Album Reviews

Inventive and cool with just enough weirdness.

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Day 328 Wonderful voice, actually only knew 2 songs on here, liked it a lot Highlights Wearing that loved on look Suspicious minds Kentucky Rain

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Pretty sure half of this albums traffic is being driven by this site It’s alright, pretty inoffensive pop that does a better of job of staying interesting compared to some of the 2010s pop we’ve had. I think the second half is a lot better than the first, decent variety with some psychedelic retro stuff and some more modern electronic stuff. Kept on pace and while I wasn’t in awe or anything I never got bored of it I’ve said before I really hate those stupid whispery vocals that got popular in the 2010s and I stand by that, really just annoys me. I don’t think her voice itself is bad but it actively brings down the quality of each track and I think the instrumental tracks are better. First few songs on this are really generic, and although it recovers a bit it never really wows you I really didn’t hate this one, but it’s inclusion on this list was a complete miss by the list makers. This album’s coming up on 10 years old, is probably the single least popular album we’ve had (not a single track with over 1M streams on Spotify, and doesn’t even have a Wikipedia article), and also is exceedingly generic just like the swaths of late 2010s pop. There’s gotta be some other much more significant stuff for the decade that got left off for this

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Love her madly is a good song, but I still didn't enjoy my time here

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One of the best albums by the Stones in the 60s---although unlike so many people, I love Satanic Majesties Request. How they were able to record "Goin' Home" at 11 minutes---broke barriers even though I find it boring. "Lady Jane," "Mother's Little Helper," "Under My Thumb" are the standouts for me.

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maybe rating up a bit ?? this was so good tho

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another album i think would be better appreciated by someone who has more taste than i do....oh they actually are gonna tour in my city soon!! might make more attempts to digest, but please dont hold me to it fav is living wreck

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There's some absolutely fantastic songs on this album but a few were extremely repetitive and ruined what would otherwise have been a fantastic experience.

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Was prepared to give this the benefit of the doubt as I'm not a big heavy metal fan. But it's nearly an hour and a quarter long of ear-bleeding dull heavy metal and then with a final hidden instrumental track,Canyon Jam, that just meanders and goes nowhere for 13 minutes. Glad this one is now one (star) and done.

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Goofy ahh voice.

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The first of a category I've been dreading, aka Albums I Used To Love That Aren't Necessarily Good But I Have An Intense Amount Of Nostalgia For And Cannot Possible Be Objective About (AIUTLTANGBIHAIAONFACPBOA for short). We all know this is The Bends lite with more astrology. But Knights Of Cydonia rules. But Matt Bellamy is guilty of critical amounts of Fight The Power vagueposting. But it has the twilight song! But he doesn't know how to pronounce English words. But Starlight is iconic. But there's kind of nothing original here. But it filled a gap I didn't know I had while I was waiting to discover Radiohead. But.... it's still Muse. Anyway, 4 stars.

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A bit boring overall with some nice moments scattered about. 2-3 stars

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I like the album Tommy!

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Experimental and very cool but don't see myself listening to the whole thing a lot. Some select songs maybe

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2.5

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Once upon a time, there was a beast named Muhammad Who legalized rape, polygamy, pedophilia, and shamelessness The beast Muhammad wrote the Quran, the Muslims' book of hate A manual of terror, wrath, and pedophilia First-degree murderers, terrorists in a world like no other

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(4/5) Rock classic by a legendary band. It's good and I love the hits, but they always struck me as a bunch of hyperactive kids running around yelling "Watch this!". It's fine and it might even be fun (or funny) at times, but I don't have the patience for it *ALL* the time. That level of energy is unsustainable for me. I haven't snorted enough (or any) cocaine to keep up with that pace. It's over as quickly as it started, which makes this a quick 'shot' of rock.

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I played in a local (and staggeringly unsuccessful) industrial band during the 90s. Don't bother trying to look it up, it has been consigned to the memory hole. We played on the edge of a number of local scenes, but never really fit anywhere. The metal guys didn't like that we didn't have a real drummer. The goths thought we dressed in too many bright colours. The indie/alt scenesters thought it was just a horrible noise. In many ways the electronic/dance people were the most welcoming, although they did look askance at the long hair, guitars and Marshalls. But we played quite a few shows at warehouse dance parties and electronic nights and they were amongst the best shows we played. I hung out with a few people from the Clan Analogue collective (look them up, they are still active https://www.clananalogue.org/), and so was familiar with what was influential in the scene in the early 90s. Orbital were certainly big amongst that crowd, but frankly, it wasn't _that_ different from many of those Clan Analogue acts. This type of electronic dance music sounds awesomely great played through a big PA accompanied by flashing lights in a dark warehouse at 2am in a crowd of dancers while chemically enhanced. But out of that context, I find it all a bit dull. I just don't travel in those circles anymore. Orbital is rightfully one of the great 90s dance acts -- their stuff is clearly head and shoulders above the average, and the appearance of Alison Goldfrapp is always welcome -- but it doesn't feel relevant to me these days. I quite like 'Sad But True', 'Crash and Carry' and 'Are We Here?' and (PS - What is with that terrible cover art?)

