I didn't know this band. Interesting listening, I had a rather good time. I'm giving it a 3.5.
Music for the Masses - Depeche Mode (1987)
So many people don't actually like Depeche Mode. I always thought they were a great and interesting band, sonically speaking. This album and Violator (which I'm eager to listen to) are, I believe, the only 2 albums by them that made it to this list. So what to say about Music for the Masses? I had never listened to it before but it's very similar to any of their previous work, in terms of sound, arrangement, harmonies, tone and themes. The most famous pieces here (Never Let Me Down Again, Strangelove) are not the hits that are, say Love in Itself, People Are People or Masters and Servants, but it's a pretty solid album from beginning to end. I'm keeping my four-star rating.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.5/10
[This album was listened to and rated on May the 18th, 2026. Review was added on October the 19th, 2026.]
Crime Of The Century - Supertramp (1974)
Oh Supertramp, I just love this band so much.
I believe this is their only album on this list. Shame, I would have loved to get to listen and review Breakfast In America, which is probably their best album, as part of this project. In any case, Crime Of The Century is an excellent album too, even if, as many critics have pointed out, it sometimes goes a bit too far down its own rabbit hole. At times, it has the feel of a live album, which I quite like. I know this is a contentious issue, but I enjoy Roger Hodgson's compositions just as much as Rick Davies's. I really appreciate the alternation between jazz-inspired tracks and others with a more rock-oriented approach, as I think it works really well, with transitions between tracks that I particularly enjoy.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
8.25/10
[This album was listened to and rated on May the 20th, 2026. Review was added on October the 19th, 2026.]
Shadowland - k.d. lang (1988)
Great voice. These are mostly if not exclusively covers, but it was a good listen. I see it's getting some harsh reviews over there, and I may be biased because I think women are too rare in this list, but I really liked the album.
⭐⭐⭐
7/10
[This album has been listened to and rated on October the 2nd, 2026.]
Justified - Justin Timberlake (2002)
Well, that was actually better than I thought it would be. Or maybe I'm more sensitive to this kind of musicality now than I was 15 years ago. No track really stands out to me, apart from the extremely famous hits on it. It's also a bit repetitive and somehow could have been shorter. Overall a pretty decent listening and an okay R&B album.
⭐⭐⭐
5.75/10
[This album was listened to and reviewed on October the 4th, 2026.]
Too loud. I'm not against expressing violence or angst in songs, but this ends up being too tiring to listen to. I like some of their mainstream songs but the whole stuff is not really my thing. R.I.P. Chester.
Group Sex - Circle Jerk (1980)
After so many demanding, never-ending Prog albums, listening to this good Punk 15-minute-long throwaway is very appreciated.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.25/10
[This album was listened to and reviewed on October the 4th, 2026.]
I had a short Springsteen phase in my teenager years, but I hadn't listened to him again since then, this album in particular. Kinda dull IMO. Very workman like if you listen to this as background music though. Some iconic songs too, so my definite ratings would be a 2.5.
Bone Machine - Tom Waits (1992)
Maybe Tom's sinister, Tim-Burtonesque style is tedious to some. Maybe his wacky, out of touch musicality ends up hurting some ears. Maybe his Dastardly Whiplash like voice is tiresome to others (you actually can hear him coughing at the end of Jesus Gonna Be Here.) Not to me. Can't wait for the other Tom Waits albums to show up, Rain Dogs in particular.
Fave tracks: Dirt In The Ground, Such A Scream, Goin' Out West, Black Wings, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, That Feel.
Also liked the ballad Who Are You This Time, though it is very similar to Time from Rain Dogs.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
8.75/10
[This album was listened to and reviewed on October the 4th, 2026.]
2112 - Rush (1976)
May not be one of the best Prog recordings of the days, but I just love Geddy Lee's voice.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.5/10
[This album has been listened to and reviewed on October the 3rd, 2026.]
The United States Of America - The United States Of America (1968)
Why did I love this so much? Why did I procrastinate this for so long ? Let's be honest, when I saw the title, the band's name and the release year, I thought I was in for some corny, semi-boring rock album like that era loved to churn out. How wrong I was. These guys are pioneers of styles that wouldn't even take off until long after the 60s. And their songs seem very finely written to me, especially compared to what was being made back then... Why are they so underrated?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
9.75/10
[This album has been listened to and reviewed on October the 2nd, 2026. Review was edited on October the 22nd, 2026. I raised my rating by 0.25/10.]
