in 1992, as I'd heard of Pavement (good things) but never been exposed to them, so I was pretty interested when it popped up. I was immediately put off by the distortion and noise, and the vocalist's odd cadence didn't help. Shades of Sonic Youth or Velvet Underground, which I don't mean as a compliment. But as the album went on it did sorta grow on me. There are things to like in here. And if this is their debut album, how good will they be when they actually learn to play their instruments?

I like Paul Simon, and I love the story and lore behind this album. Elevating a style of musical culture and putting it on a stage to share with an audience who would never have otherwise been exposed or paid attention to it isn't what I'd call appropriation, and I admire his attempt to highlight the human beings who were crushed by the political machinations of South African apartheid. For all those reasons, I can understand it's inclusion on this list. That said, I didn't love the album. Paul always feels like he's trying to cram three songs worth of lyrics into each song, which is sometimes catchy and cool and other times bloated and pompous. The range of instruments and styles kept things interesting throughout (I'm a sucker for a well placed accordion), but the overall impression for me was a little too clean and overproduced. It's leaning toward a 3.5/5, but not far enough to round up.

Wu-Tang Clan (and their affiliated solo projects) are the reason why every gangster rap artist since them has sounded like watered down repetitive copycats to me. Creative, gritty, laugh out loud funny, and downright groovy, this album came at me at a time when I had just about moved on from rap/hip hop and pulled me back in. I think it's the crews for me. Following in the footsteps of NWA, Geto Boys, and Cypress Hill, Wu-Tang brought together a collection of distinct voices and personalities and blended (or rather, forged) them something greater than their parts. This shit right here is the reason why 50 Cent got a 2 from me, and why so many contemporary rap artists will most likely follow suit. Easy 5/5 and the bar by which everyone else in the genre will be measured.

Wow. There is actually quite a bit to like in this one. Nice hooks, decent tempo, finds a groove, and then the vocalist just tramples it to dust by caterwauling vapid poetry over it. At times it almost sounds like he's deliberately sabotaging the song, like a child in a restaurant trying to draw attention to himself. If this is an acquired taste, I just don't care to acquire it. It's still better than Morrissey, though.

It turns out that I really like the IDEA of The Band more than I actually like The Band, in the way that I think I like the pieces more than I like the sum. The bluesy guitars, the accompanying synth, and even the gospelly sounding white guy (I was embarrassingly old when I realized Levon Helm wasn't black) should add up to something that is right up my alley, but the slow, muddled tempo of most of this album leaves it a bit unremarkable and even forgettable. The weight of the album is really carried by that one track we all know and like, but the load is just a bit too much to bear (see what I did there?). It's still a 3/5, but give me Mountain or The Allman Brothers, who did the same thing better.

Any redeeming qualities of this album (and there are very few) are overshadowed by just the slightest modicum of research about this guy. I won't waste my time expounding.

A hangover from a bad run of albums (and the misappropriated word "punk" as a descriptor) had my hackles up initially, but this one turned out better than I expected. Definitely heard more shades of The Rolling Stones, Steppenwolf, and Deep Purple than The Ramones or the Sex Pistols, and in the best way possible (though Spinal Tap DEFINITELY found some inspiration in this one). Some of the synth/keyboard on here was fantastic. Had the sound of a debut album (trying out different sounds to see what works; some of it doesn't), but definitely made me want to explore some of their later stuff. A 3.5/5 that I'm reluctant to round up.

This album actually made me question whether I like Daft Punk, and why I thought that I did. It's just so repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. Repetitive, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. Redundant, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. Redundant, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. It's the same, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. It's the same, repetitive, repetitive, repetitive. It's the same, repetitive, redundantly repetitive. It's the same, repetitive, redundantly repetitive... Luckily, the tracks do sound different from one another, but I kinda wanted most of them to be over by about the halfway point. Just like the Energizer Bunny, they kept going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going, and going. And there were SOOO many of them. Like 16 tracks of them. Like 73 minutes of them. It's a long album. I don't hate it by any means, and in the right place and setting it could definitely work. But it's shortcomings (or longcomings?) put a ceiling of 3/5 on it for me. So, I'll give it a 3/5. That's right, a 3/5. A three. Out of five.

I've tried before to understand the appeal of The Smiths. Sure, the music and arrangements are certainly far superior to solo Morrissey, and the lyrics are sometimes decent and thought provoking, until he starts singing them. But at the end of the day I suppose I'm just not gay or British enough to really enjoy this. It's a 2/5 for me that might be higher without Morrissey.

I thought I was familiar with The Beach Boys, and boy was I wrong. Had never heard this one before and was pretty surprised by the tone and message. Hell, look at that cover! With limited input from Brian Wilson, it seemed to give some other members the opportunity to explore their own styles, leading to an album that sounds similar in places and an altogether departure in others. A darker, more brooding album full of environmentalism and introspection about celebrity, drug use and mental health wasn't on my Beach Boys radar, and while it wasn't their greatest, it was never bad, perhaps in part because of its incredibly short run time. It's a solid 3.5/5 that I hesitate to round up.

I'll admit, I came into this album with some preconceived notions of Elvis Costello and thought I knew what I was getting into, but from the first track I was thrown for a loop. Not so great at first, but by "Tokyo Storm Warning" I'd acquired enough of a taste to settle in. That's when I started to hear so many of the 90s bands that must have been directly influenced by his 33 studio albums. Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Wallflowers, Spoon, Weezer, Wilco, whoever the hell did the Friends theme... Hell, Soul Asylum directly incorporated the skeleton of "Blue Chair" into "Runaway Train," and their singer probably owes him royalties for his stellar impression. There are even hints of Sublime in here, which I'd never have expected to hear. Like most albums, some of it worked better than others, but even when it wasn't great, it was interesting, and I definitely preferred his voice in the calm stuff to the almost punky screaming he'd tear into every so often. But all respect to The Attractions, who pretty well lived up to their names. All in all, it was better than I expected, and while I'm more likely to check out some of his other material than I was before, I'm more inclined to reach for some of those influenced artists I mentioned earlier and show my appreciation that way. It's a solid 3.5/5 that I'll round up in thanks for the legacy.

What is there to say about this album that hasn't beensaid a thousand times before? Revolutionary in every meaning of the word. Provocative and aggressive without a hint of backing down. It's in the name of the band and in the name of the album. If you're not angry, you should be. And my secret? I'm always angry.

While this album is extremely dated (a time capsule that harkens to an era a decade or more prior to its release, even), Solomon's voice is right up there with the Otis Redding and Percy Sledge. But the arrangement and production have a monotonous tendency to sound like so many albums of that era, and give it a muffled effect that takes away from his soulful crooning. I'm left with a higher regard for Solomon than I have for the album itself, and while it was no doubt a standout for its time, it's retrospectively lackluster. It's still a 3/5, though, and was worth the listen.

I had honestly never heard of this band before and didn't really get any indication what to expect given the album's cover. It's not often you get an opportunity like that, so without any research or expectations, I was pretty excited to just press play and get into it. First impression? Kraftwerk. 80s electropop. Busy, but pleasantly so. A little psychedelic. A little proggy, a little mathy. Outstanding, often understated guitar riffs interspersed throughout. Harmonized 60s style vocals (Beach Boys, Byrds, The Hollies). Doesn't overstay it's welcome. This, my friends, is all the way in my fucking wheelhouse, and by "Firewater" I'm completely sucked in. How the fuck did I miss this so completely? Heavily krautrock inspired (did I mention Kraftwerk?) with shades of Temples, Lord Huron, and Mildlife salted in. Has a great texture that melds a lot of sound without overdoing it. The variety and exploration in the tracks keeps it engaging and bright, with far more peaks than valleys. Was really looking forward to spending the day with this one, and after three full plays and a few song repeats, it did not disappoint. As first impressions go, this one was a surprising 4.5/5 that I'm only hesitant to round up because we just met. But I'm gonna reserve the right to revisit and bump that up if the next few dates go as well... UPDATE: That second, third, and subsequent dates went so well, I keep coming back for more. So yeah, this one's a 5/5 for me.

