10/10: what a start. One of my favourite and most listened albums of all time. Every song is a masterpiece and deserves its own place in music history. Every musician on this album is outstanding, but oh my god Ozzy Osbourne blows me away every time. If this album does nothing for you, chances are we simply have no common interests musically. As good as it gets, good luck to whoever’s next.
Favourite song: N.I.B.
Best moment: when Ozzy goes “ooooooooh noooooooooo” on Black Sabbath
For fans of: any electric guitar-based music
10/10 Another day, another 10, another album that makes me feel 16 again. OK Computer is the sound of becoming an adult and realising that a lot of things aren’t as great as your parents made you think they were.
Best song: Paranoid Android
Best moment: the ‘rain down’ bit at the end of Paranoid Android
6/10: opening track is an absolute all-timer but it got a bit repetitive towards the end for me. Great voice and a very well-produced album but not really my vibe.
Best song: Let’s Stay Together
Best moment: hearing the opening to Let’s Stay Together and realising it’s the song from Pulp Fiction
6/10: this was my first time listening to an album by The Police and overall, mixed bag. The consensus on this album is that the first half is a bit crap and then the second half great, but I actually really loved the first half of the album with all the mad prog rock bits, but the second half was all a bit slow and samey to me.
Best song: Syncronicity I
Best moment(s): the bits on side A that reminded me of the all the bands clearly inspired by this stuff like Black Midi
8/10: a charming album by one of Britain’s most charming bands. Makes me nostalgic for a world I never knew. More albums should be as fun as this are, whimsy is underrated.
Best song: People Take Pictures of Each Other
Best moment(s): the quaint little storytelling in the verses of the title track
10/10: one of the best albums ever by one of the best bands ever. I got into Pink Floyd relatively late in my musical discovery but my god am I glad this band is in my life.
Best song: Wish You Were Here
5/10: I liked the songs about murder and broken hearted children, less so the ones about god. Clearly very influential and the melodies were pleasant, but I don’t see much re-listen value in this one to me.
Best song: A Tiny Broken Heart
4/10: mostly just twee fluff that spends a lot of time imitating things I’d rather be listening to. I really don’t like the white boy reggae bits, the psychedelic bits and the folk songs are forgettable. This is one of those albums in the proud British indie landfill tradition, hot amongst music journalists for a few weeks, forgotten thereafter. 100% never listening to this again.
Best song: Lying in the Snow
8/10: energetic, swaggering and gritty. This album has all the punk rock sleaze you’d want from Iggy Pop while also being underpinned by the always excellent songwriting of David Bowie. Super consistent and engaging, some of the lyrics haven’t aged the best but overall a really excellent listen.
Best song: Passenger
4/10: music - 🌊😎☀️, vocals - 🚬💊🧟
I liked some the soundscapes of this album, but I really didn’t vibe with the whole Lemmy-meets-Louis Armstrong-meets-Nick Drake delivery of John Martyn’s vocals. I can hear the influence on later, better music but my god do I wish this was an instrumental album. Also, calling a song ‘Big Muff’ is absolutely hilarious.
5/10: of all the albums on this list, this sure is one of them. There were some good bits particularly at the start but the back end of this really dragged for me.
Best song: On My Hotel TV
8/10: a warm hug of an album, like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold rainy day. Is it schmaltzy? Yep. Is it cool? Nope. Do I love it? Absolutely.
Best song: Father and Son
7/10: pompous, over-the-top and preachy. Bono is a ridiculous man who fronts a ridiculous band. But my god when they get it right they get it so so right. The highs are 10/10 moments, but the lows are really quite low. A good album, super inconsistent.
Best song: Elevation
9/10: this was my first time listening to an REM album in full and I had a great time. The lyrics are great, the musical composition is fantastic, the album really works as a coherent piece. I had a great time with this and I can’t wait for the next time I get one of their albums moving forward.
Best song: Orange Crush
6/10: this should have really clicked with me, but it just didn’t to be honest. Phil Collins’ drum performance is excellent and it’s fun to get a bit of Kate Bush at a couple of points but I just didn’t really feel much of a pull to this album to be honest. I would revisit it in the future but for now I’m not hugely enamoured by it.
Best song: Intruder