Architecture And Morality - Orchestral Manœuvres In The Dark (1981)
Knew them almost only for Enola Gay... Very good Electronica/Synthpop album, and I don't really favor these genres in general, though I like New Wave, which has its touch on the album too. Love how they are a British band and made two songs about Joan of Arc. They are not chauvinistic, which is very appreciated. I liked the tacking work and joyful tune on Georgia. Souvenir makes me think of Daft Punk but before Daft Punk and better IMO. Loved the ominous synths on Motion And Heart, and the triangle-like one on Gravity Never Failed.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.75/10
[This album has been listened to and reviewed on October the 2nd, 2026.]
I had no idea this album existed. I had a lot of fun listening to it. Loved these at time joyful, at time ominous tunes. Beautiful harmonies, as you may expect from Brian Wilson.
MTV Unplugged In New York - Nirvana (1994)
Legendary. Special love for Polly.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10
[This album was listened to and reviewed on October the 3rd, 2026.]
Meat Is Murder - The Smiths (1985)
Good album. I like Morissey's vocals.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.75/10
[This album was listened to and reviewed on October the 4th, 2026.]
Beautiful melodies and chord arrangements. A delightful album. Every track is great on it. It's a tragedy that Nick left this world so early.
Very nice rock/punk album. IMO much better than many much less obscure on this list so far (I'm looking at you, Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town). Several very cool tracks. I'll definitely listen to it again. Was about to give it a 3 but heh, I really liked this. So I give it a 4/5.
Go Girl Crazy - The Dictators (1975)
Is it criminal if I tell you that I liked their I Got You Babe better than the original? (Phew! No annoyous oboe on this one. And I've got nothing against oboe, not even against harpsichord for that matter, I love these instruments.)
Otherwise, I think some of the lyrics in this album are not very 2026-compatible. Well, it was certainly meant to be scandalous even back in the days anyway, but... Nevermind.
Still, a true Master Race Rock album. And a better band than Kiss anyday.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.5/10
[This album has been listened to and rated on October the 1st, 2026.]
Madman Across The Water - Elton John
I've never been a fan of Elton and I'm afraid I'm not really starting with this album, despite its undeniable production quality.
I liked the orchestration for the title song and Holiday Inn though. Also the last song, because it was short, for a change. Well, that last sentence is what I'd say if I were meaner.
4.5/10
Not the kind of music I usually listen to, but I liked a few songs, like Désespoir and Élixir. If you understand French it has got some touching lyrics. I'm neither bored neither hooked by this. Maybe the whole stuff is too repetitive to my taste. 2.5/5
I knew the 3 or 4 hits on this album, but I had never listened to the whole stuff, though I always liked Dire Straits. Solid rock album, as you may expect from Dire Straits.
⭐⭐⭐
7/10
[This review was edited on October the 22nd, 2026. I took off one star because on a second listen this album no longer seems that exciting to me. Also cut off some unnecessary track listing.]
Odessey And Oracle - The Zombies
I had not heard much from The Zombies before, except some of their biggest hits (She's not there, Summertime...). It was a great discovery. This album is obviously influenced by what The Beatles or The Beach Boys were releasing in these days, and while it hasn't got the whimsy of the formers and the vocal harmonies of the laters, it's still very charming in its own way, and a very solid album, from a golden era for pop music. I don't usually pay so much attention to the lyrics as I'm not always able to understand them, but I also appreciated the lyrics of this album, because they seemed to be less 'macho man' than what was often written by then.
8.25/10
Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan
Great album. Every song is great, and I am a fond of the last 5 tracks in particular. Night by Night makes me think of a 70s You've Lost that Lovin Feeling cover by Isaac Hayes. Speaking if covers, the album's got a great Duke Ellington one too.
8.5/10
Lady Soul - Aretha Franklin
Great great voice. A non-skip album too. Every track is as thrilling and engaging as the rest. It never runs out of steam, thanks to Aretha's relentless vocal performance, and its very solid selection of songs and instrumentalists. 5 songs out of 10 are covers, and the remaining 5 were first sung by Aretha herself and sometimes cowritten by her, and each of them manage to become a standard .
