The most reluctant four star score imaginable. There are so many stone classics on here, and Sir Duke into I Wish is one of the all-time one-two combos. But there's just too much bloat on the double album for me, and a bit too much in the way of pitch-wheel fusion stylings for me to put this up with the best. Still, so much great here. Legitimately great.
Joyous hiphop that feels almost naive considering what came later. Fantastic production, and refreshing to hear lyrics that combine humour and vulnerability. Not a genre that I listen to often, but a classic in time.
Very carefully produced pop, but did little for me then, and even less now. Leaves me ice cold. Maybe because I can't separate the complete pillock that Bono turned out to be, maybe because this brand of pop rock just doesn't turn my crank. I have good friends whose taste I respect who dearly love this iteration of U2, but it's just not for me.
A Britpop classic, with one of the greatest pop songs of all time. Otherwise a bit samey, though, and very of it's time.
Unbearable listen for me, but got an extra star because the production is slick and some of the studio players are good. Feels like a very professional but deeply insincere attempt to take a somewhat unique voice and grave-rob some Motown and Phil Spector. Dusty she ain't. Even Adele she ain't.
Another technically amazing record that just doesn't tickle my fancy. Prince's joyous future-funk is all just a bit camp for my taste, and the sounds just haven't aged well to my ears. I always like his songs better when done by someone else...
Alright, I guess. Better than Oasis, at least. Don't really get the hype, much prefer Parklife, this just comes across as a bit harsh, and the production is thin. Not for me.
Not as wild as expected, but still, a unique voice. Really good record, but not quite four stars for me. 3.5?
Not as bad as some reviews would lead you to believe, but felt simultaneously overlong and inconsequential. Maybe important from an Aussie perspective, but otherwise struggling to see why this is on the list.
A stone cold classic. Underestimated this one most of my life as just a typical '80s synth pop confection, but it turns out this is one of the defining records of the decade. It's near perfect, every song adds a piece to the puzzle, from the big singles to the more subtle bits. Head Over Heels is the absolute peak for me, such genius. No longer underestimated, true greats
Mad genius. So much crazy that coalesces into a wild whole. The ultimate example of how LSD in the late '60s and early '70s made for better records than cocaine in the late '70s and '80s. The live version of Maggot Brain to cap it might be lifted from that (slightly better) record, but it's one of the greatest bits of guitar wankery ever put to tape, so I can't complain about it appearing twice. This record is a thrill to listen to, vibrantly alive.
Solid straight-ahead post-punk and proto-indie, with a surprising ear for melody. Feels very teen angst, though, and so an odd one to come to in my 40s. Still, a great record, and one I'll be coming back to.
Solid straight-ahead post-punk and proto-indie, with a surprising ear for melody. Feels very teen angst, though, and so an odd one to come to in my 40s. Still, a great record, and one I'll be coming back to.
Hard to be objective on this one. Just not my taste at all, listening all the way through was a struggle.
An unexpected joy, and exactly the reason I'm doing this list. Such a fascinating blend of Americana, covering gospel, country, blues, folk, funk, R&B, soul, among others. All transported by a magnificent voice and incredible session players.
Not flattered by following the brilliant No Other by Gene Clark, a much less well known harmoniser who also went solo. The overlong album length only serves to reduce the impact further. Has some moments, but all sort of fades into a wash of harmonies and slide guitar.
A record that makes me feel very old. I mean, it's perfectly serviceable pop, but it's just not for me. Granted, most of this list is skewed heavy to the middle-aged white guy, so I'm hardly underrepresented, but I can only like what I like...
Really dig the band and the production, but can't help feel this is a voice of the era, and the brassiness or falsetto elements just don't work as well now as they maybe once did. Appreciation for this one will definitely come down to how you feel about her voice, and in my case, the feelings veered between acceptance and intense irritation.
Well. A real pleasant surprise after a series of slightly disappointing alt-rock and Britpop staples. One I didn't expect to like so much, but offered real depth and variety. Who knew?
Just not for me. Can appreciate the reasons this stands out in the genre and the artistry, but I will likely never listen to this record again.
So proggy, but like so much in the genre, leaves me dead cold. Just feels like technical execution minus a lot of feeling. I like a good concept album, but the ratio of bad to good has to be easily 20:1...
Excellent straight-ahead thrash, with a more punk twist than expected. Still, probably not the best of the genre, and can start to feel a bit samey after a while.
Wanted to love this so much, as soul is right up my street. But the story of the last song drags and drags, even if it does eventually get somewhere worth going. Otherwise, there's some irrepressible grooves here that hit perfectly, but there's just not enough to elevate it as an album.
A pleasant surprise. I know the singles, but this record really holds up, despite the horny '80s cheese with Hot for Teacher. Jump into Panama is a heck of a one-two, and the rest is solid. Great record.
Most songs felt like they grabbed a decent loop, but then rode it without change. Maybe not listening closely enough for the subtleties, but the laconic stylings of Beck just don't make me want to put in the work.
Quite a surprise. Expected derivative turn-of-the-millennium rock, but this has surprising depth and some great songs. One I'll be coming back to.
Not quite the masterpiece of Dusty in Memphis, but still, an incredible record. She may not have written much herself, but she makes so many of them her own, and the definitive version. The production is heavily influenced by Motown and Phil Spector, and it works. John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin played on a bunch of these, too.