This list is teaching me a lot about myself, as this is another installment that I didn't like nearly as much as I thought/hoped I would (sorry, Tatum). I certainly didn't DISlike it, but I guess I just prefer any number of their contemporaries: Earth, Wind and Fire, the Isley Brothers, Parliament (obviously), THE OHIO PLAYERS, Chicago... The list goes on. This just wasn't as groovy or interesting as I wanted it to be. Rather than hip and funky, or slow and relaxing, it struck a chord in the middle that I just found kinda boring in stretches, even during a second listen later in the day. It's a 3.5/5 that rounds down for leaving me wanting.

Given that I could run through all eight tracks at warp speed before I even hit play, it's a foregone conclusion that this one's an 8/5 without looking back. It may be debatable that this is Sabbath's best album ever (which it is), but what's not debatable is the influence that riff king Tony Iommi, bass legend Geezer Butler, pioneer of percussion Bill Ward, and the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, had in the formation of heavy metal and the entire hard rock genre for generations to come. Hail to the kings.

Heard snippetts of these guys here and there, but never a full album. This one started pretty strong with Squares and Al Sharp, but really petered out and droned on intop monotonous boredom after that. Not bad enough to dog on and not good enough to praise, it's an even keeled 3/5 that made me want to look to their other stuff rather than revisit this one.

Not a fan when it came out, and the decades haven't been kind since then. A handsome dude singing about sex, sold to chicks who think he's singing about them instead of his buddy from Wham. How this is culturally relevant or influential enough to have made this list is a mystery I'd rather not dwell on. Still better than Morrissey, though...

Having never heard of this guy before, I sat down to... Kidding. Just kidding. Presley is obviously one of the most recognized names in the history of music (despite never having a solo songwriting credit to his name), and left an indelible mark on rock & roll music, namely by making it safe for young white people to enjoy the music of old black people. Volumes have been and will be written debating the "cultural appropriation" vs "creation of opportunities" involved in the endeavor, as well as his involvement and furthering of the civil rights moverment of the era. But if you've ever been to Graceland, you can't debate that it sold a LOT of records and made him an incredibly popular icon of the age. As to the album itself, I can say that it isn't a tough listen, though more than a little dated. Occasional vocal gymnastics aside, Presley and his band do an adequate representation of the music it credits, often infusing more energy into old blues standards by speeding the tempo and shaping it into the "rockabilly" he'd become known for. It's fun when it tries to be, sad when it wants to be, and approachably vanilla. All in all, it's a 3/5 in recognition of its "historical significance," but I'd rather listen to the original artists than revisit this...

Not gonna lie, after the initial "what the fuck are we doing here," I actually found this one quite fun and refreshing. In fact, I'd have given a much higher rating if it had been fully instrumental, as the singing threw off some of the groove for me (not speaking the language or having a cultural connection can do that, unfortunately). The fusion of jazz, disco, and traditional Indian music must have caught me in the right mood, as it struck a chord I didn't expect to like as much as I did. Still, while I liked it better than a number of other albums we've had on this list, it isn't something I'm likely to revisit (with the exception of Baby Let's Dance Together, which is legitimately going into my rotation) so it hits the ceiling at a 3/5.

I respect and admire this one, but also feel like someone who played the horn would respect and admire it a lot more than I do. It's cool, it's hip, and it's sorta groovy, but it's also chaotic, all over the place, and a bit of a hot mess. I guess the "I'm glad that they named tracks on here and paused between them so I could perform the mental gymnastics necessary to tell them apart" kinda jazz just isn't my thing. I like my jazz to sound less like a jam session or warm up and more like a thoughtfully written and structured musical endeavor. Practice on your own time and don't sell it to me as art. Which I guess isn't jazz. Either way, I revere and appreciate this one more than I actually enjoy it, so here I am feeling guilty about topping it out at a 3/5 and feeling like I'm missing out somehow.

I spent some time with this one back in the day (not nearly as much as Stankonia), but it had been quite a while since id heard any of it and I was excited to revisit it. It did NOT disappoint. If anything, I think it's better to me now than it ever was. I remember liking but not loving Speakerboxxx, but that one grew substantially in my estimation today. Guest spots from Killer Mike and Cee Lo Green highlight some super creative tracks, though I could have done with about half the interludes. Id put it up against any rap album of its era. But The Love Below was a different beast entirely, and it let you know from the opening track. "Creative" doesn't do it justice as Andre Benjamin really took it as an opportunity to stretch his legs and break from the genre. We all know (and at a time couldn't escape from) Hey Ya, but tracks like Prototype and Love Hater also stepped out of their traditional mold, and the later interludes and instrumental tracks (like My Favorite Things) were weird and quirky in ways that may have ultimately spelled doom for the duo. All in all, there's is A LOT here, and while it isn't all gold, it stays interesting and engaging, and is definitely worth the journey. An easy 5/5.

This one is far from his best, but that doesn't mean it's not good. While I would first diagnose this album's genre bending as Multiple Personality Disorder (mixing some pop rock, some prog rock, and some asian inspired synthesizers), I generally liked most of it and didn't hate any of it. Known for it's title track and its iconic cover, the first half delivers a very recognizable side of Bowie that is pretty familiar. But side two explores a more experimental instrumentalism that harkened at times to Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother, blending into an emotional rollercoaster of a globe-trotting oddity, attributed in large part to Brian Eno's collaboration on several of them. The overall effect is a bit of a mess at times that still earns a 3.5/5, but it's one that I am reluctant to round up.

I'd never heard of these guys before, and was optimistic for the first minute or so. And I do like some of this, in the way that it is layered with sometimes competing melodies and rhythms that meld together into a solid groove. But almost throughout, if there are 10 layers, I like 8 of them, and the other 2 throw it completely off. Kinda like that singer for Wild Beasts just ruining the good music behind him, the foreground of these tracks (the radio voice, the screaming lady, the ultra-repetitive speech tracks, etc...) overshadows the cool stuff happening behind it and renders large swaths of this annoying and disappointing. I know I've said before that I thought this type of music was my thing. I just didn't realize how many acts were bad at it, which made me conclude that it is not, in fact, my thing, and I just love a few outliers. This is NOT one of those, and doesn't get far enough above a 2/5 to round up.

I remember hearing the radio plays "Can I Kick It" and "Bonita Applebum" back in the day, but hadn't ever spent any time with them or heard a full album. Apparently I was missing out far more than I knew, though in a way that I most likely wouldn't have appreciated at the time. Sitting firmly in the transition from 80s to 90s hip hop, this one slips into a leisurely, uncluttered and inviting groove throughout. Blending jazzy instrumentation with some killer sampling, clever and educated lyrics, and a pinch of gospel that doesn't get (too) preachy, Tribe pleasantly reminds you that rap can be relatable like "I Left My Wallet," fun and playful like "Ham and Eggs," and doesn't have to be about gangs, drugs, and murder to entertain, ending with a full blown condemnation of that lifestyle and its veneration in "Description of a Fool." A surprisingly wholesome and thoughtfully constructed Sunday offering that makes me want to check out more of their journey, I'm chalking this one up as my first blind 5/5 on the list as I press play for a third visit.

An R&B/Soul album released in 1964 by a blonde haired, blue eyed brit? Sure, why not. No doubt I needed to listen to another album full of cover songs whose original artists did it better before I died. Especially one whose tinny and generic production value makes it sound like it was released a decade or so befor it was. Don't get me wrong, it's hard to blame Dusty directly for much of what was standard practice in the music industry at the time, and her voice and efforts are more than servicable on many of these tracks and worthy of at least a 2.5/5. But this wasn't something I was likely to put on without prompting in the first place, and isn't something I'm likely to revisit after, so I'm rounding down.