Thanks to the alternation of the very upbeat Chain of Fools, Money Won't Change You, Niki Hoeky, Since You've Been Gone, Come Back Baby and the ballads People Get Ready, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Good to Me as I Am to You, the album never loses its lush and its groove and never becomes boring. This alternation also evidences Aretha's greatness as an interprete, on both vocal and emotive levels. Ain't No Way is a perfect coda for this rather ideal album.
8.75/10
What kind of mixing is this? Why does at least half of the album sound like I'm listening to it with my ears filled with water? At some point I really felt the need to check my ears. Barely listenable. Fortunately the rest of the album has a clearer sound. Otherwise a very decent pop album, and a very enjoyable one, unless you can't stand these 80s synths. I liked the second half (Somebody Up There, New Gold Dream...) better than the first, partly because of this weird, muffled mixing. 3.25/5.
Some weird but beautiful string arrangements on 'Old Friends' or 'Bookends Theme (reprise)'. The last 4 tracks of the album (including the famous 'Mrs Robinson') are more upbeat but didn't really appeal to me, though I surprised myself to like 'A Hazy Shade of Winter'. I know Simon & Garfunkel are renowned for the lyrics of their songs but for this album they didn't really do it to me. Overall a nice fall/winter album but not what I like the most, 7/10.
A very short and homogenous album. Started out very strongly but at some point it kinda bored me, partly because there's so little melody in this. I think they've got better recordings than this, like their 'Salad Days' in 1985. I think this album is better listened to with every track taken separately rather than than the whole thing in one shot, even though it's so short. 6.5/10
Africa Brasil - Jorge Ben Jor
Very good bass, guitars, drums and cuíca. Learning more about this album and everything surrounding its creation was interesting too.
Taj Mahal is possibly the most famous track here (thanks Rod Stewart lol), but I also loved O Filósofo and the very lively Xica Da Silva (about a former slave who became a very rich woman), Camisa 10 Da Gávea and its flute. IMO the strongest tracks are the last 2 though: Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado (and its amazing drums and rythm) and the powerful África Brasil (Zumbi).
Overall a non-skip album which I'll listen again.
Voa Jorge, voa!
7.75/10
This Year's Model - Elvis Costello & The Attractions (1978)
So today I get my first Elvis Costello album (and I heard there were a good lot of them on this list).
I had never listened to him very seriously before, so this is kinda new to me, though I already knew Pump It Up, the hit of this album.
So far I enjoyed it very much. I loved the groove, the overall New Wave touch on it, carried by that keyboard (which is also a nice reminder of 60s Rock).
Favorite tracks: This Year's Girl, The Beat, You Belong To Me, Night Rally.
Least favorite track: Lip Service (too classic).
The only thing that is kind of a damper to me is Costello's delivery at times. On the full lenght of a song it starts becoming very annoying, but it was no major turn off to me either. Listening to this a second time it's already less bothering.
Maybe this guy will grow on me and soon I'll be wondering why I had been listening to Phil Collins for years instead of him lol. See you the next time I get him I guess. Meanwhile I'll listen to this one again.
8.5/10
⭐⭐⭐⭐
P.S: I also liked the two bonus tracks ;)
Too Rye Ay - Dexys Midnight Runners (1982)
I only knew them for Come On Eileen, which I thought to be both silly and rather compelling.
It was a nice discovery. Nothing groundbreaking IMO and it didn't make me as enthusiast as some of the other people doing the project, but it was worth being listened to. It's probably a nice album to put in a family reunion, or something like this. Would definitely give it another listen someday.
⭐⭐⭐
6.5/10
Kid A - Radiohead (2000)
I usually don't really like electronica but some tracks were pretty decent to me.
How to Disappear Completely is great.
Optimistic makes me think of Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier, which is on the list too and which I'm looking forward to listen to.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.5/10
Signing Off - UB40 (1980)
Refreshing Reggae album in a mostly Rock list, works very well as a background music album too (which I don't consider to be lesser music), and a very good debut album. I can't think of a track I really liked more than the rest, all of them were rather even if you take King, Food For Thought and title song Signing Off (which is an instrumental) apart. Maybe their take on Strange Fruit (which was a poem by Abel Meeropol/Lewis Allan before Billie HoIiday made it into a song). Obviously not as harrowing as Billie's, but you can feel the tragic in their prosody.