The ultimate Dad Rock album, chock full of sweet Knopfler guitar goodness. The production is 80s cold but with a dream-like quality that lifts the songs with a peculiar airiness that leaves a surprising amount of space. Money for Nothing has that crunchy super-riff, but is an outlier on the record, with so much of the rest in more familiar Dire Straits twangy chill.
Familiar enough to groove with, but different enough to sound unique, especially that voice. Very brief, more of an EP than an LP...
Just far too long. Maybe others will see subtleties that I'm missing, but this record just didn't offer enough variety to just the length. What is there is very good, but eventually too much of a good thing. Would be a four-star record if it was half the length.
Urgent, angry and righteous, and not diminished one iota with age. Hip hop isn't my normal choice, but this is a record that transcends genre. The sample and scratch production is more interesting than most of what I hear lately, too. A stone killer of a record.
A couple catchy classics, but otherwise not much special. Least interesting of the classic rock survivors, despite their long tail into the '90s as a pop band.
Some real disco classics, but funk loses something for me with the four-on-the-floor, so doesn't quite have the longevity of the best in that genre.
A late-90s classic, really captures the loungy zeitgeist of the time. But it's also filled with great tracks that have aged surprisingly well, at least to my ears that were contemporary to the original release.
Tries hard to not be an Arctic Monkeys record, but that voice is so distinctive that it still sounds like an Arctic Monkeys record. A decent set of songs, but probably not unique enough to justify a place here.
Had only heard the singles, especially Lust for Life off the Trainspotting soundtrack. Great record, oozing with Iggy's trademark salacious sneer, somehow making punk dirty sexy instead of just dirty.
For a guy who spent so much time complaining about being popular, he sure wrote a lot of very poppy songs with serious hooks. Hated everything about Nirvana in their time, hate them less now, but still...
Alright, I guess. Solid record, but feels a bit samey after a while. Feel like this wouldn't be on the list if it wasn't a new record in an era with a shortage of great records that see big audiences.
Maybe groundbreaking and influential when new, but just sounds old and well worn now.
Who knew the Beach Boys got this trippy? Some duds, but some incredible pieces, especially the last three songs, that clearly flow from the same genius behind Pet Sounds.
It's alright, I guess. Smooth R'n'B isn't really my jam, much prefer the sweatier soul of the '70s.
The yin to Fear of a Black Planet's yang. Hated this top to bottom, and it gets more and more ridiculous as the tracks go on. Turns out concept records can suck in every genre!
Loved this. Sets such a moody scene, with classic soundtrack styles often overlaid with sharp and glassy synths to create a feeling of tension.
Wow. I'm not someone who gets the feels from most jazz, I prefer my grooves in the pocket rather than swinging. But this is an exception, an obvious masterwork even to the unrefined like me. Mingus brings a manic fury to these pieces, and it's hypnotic.
Not just the Queen of Soul, but the Queen, full stop. Possibly the greatest voice ever recorded, plus some absolutely incredible songs, equals an all-time great record.
Wondrous and weird and unmistakable. Flipped back and forth between a 4 and a 5, so listened again, and then again, and settled on 5. Just an absolutely seminal album, one that has aged with grace.
A pleasant surprise. Possibly the first 'recent' records that has tickled my fancy, maybe because it is so backwards looking in its vibe. Great voice, some very good songs, and great production. Really dug this one and will define coming back to it.
I know Shaun Ryder and Bez more from their drug-addled pensioner personas on Celebrity Gogglebox than their music. Wanted to like this record for that, but.. couldn't really. Feels very 'you had to be there' for when it came out, but has lost impact with time.
All just a bit too wacky and quirky for me to appreciate much. Can't settle on anything for more than a passing moment, and isn't the better for it...
Some beautiful word crafting, but a young Cohen doesn't have the gravitas of an elder Cohen.
Listening again really brought home how this was an evolution of punk, keeping the raw and ragged qualities but exchanging the anger and boisterousness for melancholy and navel gazing. Not really my bag, but can see how it would be for some.
One classic after another, songs that have been so part of the fabric of our lives that they are just part of our collective subconscious at this point.
Have had a run of stuff from the late-70s and early-80s lately: punk, new wave, post-punk, and whatever this is. They all have this sneering swagger in common, even if some are angry, some melancholy, and in this case, absurdist and silly. Some indelible songs, but the pony veers dangerously close to only having one trick...
A reluctant four. I know they were assembled as a simultaneous art project and sales pitch by Malcolm McLaren (sp?), and some of the sneering and exaggerated working class posing is far over the top. But this is one of the most influential albums of all time, a time before all that stuff would have been immediately outed as inauthentic in the modern online hall of mirrors. Not many knew or cared then, they just reacted to the energy, the attitude, and the surprisingly catchy songs. They're still not in the same league as The Clash, and Jonny Rotten turned out to be an even bigger tw*t than anyone thought possible, but so much came in the wake of this record that I can't give it less than a four. Still reluctant...
Some very hooky riffs and moments, but I just can't get past the archness of it all. Feels so self-consciously louche, like Johnny Depp in a perfume ad. Also, if ever a band showed why all other bands have bassists, this is it. The songs would have so much more punch if they had some bottom, instead of sounding like they're being played on a gramophone.
A very good album, but feels a bit lost to me in terms of importance considering the flood of country-inflected rock and folk that was all over in the 70s. Hard to rate too highly in that regard, even if it is a beautiful sounding record full of incredible players.