This is one of those albums that I appreciate more than I enjoy. The lyricism is off the charts, and its humanitarian messages of freedom, peace, joy, and harmony in the midst of political upheaval still resonate today. The cultural and geographical influence of Bob Marley (and The Wailers by proxy) can't be overstated, even if a good bit of that influence has been reduced to colorful carribean garb and gonja jokes. But this is reggae, and a lack of musical variety permeates not just this album, but the genre as a whole with a boom-CHIKKA-boom-CHIKKA-boom-CHIKKA-boom that really starts to grate on the nerves after a few tracks. Despite all of the attempts I've made to get into Bob's music, it still isn't something I would put on without prompting, and hits a ceiling of 3/5 for me.

I'll admit that while I'd never heard of The Undertones, I wasn't very excited about this one when it popped up. 16 songs in 34 minutes? And the immediate impression was of The Ramones, to the point of being a knock off. Before I die? Really?? But as the album went on I decided not to blame them for their inclusion here, and rather, to take them at face value. A young group of Irish blokes looking for a good time and hopeful to spend time with a lass or two along the way. The kind of pop-punk that's approachable to the masses and doesn't overstay its welcome. So it worked its way back up to a 3/5 that doesn't offend, but that I'm not entirely sure I'll revisit.

Having never hear of Fela Kuti before today, and knowing nothing about Ginger Baker's adoration of African rhythms, this one caught me completely out of left field. Reading up on the history of the men and the album only enriched the experience, as the history there is pretty fascinating. The jazzy global sound that they put together is inviting, engaging, and makes it hard to stay still, and that 16 minute drum solo on the final track is one of the greatest I've yet heard. An immediate second play was warranted and did not disappoint. Apparently the two collaborated several times, and I'm looking forward to delving more into more of their stuff. After further listening, this one's a 5/5 that I came back after to upgrade.

Nope. Fuck this dude. Didn't understand the hype then, and not about to give him a penny of streaming revenue to find out if I missed anything.

This one is far from my favorite of theirs, and frankly ranges from laughably pretentious to downright annoying. There's some decent substance between all of that, and there's obvious proficiency on display, but the tone of the synthesizer lends a cartoonish quality that undermines the overall effect. It's a 2/5 that made me spin Lucky Man just to get the taste out of my mouth.

It's been a mixed bag on this list with bands that I've never heard of, but this one did a lot out of the gate to lay any fears to rest. "Eple" charting well in the UK in 2001 missed my radar completely here in the States, but I can definitely see the easy appeal and gave it an immediate second go. A few more groovy but generally unremarkable tracks followed before "Poor Leno" did its best not to sound like Daft Punk's "Around the World" and failed dramatically. "A Higher Place" failed to get beyond step-stool elevation, with some less than savory ambient shenanigans, but "Night Out" got the journey back on more solid footing and soared to heights it's predecessor failed to reach. "Remind Me" must have referred to Damon Albarn, because it did remind me a lot, in a complimentary way, of his work. "She's So" had a sultry noir vibe that did its best to lull me to sleep, and would have made a more fitting final track than "40 years," which crumpled some paper in my ear and laughed about it before meandering anticlimactically for another four minutes that did the album no favors. Overall, an album that started with more promise the the two Chemical Brothers albums we've had, but really fumbled in the middle, lacked in overall composition, and landed in the same 2.5/5 territory that I'll round up for its high points.

I really didn't have to hit play. I've heard this album enough times that there was a time that I could almost sit quietly and just play it at speed in my head. The songwriting is so immaculate that dozens of artists, from James Taylor to Aretha Franklin, have covered songs from this album. This album is so iconic, so loved, and so deserving of all of those accolades that it's hard to imagine a world where it isn't a 5/5.

When this one popped up, I was pretty excited. Wasn't familiar with the album, but a big fan of funk and really dig what I'd heard of them previously. But this one just didn't cut it. Felt like an emotionless zombie walk at times, or at least a cheap imitation of the other material is heard from them. Still a 2.5/5, but rounded down out of disappointment.

Another entry I'd never heard of, and while I'm obviously not familiar with much of his work, seeing Pharrell on the cover of it didn't inspire a ton of confidence. That said, I was not prepared for how rough an experience was ahead of me. What some describe as "genre bending" I would call disjointed and haphazard. The vocals in this album seemed unable to settle on what they were trying to accomplish and often wound up sounding like the crackling warble of a nervous teenager, and maybe that's what they were. And the lyrics themselves didn't help, either. I had trouble finishing several of the tracks, they were so annoying and childish. A stone cold 1/5 that still might be just a hair above Morrissey.

The singers, man. It's like your bearded cousin learned how to bend a guitar chord and called all the aunts and uncles up to do karaoke. Aunt Sally can definitely belt it, but gets a little overzealous at times... But goddamn it, it's Thursday morning, Danny, and nobody's drunk enough for this! Honestly, I've heard some this before and thought these guys were good enough for a local country bar band ("keep it under an hour, okay fellas?"), but for a bunch a Brits to include it in a list like this is just... Flabbergasting. But my buddy likes it so I'm feeling generous enough to round up to a 2/5.

I have a history with this one. My college girlfriend, Dana, worked at T.I.S. College Bookstore in Bloomington, IN, and her coworker liked to call into the local radio station to win their "be the XX caller" stuff. He won this CD but didn't want it, so he ask her for my name and number and gave it them. I didn't want it either, and didn't pick it up, but I got a call a couple weeks later that I'd also been entered for and won an all expense paid trip to Chicago to see them. They flew us in from Indy, put us up at The Midland Hotel and the concert was at The Vic Theatre. We rode the El everywhere, and breakfast at Lou Mitchell's the morning after was one of the best diner experiences I've ever had. Oh, and the concert was pretty good, except some guy kept trying to bump up against Dana and I had to play human shield and thought for a while I was gonna get in a fight. I never got that CD. It's a bittersweet symphony, this life.

Only vaguely familiar with Kacey Musgraves, and find it interesting that she really lays off any of the "country" indicators on the album jacket. Hitting play it seems she laid off of a lot of the country indicators on the inside, too, taking a page out of the Taylor Swift playbook with a turn more to pop than country, while still lending Allison Krause-esque vocal stylings and the occasional obligatory banjo or mandolin in the distance. In the middle there's some decent (if a bit trite) lyrics and poetry, a few catchy rhythms, and a variety of sounds and styles to keep it interesting. Underlying all of that, though, is a feeling of overproduction and polish that makes it feel less like art and more like... A product. She's a gorgeous girl with a gorgeous voice that probably didn't need the autotune, and a little bit of raw feeling could have gone a long way. Tally all the pros and cons and it hits a ceiling of 3/5 for me that might be higher on a repeat listen.

First experience with The Roots, and it came across as a pretty mixed bag. Some pretty solid music here, even if a lot of the lyrics are pretty generic and interchangeable (yeah, yeah, you rap better than other guys, I get it). All in all a decent fusion of sounds and styles that blend well but don't call me back for further exploration.

I'd been vaguely aware of Nina Simone, but never exposed to the point that I'd sat down to listen to a full album. Boy, was I missing out. The range, the depth, the POWER of her voice is simply intoxicating, and paired with some of the most lovely and understated jazz piano arrangements that I imagine 1966 had to offer, this album was an emotional rollercoaster of epic proportions. Standout tracks were "Four Women," the titele track "Wild is the Wind," and perhaps my personal favorite, "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair," brought tears to the eyes, but every track here had more than enough to keep me on the edge of myseat. Easiest blind 5/5 that I'm likely to have on this list.

While I personally prefer 90s Beasties to the 80s Boys, I recognize the musical evolution from License to Ill that would get them there. Much more mature musically (if not lyrically) than that previous endeavor, Paul's Boutique felt like they'd taken the artistic license that commercial success had given them to really stretch their legs and do something more ambitious. Something that might take a bit longer to grow on you but sinks deeper roots when it does. Its limited radio and MTV exposure at the time, combined with its eventual multi-platinum status, paint the picture of an album that does just that, and moved the needle on the genre to boot. So what if it’s my third favorite Beasties album? It’s still a 4.5/5 that I’m going to round all the way up.