I think I will listen to this album again because it's a rather cool album, but the only drawback to me is that it sometimes gets too repetitive.
Funnily I used to hate Red Red Wine and didn't realise it was them too. I gave it another listen and now I think it's a cool song too lol.
⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Sunday At The Village Vanguard - Bill Evans Trio (1961)
I'm not really a fond of Jazz, this kind of Jazz in particular, but I appreciate the skills on display here and I had a good time having my diner while listening to this.
Fave tracks: hard to tell since they all are kinda similar and made with different "movements", some of which I like more than others. If I have to select some tracks: Solar, All of you.
⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
I'm afraid the only song that truly stands out in this is the very famous Take Me Out. The rest was very enjoyable though.
⭐⭐⭐
6.25/10
Fever To Tell - Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
Karen O is an insane vocalist. Some very good songs on this too and overall a very enjoyable album.
⭐⭐⭐
6.75/10
Tragic Songs of Life - The Louvin Brothers (1956)
With this album and Will The Circle Be Unbroken by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I'm afraid Country just isn't for me. At least this one is much shorter.
⭐⭐
4.5/10
EDIT: Every track sounds similar but I liked the last one (Mary of the Wild Moor) more than the rest.
If I Should Fall From Grace With God - The Pogues (1988)
Love these guys so much. Considered giving them 5 stars but I'm keeping it for Rum, Sodomy & the Lash.
Fave: Streets of Sorrow/Birmingham Six, Worms, pretty much every track
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.75/10
Strangeways, Here We Come - The Smiths (1987)
Is it just me or does Morrissey sound particularly whiny on this one?.. Anyway, that was a good album, though the tracks sounded a bit too similar to my taste. Not as good as The Queen Is Dead IMO.
⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Can't Buy A Thrill - Steely Dan (1972)
Oh my the album cover looks so cheesy!
First two tracks are amazing. Overall a great album though it starts getting a bit repetitive by the 3rd track. I think it's got some stronger songs than Pretzel Logic, but overall Pretzel Logic is the better album. Only my opinion.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.5/10
Another Green World - Brian Eno (1975)
Took me more than one full listen to form an opinion, as this isn't usually the kind of music I favor, but I can now say that this is a great album. Although many of the album's compositions rely heavily on these airy arrangements and on a airy vibe (which I'm definitely not a fond of) that is often found in electronica and ambient music, Brian Eno is also a very fine melodist who knows how to make a song sufficiently expressive. The result is a very good album that I imagine was pioneering in its genre, sounds much more recent than its release date would suggest.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.5/10
Feast of Wire - Calexico (2003)
I had never heard of this band before. This is a very nice album, with tons of good ideas. These guys have a great musicianship, the production is very neat and the album is never dull. They sometimes remind me of Portishead, sometimes of Radiohead, with nice Mariachi, Afro-Cuban and Jazz explorations.
On a very side note, some songs (Attack El Robot!) make me think of old, cheesy French songs I know. For the record it's Dans les yeux d'Émilie by Joe Dassin and Bambino by Dalida (which Itself is based on an Italian song). Don't know what to do with this. Honestly it's probably just a me thing. Or maybe that's not a coincidence since one of the bonus tracks is a cover of a modern French song (Si tu disais by Françoiz Breut).
Fave: Black Heart, Close Behind (so Ennio Morricone-like), The Book And The Canal, Pepita.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7.75/10
Off The Wall - Michael Jackson (1979)
This is still the early times of MJ's solo carrer, even though this albums marks his first collaboration with Quincy Jones. Not bad at all, but the best is yet to come.
⭐⭐⭐
7/10
Searching for The Young Soul Rebels - Dexys Midnight Runners (1980)
So I've already rated my first DMR album. Can't believe they've got so many of them on this list. Anyway, the average rating for this album is a perfect Gaussian curve, with the median sitting at 3. This is pretty much my opinion on this album. It's good, very pleasant, but is there anything in this you need to listen to before you die ?
Fave tracks: Geno, Thankfully Not Living In Yorkshire It Doesn't Apply.
⭐⭐⭐
6/10