Long before CSI had a series in every major city in America, the Who were revolutionizing and framing what future generations would define as rock & roll. This is them at their absolute peak, and even if the album does lose a little steam in the middle, that mediocrity is sandwiched between five of their greatest tracks ever. Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes, and Won't Get Fooled Again are nearly enough on their own to elicit a 5/5, but the added bonus of Bargain and Going Mobile really seal the deal.

Another album and artist I was completely unfamiliar with and had no idea what to expect, and somehow the reimagined 80s hair band schtick surprised me. Immediately thrown for a loop by the lead singer, who took A LOT of getting used to and dispelled any seriousness right out of the gate.. By the chorus of "Get Your Hands off My Woman" I was laughing out loud, and by the second chorus I was singing along. Not all of these are bangers, and the lack of variety kinda grates at times, but between the unnecessary vocal gymnastics this one was a pretty decent ride. Not sure that I'll be revisiting much beyond the aforementioned song, but the chuckles alone buy it a 3/5.

I hate AC/DC.

I'm a pretty big fan of Talking Heads, but this one definitely isn't the best introduction to them. While I find this sophomore effort tight and incredibly proficient from start to finish, it doesn't have the pop and flair of some of their other work. Still, the floor for me is a 3.5/5 rounded up, which is what this one gets today.

This was a formative work in every definition of the word by a group that would serve as the prototype for nearly every rap group that would ever follow. Raw, filthy, merciless, and unapologetically crude, NWA, for better or worse, cemented gangster rap as a commercially viable genre that painted a picture of inner-city life and offered a social commentary that shook the status quo to its core. Its violent, profane, and misogynistic messages, love them or hate them, drew attention and sold records, and Fuck the Police became a cultural touchstone that was impossible to avoid or ignore. It's a time capsule for sure, and there's a ton of material here that most studios wouldn't touch with a 12 foot pole these days, but that doesn't do much to blunt it's impact and influence. I owned it on cassette, I played it until it wore out, and I knew all of the beats and lyrics. Even though it's aged so poorly that it's almost painful to listen to, I can't bring myself to give it less than the 5/5 I'd have given it 35 years ago.

This one's tough. Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite bands (Rumours was the album I learned to drop a needle on), and I've tried a few times over the years to get into this one. Following two of the most successful pop rock albums of the 70s with an art rock double LP just feels "experimental" to the point of over indulgence, particularly on Lindsey Buckingham's part. Many of the tracks feel unfinished, as though an idea for a longer more, meaningful piece, while others feel over polished or too long. The lack of traction for any single aside from Sara speaks volumes, despite a robust critical reception. Still, there's enough here to cobble together a single album that would have been respectable if not great, so it lands at a rather disappointing 3/5 for me.

Is this a fucking suicide letter?? I dig me a touch of depressiion and self-loathing in my music, but this is a bit beyond the pale. It's minimalist at times, it's sad ALL the time, and for long stretches it vascilates between boring and obnoxious. It's obvious he understands music theory, and there are some solid melodies and progressions in there, but literally nothing that would call me back or encourage me to explore more of his stuff. 2.5/5 rounded down for starting my day with such a downer.

Heard of them but never been exposed to anything they'd done. This one has a dreamy, atmospheric sound that I could really get into, but the vocals initially distracted from the experience. I get using the voice as a musical instrument, and I've listened to and enjoyed non-English speaking music in the past, so it really helped to stop trying to understand it and assume she's speaking Gaelic, instead. The layers of synth and overall relaxing vibe of the album were refreshing, and there was just enough tonal variety to keep things interesting while pretty seamlessly flowing together. An overall ethereal album that I'm still not sure that I'd revisit, so it bumps its head on a 3/5 ceiling.

I think I just have a hard time respecting this stuff. Some of the instrumentation here is incredibly solid (drums, piano, electric guitar, horns), and it's laid together in interesting and provocative ways. But who's playing them, and how much does that matter? Sampling of this magnitude feels equivalent to chopping pictures out of a few dozen magazines and creating a collage that the becomes an entirely new piece of art, but in 2026, isn't that the equivalent of AI slop? No doubt I'm overthinking it and should just dig the parts I dig, but the judgmental asshole in me needs answers... As a composition, this is pretty good in places (Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain might have been my favorite track), a little boring and repetitive in others. Not sure that I'll ever feel called back to it, though, so it's another ceiling of 3/5 from me.

The Who have an unmissable collection of greatest hits, and a few of them are here, but this double album soundtrack of a mediocre movie but visually engaging movie loses any cohesion or semblance of storytelling on its own. Two thirds is enjoyable but forgettable elevator music, while the remainder could stand as a fantastic EP in its own right. It's a 3.5/5 that I won't round up or revisit.

I am a fan of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and sometimes Young, but having heard Steven Stills's Mennassas and now David Crosby's If I Could Only Remeber My Name, I'm in awe of how much synergistic heavy lifting Graham Nash must have done. Seriously, how high (and on what) was Crosby when he put this one together? Music is Love was thoroughly obnoxious, followed by an 8 minute song about cowboys fighting over who gets to rape a young native american woman (surprise, she's a cop!), and followed by a handful of mumbly songs that all run together without much to pay attention to. Song Without Words was probably my favorite song of the album (the title tells you why) before the last two tracks ramble on in some sort of fever dream. Not enough there to hate but nothing there to love, this one's a 2.5/5 that I'll round up out of respect for his other works.

What if Peter Gabriel was really bad? All of the wierdness and none of the talent? Well, then he would be Robert Wyatt. This guy is the Neil Breen of prog rock, becuase while you wanna laugh at and appreciate the absolute absurdy of the joke he's telling, you realize pretty quickly that he is, in fact, ardent in his endeavor, and you feel like kind of an asshole for laughing even harder at the realization. If you can avoid it, you should, but if you have to engage be sure to drag a friend or two along to laugh with you at the earnest futility of it all. It's a 1/5 that's still slightly better than anything Morrissey's mother ever made.

The clash are a pretty hard sell for me on the best of days, and this album isn't their best work by a long shot. When you make music that's jarring and abrasive you expect that it's going jar some folks and rub them the wrong way, and it turns out that I'm one of those. While I really like a lot of their message and lyrics, I never acquired a taste for the sped-up, jangly, out of tune racket that accompanies it. I will admit that it's more approachable than some of their shittier sounding contemporaries (Sex Pistols, Black Flag, etc.), it's still not anything I'd put on without prompting. They're another 2.5 that I'll round up because at least it isn't boring...

I'd only vaguely heard of this one, and only in reference to The Cure. Almost immediately I saw the resemblance, and at times it even felt as though the singer were imitating Robert Smith. While reviews and critics point out their vastly different approaches and styles to the same genre of music, I had trouble finding those differences, perhaps in a good way because I do appreciate the occasional Cure excursion. All around decent early 80s art rock album with as few low points as it had high points, it's a 3.5/5 that I may revisit but don't care to round up for now.

Another band that I've never even heard of before, and was therefore a little surprised to learn that they have 12 albums released with one on the way. Listening to this made that fact even more befuddling. There were a number of bands in the early 2000s who made a great deal of hay from emulating classis rock acts (Jet, Wolfmother, The Hives, etc), and this immediately struck me as in that vein. But while most of those were a bit more polished and focused, these guys were... Not. With big doses of The Doors, Deep Purple, The Beach Boys, The Mokees, and god knows how many other influences all evident throughout, the result was just a jumbled and often chaotic mess. There were parts of this that I wanted to like, with Dreaming of You as a noticable highlight, but the overall jangly and chaotic composition did it no favors. It's a very generous 2/5 for me, mostly because this list has taught me the true meaning of 1 star.

Oh, boy. Heavy doesn't even begin to describe this one, which is a bit too much to digest on a Thursday morning in May. I have had exposure to it before, notably when Dogfish Head released a 40th anniversary beer in honor of it, and I popped it on Spotify while I drank one of them. It was a phenomenal and very fitting nod to the source material, as both are think, rich, and quite frankly have too much going on to be enjoyed casually, or in large doses. Which is to say that I APPRECIATE it more than I actually LIKE it. I'll certinly give it its due, but as I'd seldom if ever choose to put this on for myself, it's a 4.5/5 that I can't bring myself to round up.

I am a fan of Prince's work, but perhaps too casually for an endeavor such as this. There are some great tracks here, but as with so many double album projects, it could have used an editor to chop out some of the fat. There's a variety of sounds here that all carry his indelible signature, and some decent experimentation that is worth a listen, but it still feels bloated and skip-worthy in places. Sign O' The Times, U Got The Look, and I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man are the real highlights for me, and It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night would is a fun and pretty solid live jam session, making it a solid 3.5/5 that I'd have rounded up if I hadn't had to dig through so much mediocrity to get to them.

I was intrigued when this came up, as I remember Red Eyes when this came out, but never took the time to dig into them. Under the Pressure seemed a solid start, but then it just refused to end, or get interesting, for more than nine minutes. Then I realized that Red Eyes sounded like nearly the same song. Then six minutes of Suffering lived up to its title, and I knew that it was time to start skipping through this one. There's surprisingly little to hear for a band with seven members, and while it does harken back to the Dylan/Springsteen/Petty roots that are its obvious influences, it manages to do so in the most boring, uninspired, and forgettable ways. The drummer either sucks or is intentionally underutilized. Just bum-tee, bum-tee, bum-tee on repeat at slightly different speeds in every song, and the jangly, reversed guitars have the exact same wanna be dreamy and atmospheric effect throughout. How can an album be sparse AND over-produced at the same time? An hour of sheer and absolute monotony. Ten songs that sound like one song, and then Spotify auto plays a song from another of their albums THAT SOUNDS JUST LIKE THE ONE I JUST LISTENED TO. What started as something that should be right in my wheelhouse just made me disappointed and mad that it failed so spectacularly, so I'm rounding down to 1/5 out of spite.

This isn't typically my kind of music to begin with, and for my money, Emmylou Harris falls short of Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, or Alison Krauss within the genre. I was shocked to see that this was her 19th studio album, and even more shocked to discover this is the first one that she wrote the bulk of the music for. But for all that, this was just... Boring. And slow. But mostly boring. In fact, whatever the criteria for inclusion in this list is just gets more and more muddy and confusing the farther I get through it. This is a 1.5/5 that I would never revisit and doesn't encourage me to explore her other 18+ albums, so I'm not rounding up.

"I want you to scrape me / from the walls / and go crazy / like you've made me" One of my absolute favorite albums of all time, by one of my absolute favorite bands of all time. Jerry Cantrell's muddy, sludgy guitar riffs blended so effectively with Layne Staley's hauntingly iconic vocals, painting a unique portrait of the pain, rage and angst that defined the grunge movement of the early 90s. Lyrically, Staley's unflinching portrayal of heroin addiction, blended almost seamlessly with Cantrell's outside-looking-in observations of his friend's heartbreaking anguish, created an atmosphere that few artists have ever achieved, and the knowledge of Staley's passing and the circumstances around it only heighten the effect. If you don't connect to the material or this just isn't for you, it's forgivable, but it doesn't diminish this albums standing within rock history. It's a 10/5 for me that I guess I'll round down to 5 because I have to.

With somewhat limited exposure to Brian Eno, I was a little apprehensive about pressing play on this one because you just never know what you're going to get. But as I settled into this one, I found that I really enjoyed it, and can attest to Henry Edwards of High Fidelity's claim that this is Eno's "most accessible to date". I particularly enjoyed the tracks that lack vocals, which aligns with my enjoyment of his tracks on the back half of David Bowie's Heroes. The guest listing here is phenomenal, and the album as a whole is interesting and evocative, with instrumentation and track titles I found funny and playful, and its mostly absent of the over-the-top antics that he's famously known for. Undoubtedly my favorite work attributed to him that I've found so far. An unflinching 4/5 that may have finally convinced me to go and cautiously explore some of his other work.

At what point does distortion, rhythmless drumming and meandering vocal musings just stop being music? This. This is that point. Most of it just sounds like Courtney Love with laryngitis wailing sorrowfully next to a dumpster fire full of broken instruments with intermittent train brakes in the background. The few parts that actually resemble something akin to music are so aggressively meh that I wish they'd actually burned them. Is Morrissey BETTER than this? Well, probably not, but it's still a 0.45/5 for me that I'll round up because I guess I have to.

I thought I was familiar with the Kinks, but this album was definitely not what I expected to hear. This one seemed to blend the sounds of a host of British Invasion bands (The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, etc.) into a truly interesting social commentary of Great Britain in the late 60s. In fact, the more I thought about these musical nods and homages (sprinklings of Sgt, Pepper throughout, Annabelle's similarity to Boris the Spider, etc.), the more I wondered if the title and theme of the album might be meant to speak to and include those artists (and every other listener, of course) as members of the "Village Green Preservation Society," encouraging recognition and continuation of the old small town culture that had thrived on the isle for a century and more. Or maybe that's overthinking things a bit. Either way, the sound of the album was engaging and fun, whimsical and heartfelt, and I was charmed enough by its overall effect and thoughtfulness that I gave it a bit over three full listens (which more than a couple track repeats) over the course of the day, each visit received better than the one before it, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. It's a side of The Kinks I did not expect, and one that made me want to dig deeper into their discography for more like it. It's a 4.5/5 that I'll round up for being so refreshingly unexpected.

One of my absolute favorite bands of the 80s, this one got a 7/5 from me before I even pulled the vinyl out of its jacket. Ric, Ben and the boys blend a perfect balance of pop, rock, and punk into a "new wave" with some of the catchiest riffs, drivingest bass lines, and tropiest lyrics of their (or any other) time. Every track here is an absolute banger. As debut albums go, it's hard to think of one that had wider appeal or more radio play than this one, with a sound that shared influences with and yet set them apart from most of their contemporaries. They're a band that hit the ground running and stayed at speed for the long haul, as a strong case can be made that this isn't even their best work. Rounding down to a 5 because I have to.

Sure, it's good for a tongue-in-cheek laugh or three, and a few of the beats and melodies are definitely a style of 80s music that I appreciate and enjoy, but aside from sheer parody value so much of this album is just so aggressively BAD that I can't get on board. Sure, Tainted Love (perpetually overrrated, imo) earned them the moniker of a one hit wonder, but the rest of did nothing but showcase WHY that was the case, and it certainly wasn't something that I needed to hear before I died. I'll give it a 2/5 because at least it created an itch to listen to some more palatable 80s jams, but it was hard to find that many tracks that I liked.

I've tried on a few occasions to get into the Grateful Dead. Much like Jimmy Buffet, and later, Phish, there's an entire cult of personality associated with the band that is appealing and cool. There's a legendary live show appeal that can't be summed up with video and documentary evidence (you kinda just had to be there, man). But as albums go, this is just... okay. It's fine, even, bordering on good. Friend of the Devil and Truckin' are certainly the recognizable draws, and the reset is adequate to mellow one out and encourage that a load be taken off. I didn't care for the Frankensteining of Jim Croce's Operator early in the album (which rounds it down ever so slightly), but it still backs into a 3/5 without scuffing the bumpers.

I've known a few people who were really into REM over the years, but they just never quite clicked for me, and I feel like most of their stuff kinda sounds the same. Mind you, I don't DISlike them, I just don't like them enough to reach for, think about, or revisit them, so they hit the ceiling of a pretty ambivalent 3/5. Knowing that they have three more albums on this list does raise an eyebrow or two, though...

The newest offering on the list that's an unknown album by an unknown band as our 100th offering? Fitting. Hitting play I had shortlived hopes of something akin to MGMT or Kraftwerk, and while that's stylistically what I feel they were shooting for, thanks in part to some unflattering vocals and hooks that meandered rather than built, they didn't reach anywhere near those heights. A few tracks weren't so bad, but generally the longer ones were sonic dumpster fires, like a couple kids got ahold of Casio keyboards and testing all the effects buttons at once and yelling nonsense over it. I've heard worse on this list, but not by much, and it was a pretty disappointing landmark that rounds down to a 1/5 and makes one yet again question the criteria for inclusion into this seemingly arbitrary list.

How can you listen to this and NOT want a mojito, a Cuban sandwich (heavy on the pickle), a few olives, and a side of smoky black beans? The pavlovian response to Cuban music is REAL. Culinary delectibility aside, this one hit me on just the right day, and was a very good time. Sassy horns, jazzy drums, and well delivered vocals you don't need to know the meaning of to appreciate. A bit thrown by the inclusion of a compilation on this list, but whether meant as a greatest hits or simply a collection of Tito's more danceable tunes, it struck a solid 4/5 and gave me a powerful yearning to visit La Bodeguita De Mima.

From the outset, I would like to establish that I am not an aiport, and that I respectfully recognize that I am not the target audience of this album. That said, I will endeavor to imagine what I would think of this album if I WERE an airport, and rate it accordingly. The first impressions are of space, as there is a great deal of it between notes, giving an airy, purposefully flighty feeling. Vaguely technological, futuristic, and adventurous, yet relaxingly so. Calming and soothing, instilling a sense of cosmic tranquility, a feeling that everything is going to be okay. I imagine that an airport would thoroughly enjoy this sort of thing, that it would be right up an airport's runway, and that airports as a whole would give this a solid 4.5/5, rounded up by the sheer flattery that Brian Eno would write something so dreamy and beautiful specifically for them, when no one else had bothered to acknowledge them at all. As a human, though, this experience segues quite quickly into boredom and potential annoyance if one actually pays attention, so it's best not to. Just let all of those feelings and intentions wash over you as you go about the business that you're conducting in whatever airport, elevator, shopping mall, laundromat, or expensive restaurant you might be experiencing it. Don't FOCUS on it, as that would defeat the purpose, and certainly don't feel like you MUST listen to it before you die, as that (like so many on this list) is an absolutely ludicrous assertion. So, in my opinion as a human, it's going to come in at a 2.5/5 that I will round up, in recognition of it really sticking the landing regarding its truly underacknowledged theme.

No sense writing a lengthy dissertation that would mimic what thousands have said about them before me. I love the Beatles. This is my third or fourth favorite Beatles album, and almost all of them will get 5/5 from me.

Hadn't heard of John Cale previously, but thought I knew what I was in for as soon as I identified him as the co-founder of Velvet Underground. I was mostly wrong, as this was a much more piano driven, orchestral sound than I would have guessed. There were certainly songs here that fit the bill (particularly Macbeth, which easily could have been a VU track), but it also gave a sense of differing experimentation that I found mildly compelling. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it, so it slides neatly into a 3/5 that I may never revisit.

Dropping this the day after John Cale's solo album feels a bit less than random, but I can appreciate the juxtaposition. The shadow cast by VU is a long one indeed, as the level of distortion and wall of sound style that they revolutionized sounds almost second nature to a 90s kid like me. The Gift was the standout for me here, though the title track and Lady Godiva were great bookends on either side of it. Unfortunately, this is a sound that wears on me after a bit, and by the time it got to I Heard Her Call my name I was ready for something else. Given the marathon that is Sister Ray was still ahead of me, I found myself ready for it to be over with half of the album's runtime to go. Thankfully it lightened the abrasion ever so slightly through most of that track, but I still couldn't make out mush of the vocals aside from "sucking on my ding dong," which may have been a blessing. The god stuff was enough to push this to a 3.5/5, but not one that I feel compelled to round up.

Perhaps the most epic introduction to any band in the history of recorded music, the opening title track is one of my absolute favorite Black Sabbath songs, and worthy of the 5/5 rating that I will inevitably give this one all by itself. Iommi and Ozzy get most of the credit, but Geezer's bottomless bass and Bill Ward's frollicking jazz set so much of the tone on this one, and out of the gate you know you're dealing with something different. The harmonica lead in on The Wizard throws a nod (or a challenge?) at Jethro Tull while dredging deeper and muddier depths than any of their contemporaries had imagined, and all before comparing sleep to death and the devil demanding the love of a mortal woman. At first listen, it may sound front loaded, but the second half of the album isn't particularly skipable, as Sleeping Village/Warning delve into their proggier side and show immense technicality for a freshman effort. Retrospectively my #3 Sabbath album behind Paranoid and Master of Reality (which is a crime to have left off this list), it undeniably ushered in and laid the foundation for an entire new genre of rock, and would blaze a path for countless others to follow.

This is exactly the kinda shannanigans that I'm getting tired of with this list. Whoever these dweebs are, they have TWO albums on featured that I definitely did not need to hear before I die. In a way, I suppose it IS interesting to learn what sort of sounds will immediately get my hackles up, because this is one of them for sure. Even before the vocals started I was in britpop alert mode, which is a hard swing from yesterday's Black Sabbath. Layer what sounded like Robert Smith 8 pints in and I just couldn't do it this morning. To my credit, I at least STARTED every track on the album and gave it a chance, but it took coming back for a second listen in the afternoon to soften this to a 2.5/5 that I simply refuse to round up (even after discovering that Shaun Ryder sand the backing vocals on The Gorillaz track, "Dare," which I'd give a higher rating than this album).

It's the late 80s and a lesbian from Canada with a Stray Cats haircut gets her big break singing front for a Patsy Cline tribute band (The Reclines was a great name, btw), so she drops an album mixing old "standards" of crooners from the 40s and 50s with a few original songs written by some of the same songwriters, all with varying degrees of country twang and jangle. She picked songs that show off her range and are just b-side enough to show that she knows her history and is a serious musician, and gets the guy who produced Patsy Cline's best albums to run the show on this one. It's like American Idol before there was one, and it's a pretty inspiring start to a career that led to her being a household name. All of that to say that I appreciate the artist much more than I appreciate the medium here. I'm just not a big fan of country, so a lot of her later work jives better with me than this one did. It's hard to blame her for that, as her voice is amazing and somewhat wasted on this material. It's still a 3/5 that prompted me to listen to her 1987 collaboration with Roy Orbison to re-record Crying, as well as her 2002 collaboration with Tony Bennett on A Wonderful World. You should check those out, too, as they're better than most of the material here.

This was my first time hearing this album in its entirety, and I was surprised to find didn't hate it. Aside from the first song (which most folks of a certain age have heard too many times), it had a thoroughly 80s euro-pop-electronica sound that wouldn't stand out in a crowd of their contemporaries, but was a fine for a throwback Thursday. That doesn't mean that I feel the need to ever return to it, but it exceeded my relatively low expectactions, and happy enough to reward it with a 3/5.

I had heard this album a number of times through, but will admit that I'd never really LISTENED to it. As such, it took some discussion with peers to approach this as a "concept album," as I'd never put this together as a narrative driven "soul opera" of sorts, framed within the return of a veteran from Vietnam, alienated from family and culture, putting a critical lense on his society and environment. I guess if I see someone building a tiny house I just assume it's a shed until someone tells me otherwise. The perspective added a bit more depth to an album that had already scored a 5/5 from me, and breathed some life back into this listen.

They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but does the same apply for albums? Never having heard of this band before, the first impression was an eyeroll so hard that a headache ensued. And perhaps a bit of kudos is due here, because if ever there was an album that SOUNDED like its cover, it's this one. Because it turns out that in 2004, what the world really needed was a couple more pouty, whiny, overexposed junkies with derivitive lyrics, recycled riffs, and not a lot to say. Too harsh? Maybe. The riffs they borrow and the sounds they derive from aren't the worst, and they do blend a Stray Cats rockabilly with their post-punk sound well enough to appeal to a British market saturated with the latter, just not well enough to call me back for another listen. So I'll settle on a grudging 2/5 that's still a far cry better than Morrissey.

How do you follow up one of the greatest rock albums in history? Why, with another of the greatest rock albums in history, ostensibly condemning the experience of making the previous album and regretting that the good friend you lost along the way hadn't been along for the ride, of course. The three singles here were all monster hits, and the nearly 26 minutes of Shine On You Crazy Diamond (pts. 1-9) stand as some of the greatest prog rock ever recorded. It's a shame we only got a few more years of true Pink Floyd greatness before the ego and bickering led to them parting ways and warring over rights and royalties, but I'd make the case that they found their true sound and stride in Meddle and this album is the middle of a 5 star five album wave they rode it through. A solid 7/5 that I'll round down becuase I have to.

A far cry more laid back and chill than Bitches Brew, and a touch more inexplicably complex and emotional than Birth of Cool, this one took me for a pretty nice ride today. As I've stated before I am no jazz connoisseur, and it will seldom be the genre I reach for without prompting, but I am coming around to his style and can appreciate the artisty. Like Bitches Brew, it's a 4.5/5 that I'm hesitant to round up but may come back to.

Love him, hate him, or somehow remain ambivalent, Snoop Dogg is a household name that has grown to be an international icon. Not many of us could have seen the Martha Stewart friendship, or him becoming the poster child for the Olympics, or his forays into children's animated programming, but this is the 4x Platinum blockbuster that started it all, and laid a foundation for several more to follow. Thirty-three years on, the musicality remains pretty great, with well placed samples, some soulful grooves, and clean, crisp production. But boy did the lyrics age like milk. What felt edgy and comedic in my younger years just sounds juvenile and cliche in retrospect, and I'd be genuinely curious what the N word count vs. the profanity count would look like on paper. And while he's one of the biggest names in the Dr. Dre (who he name drops in nearly every track) stable of performers, I don't feel like he ever had the depth of social commentatry and activism that came from NWA. In the end, it was a nice stroll down memory lane that I may never come back to, but it still rounds up to a 4/5 in my book.

It might be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like this is one of the more overrated albums of all time. Don't get me wrong, it's good, bordering on REALLY good, but I just don't think it's GREAT. I've listened to it multiple times over the last few decades and have TRIED to love it, but I still feel like I appreciate the message more than the music itself, and while (as a concept album) it tells a good story with a solid theme, it tends toward monotony, and the constant classroom segues get annoying after the third or fourth or fith track. All that to say that it easily garners a 4/5 from me, but never shook the 5/5 out of me that I'd expect from all of the love and accolades it's received.

I've had limited exposure to these guys, mostly in their later work, but I was pretty optimistic when this one came up. Wrongly so, as this one seems an acquired taste that I was just not interested in acquiring, with large swaths of noise and distortion that I found downright repellent. Almost can't believe this list chose this album over Electriclarryland, but given my experience with its questionable inclusions to this point, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Overall, I found few enough redeeming qualities to round up from the 1.5/5 that I settled on, and am glad that whatever inspiration Kurt Cobain found in this album morphed itself into something resembling music through his lens.

What a pouty, whiny, sigh of an album this is. Even the chord changes of the acoustic guitar find a way to be overly shrill and melodramatic. Thankfully there were track numbers and short pauses to distinguish where one song ended and the next one began, as even those weren't sufficient enough for me to notice a few of the times. The one song that all of them blend into is fine, I suppose, particularly as a soundtrack for staring at one's feet and kicking rocks about, but as I was not in the mood or setting do do so it left me melancholy and mildly dissatisfied. I'll round it up to a 3/5 for being so abundantly flat with its highs and lows, but am certainly not looking forward to their other, lower rated offering on this list.

With only nominal exposure or familiarity to Sarah Vaughn, I was nevertheless thrilled to see a live performance from such an accomplished vocalist come up this morning. And WOW did this one not disappoint. The production quality here was absolutely stellar, with the piano, the voice capture, and even the conversations and laughter amongst the audience members coming through crisp and clear as a bell. With headphones on I could literally close my eyes and smell the cigarettes and gin. Further endearing was the early "foul up" of Willow Weep for Me, which drew me even further into the "being there" aspect and had me chuckling right along with the audience and Sarah. Despite the overall lack of variety (each song sounding markedly similar to the last), I was nevertheless disappointed enough at the 36 minute runtime to start it back at the beginning and pretend that I was hearing each track for the first time again. An easy 4.5/5 that I'm only hesitant to round up because of the aforementioned repetitiveness and lack of variety.

Like so many, I know Cream mostly from their hits, but had never in my memory heard this or their other full albums. Turns out, for this one at least, I didn't really need to do so before I died. The highlights (Strange Brew, Sunshine of Your Love, and Tales of Brave Ulysses) are pretty great, but the rest is fair to middling at best. Given the outstanding previous and later work of Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, I'm going to assume that Jack Bruce is the weak link here and leave it at that. The mentioned tracks will maintain a place on my playlist, and the album gets a star for each of those, with not much reason to revisit this album as a whole.

Has a hornier album ever been recorded? There might be a few others vying for the title, but the passion and soul that Marvin injects into this one with tracks like Let's Get it On, Keep Getting it On, Come Get to This, Distant Lover, and You Sure Love to Ball (which it turns out IS NOT a sports reference)put it at the pinnacle for me. Is ever sex needed a soundtrack, it found one here. That said, it does lend the album a one dimensional aspect that doesn't quite hold up to repeated listening, even if it doesn't overstay its welcome with a 32 minute runtime. Sure, it has his biggest commercial hit (and aruably greatest track), but the full package doesn't hold up for me the way that his other work does. Still, it earns a notable 4.5 that I'm reluctant to round up today.

I remember this one being a HUGE album until it wasn't. I remember the song (and that Prince wrote it), and I remember the tearing of the picture and the backlash afterward, but I'd honestly never had an opportunity to hear the rest of the album, and was a little flummoxed when it came up on this list. And when I listened to it, I was a whole other kind of surprised. This is a good album. Maybe not a damn good album or a wonderful album, but much different and more interesting than I'd expected. Way more Tori Amos/Fiona Apple/Bjork adjacent and less Dolores O'Riordan than anticipated (and I am at least a casual fan of all of the above). It may not be a blind 5, but it does round up to a 4/5, and intrigued me enough to search out some of her later work to see where she went creatively after her public ostricism.

This one took quite a bit of acclimation, as my initial impression triggered a decided eyeroll and sigh. Upon further exploration I discovered that I REALLY enjoy the music and instrumentation here (the strings and marimba work are enchanting), but I found the singer's voice a bit squealy and grating. Not just that I couldn't understand the lyrics, mind you, but somewhat akin to my impression of Rush, as I adore their music but it took repeated listens to acclimate to Geddy Lee's voice, and I can still only handle it in small doses or on certain tracks. Still, the whole of the experience rose to a solid 3.5/5 that I won't round up now, but may come back to should I decide to explore further.

Definitely not my first rodeo for this one, as it came out when I was in high school and prompted a bit of a Ministry phase. As has become typical of this list, this isn't the Ministry album I'd have chosen, because A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste is IMO their better album and was a bit more influential. This one has much higher shock value, though, so I can see why they did, and I may be splitting hairs given that both are albums I've revisited over the years. Great at what it does, but obviously not for everyone, it's still a solid 4/5 from me after all these (gulp) decades.

Most everyone is familiar with the hits from this one, and there are plenty. And if you're into researching the baggage that comes along with the artists on the list, there's plenty to unpack here, as well. The controversial cover that was pulled from shelves, the banana eaten on the Ed Sullivan Show, the Fleetwood Mac style love triangles, the affiliation with the Manson murders, and of course, there's John Phillips. All of that aside (or taken into account), I found the album itself enjoyable, humming along to the ones I knew and tapping toes to the ones I didn't. Reminiscent of the Beach Boys, with large doses of Motown and a pinch or three of the Beatles, they blended into a bluesy-folky energy that was hard to dislike. It isn't necessarily my thing, and it won't be going into heavy rotation or anything, but it still earns a 3.5/5 that I'm happy enough to round up.

Like most, I was familiar with Randy Newman due to Toy Story, but that had never compelled me to dive further into his work. Which is a shame, because much to my surprise and chagrin, I genuinely enjoyed this album. With one of the most recognizable voices in the music industry, Randy tosses the double bird at anyone who might want him to keep politics out or their music, mixing humor, poignancy, and biting social commentary into an enjoyable journey across the American landscape that might not be so enjoyable if you find yourself on the receiving end of his critiques. At times a tad monotonous, it does a good job of not overstaying its welcome, and settles in at a solid 4/5 for me that does make me want to dig a bit further. Looking forward to his other album on this list.

This one caught me completely out of right field, as I'd never heard of this band before and was stunned to discover these guys were making this style of music all the way back in 1980. You could have easily convinced me this was released in the late 80s or very early 90s, and it would have still been ahead of the surge of industrial rock/metal and post punk that left its mark the final decade of the last century. That's not to call it great, as the singer leaves much to be desired, and while it employs the hallmarks of that sludgy industrial grunge that was to come, it's raw and repetitive, with little progression or change, and several of these tracks overstay their welcome by a wide margin. But it's a solid 3/5, as there's certainly a foundation being laid, and given that this is their debut, I look forward to exploring more to see where they went with it after.

Wow, is this one front loaded! I listened to the original double album release, with the first three tracks that make up Side 1 no nonsense bangers that most of us have heard dozens, if not hundreds, of times and most likely didn't pay enough attention to the lyrics for many of them. Let's Pretend We're Married is enough to give Darling Nikki a run for its money in the "what did he just say" department, DSMR is good but overstays its welcome, and Lady Cab Driver should have led to a lawsuit against Ready for the World for their single "Oh, Sheila," which was a direct ripoff that led them to a #1 single. The single album would no doubt rate higher, as it cuts out the fat of the album, but it's the fat on the double album that keeps it from 5 star status IMO. As such, it rounds up to a 4/5 that I'm willing to skip a couple songs to get to the good stuff on.

I've tried and tried with this one, as it's on every "you should like list" I've ever had directed at me. And yeah, Seven Nation Army is an absolute banger that holds up to listen after listen. But the rest of the album is like black coffee that I've never acquired a taste for. It's astounding that they can make that much noise with just a guitar and drums, and there's obviously some looping that goes into it, but a screechy guitar in front of a wall of reverb just grows tiring after a bit. While I certainly don't hate it, it's hard to find a second or third track compelling enough to make we want to put it on unprompted. As such, it's still a 3.5/5 that I don't feel compelled to round up.

As if unseasoned mashed potatoes needed a soundtrack...

In 1971, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" was the first Bee Gees' No. 1 single in the United States. So what the hell was wrong with people in the US in 1971?? And following it up with a love song to Israel? Just, wow. This entire album was an exercise in making nails on a chalkboard a boring pasttime, and honestly made me question whether I like the Bee Gees as much as I thought I did (obviously, I do not). The title track may have been the least horrible song here, but it was never going to be enough to round this one up to a 2/5.

Phenomenal debut from a truly legendary band. Running With the Devil is among the greatest rock anthems of all time, and Eruption solidified Eddie's place as one of the greatest guitarists of all time right out of the gate. Filled with banger after banger, with a couple of outstanding covers thrown in for good measure, this album (and the other on this list) has always been a 5/5 in my book.

This one is much, much closer to my jazz comfort zone, with balanced instrumentation, incredible arrangements, and a more structured and approachable sound. The piano is just captivating, and even the longer tracks don't overstay their welcome (well, maybe a midwestern goodbye or two). Take Five is everything everyone ever said that it was and more. It's a very solid 4.5/5 that I may return to round up if it calls me back enough.

This one's a head scratcher to me. Having heard my fair share of Broadway musicals at the urging of my wife, I recognize their styling and arrangement here. By the same token, I've discovered that I'm not particularly drawn to Broadway musicals and cabaret in the first place, and this one has the added bonus of featuring a bunch of artists I'm either not familiar with or do not find particularly compelling. Finishing the album didn't do much to convince me otherwise, or that I needed to hear it before I died. Not the worst this list has had to offer, but still scratching my head at its inclusion.

I had dipped my feet on the edge of but never really dove into jazz before this exercise, and after a dozen or so albums from the genre I've determined that I like big band more than I like jazz, and I REALLY enjoy the former disguised as the latter. Today's album is pretty solid, but it does color outside the lines a bit too much for me, and is slightly less enjoyable than The Dave Brubeck Quartet was a couple days ago. The incredible percussion does fill some of that gap, though, and after falling in love with Fela Kuti's live album from this list, I enjoyed the "afrobeats" inspiration in this one and wished it would have veered more in that direction than the more traditional sounding jazz it sticks to here. It did have me exploring more of his work, and I was particularly intrigued by his Herb Alpert collaboration in 1978. All in all, this one's a 3.5/5 that I'll round up, and I definitely appreciate the introduction.

Having only heard their hits (none of which are present here), this was another I was unfamiliar with and had no idea what to expect. The cheeky, somewhat dated British humor was hit or miss, though the music was middle of the road enough to not be too obnoxious. A fairly unremarkable 2.5/5 that I don't care to round up.

I'd heard and enjoyed the singles Sunshine Superman and Season of the Witch before, but was pleasantly surprised by how well the rest of the album held up. While it did sag in places (the combination of Legend of a Girl and Three King Fishers worked hard to lull me to sleep), there were enough memorable riffs and toe tapping variety to revisit the highlights for a second helping later in the day. It's a 3.5 that I'd have rounded up if it had just a bit more oompf.

Came into this one completely fresh, as I'd only vaguely heard of them and was never exposed. I really wanted to like this one, as it had a sound reminiscent of the Doors and some other late 60s psychodelia, but I found myself bouncing off of the the minimalist/shoddy production value right out of the gate. Every song seemed to bring a little something to like, but most tracks either overstayed their welcome or included some shrill guitar riff, screechy vocals, or calliope sounding organ music that annoyed and repelled me. Not the worst I've ever heard, but I certainly wasn't high enough to give it its due. A disappointing 2/5 that I hoped to like more than I did.

Have this one on vinyl and have spun it a dozen times. I totally understand that it can be as long winded as any double album, and not every track on it is a five star banger, but the range and variety of this one just keep me coming back, and the highlights more than make up for the lows. It's my favorite of what ELO has to offer, and easily meets my threshhold for a 5/5.

Not being the biggest fan of the Punk genre, I'd heard of but was not very familiar with Dead Kennedys. Out of the gate it had that jarring sound one would expect, and the production did it no favors, but as the album progressed I found (or rather, had friends point out) shades of System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine that I hadn't expected, particularly in the track Drug Me, which could have been on any SoaD album with very minor tweaks. All-in-all, I found it a bit more enjoyable than the typical punk album, and it rounds up to a 4/5 that I may explore further.

Well, I do like this album a bit more than Green (the previous R.E.M. entry we had on this list), but I still don't think I'll come around to being an actual fan. I definitely lean more into the Man On the Moon parts of R.E.M. than the Everybody Hurts tracks (my least favorite song of theirs, though there are a few contenders). But there's enough compelling material here (Drive, Ignoreland, MotM, and Nightswimming being the highlights for me) to overcome that blip and round this one up to a 4/5.

I was pretty excited to see James Brown come up on the feed this morning, as I'd heard a lot of his hits but never sat down with a full album. Unfortunately, I don't think this was the best option to do that with. It's got some good material, and he'd definitely developed his signature swagger by this point, but as live albums go I felt the production was not up to the task, giving it a muffled and faraway sound that broke the illusion almost immediately. At only 30 minutes (after the 1:48 introcuction), nearly a third of the runtime was devoted to the crowd pandering ad libs of Lost Someone (fun, sure, but not really conducive to repeated listing). It's still a 3/5 that prompted me to have a look at his expansive discography and dive a little deeper into this legendary artist.