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I really like Mr N'Dour's hat.

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To quote Willie Nelson "There are two kinds of men; those who are in love with Emmylou Harris, and those who haven't met her." I only know Emmylou Harris through her records, but that's enough to be madly infatuated. Emmylou Harris has built an incredible body of work as a harmony singer, collaborator and interpreter of songs. But this is one of her rare albums of original songs. Spaciously recorded by Malcolm Burn using a crack band and a host of A-list guests with that atmospheric Lanois-style production, it is spooky and spacious and hard to pigeonhole exactly. It's not the classic country-folk sound of most of her output, but it's classy and sophisticated. But there is no mistaking that Emmylou is the star of the show here. I would listen to her sing the phone book, but this is even better.

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The Good: NOTHING The Bad: Me having to listen to this shit The Ugly: That it seems MIA is good enough to get 2 fucking albums on this list… FUCK YOU DIMERY!!!! this is shit, pretty much all sounds the same… … Hated her other album just as much. Waste of my time 1*

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It’s telling that this album appealed to a younger self. But as an adult, the "edgelord" posturing is hard to look past and made this a real struggle. The album leans heavily into an "only joking (or am I?!)" defence to mask its more offensive instincts, obviously exaggerated for shock value. But this isn't the problem - it's the emotional void. The record constantly pivots between a whining, "poor me" narrative about a difficult childhood and the pressures of fame, while simultaneously offering zero empathy to anyone else. It's the emotional depth of an angsty teenager acting out. In hindsight, he seems to lack any self-awareness when he complains about parents worrying he’s a bad influence. Does he ever stop to ask why his material appeals so heavily to children in the first place? (Note: On a relisten, he does actually state that it's for middle schoolers multiple times. But whether he's joking or serious, it's still true.) It feels too "try-hard" and self-absorbed, and it honestly left me with second-hand embarrassment. I'm sure at the time it was outrageous and fun, but by today's standards, it sounds like stuff an incel would say for attention. It's all just too juvenile. The track "Stan" deserves a call-out for its innovative concept and exploration of parasocial relationships, but the nuance and insight there seem almost accidental compared to the rest of the record. That is the real shame. I think there are interesting ideas that could have been explored well if there were less cringey acting out and a bit more maturity. "Stan" proves he is capable of more, which makes the rest of the album feel even more disappointing and performative. Beyond that, while the production is solid and he possesses a distinct style which he's perfected, it’s telling that the standout track was one he wasn't really on. A lot of the featured artists offered a well needed break. In the end I'd rather just listen to Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and enjoy life. 2/5

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"California Dreamin'" is the highlight here. That opening acoustic guitar is immaculate. For me it is in the pantheon of songs of the Mythological California of which there are many. California loomed large in the psyche of 20th century America and beyond. I love the song. The remainder of the album is quite pleasant in its own right. Right in the wheel house of that 1960s folk rock sound. These tracks are full of harmonies and the right blend of pop sensibilities. Mama Cass and Mama Michelle outshine the guys for sure, in my opinion. In the end though it does all come together for a light 35 minutes. Just stay here though, stay with the music here on this album. There is tragedy on the horizon for this band. Their run was short but sweet. Don't go reading on how the story ends. The music is pleasant enough. Let's let the music be enough. Just keep dreaming of California. We'll get there one day. Promise. 3/5

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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.

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Boy, there's a struggle in my head on this one.. Clapton and Baker absolutely slay the guitar and drums, respectively, but damned if I can't stand Bruce as the singer. "Strange Brew" and "Sunshine.." of course are great, but all the other songs aren't great mainly because of Bruce. I'm taking a knee on this one out of respect with to Clapton and Baker and just give it the average treatment. (3/5)

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I've always hated this band and this album in particular. Pretentious, English public schoolboy bollocks masquerading as an important art statement. It appears as though I'm one of the 1% who sees no worth in this album. So be it!

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Voodoo People, Poison and No Good (Start the Dance) are catchy bangers. But the album as a whole seems under-baked. As a generally 'rock' person, I approve of the crunchy, dirty sound they get from a combination of noisy samples and crappy equipment, which gives it a more industrial sound than most 90s UK dance (which tends towards a clean digital sheen). 2.5 stars, rounding up for energy and the only appearance of Pop Will Eat Itself on this list (which semes like an oversight, IMHO)

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(2/5) A languid, sluggish psychedelic/folk/hippie rock album. The hits, "Sunshine Superman" and "Season of the Witch" I was familiar with already and are truly the highlights, but aside from the slightly upbeat "The Trip", there's not much else on offer here. Really, really boring. Enjoy the hits and drop the rest..

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Joan Baez has a beautiful and exquisite voice and a preternatural ability to communicate the drama and narrative of folk songs. Personally, I generally prefer a grittier tone (Karen Dalton is possibly an extreme example of a folk singer with a more distinctive voice) than Joan Baez's crystal-clear soprano, but it is really hard to argue with the quality of her singing. I mean, this was recorded very quickly with, like, two microphones in live takes, with just one or two guitars providing subtle accompaniment, and she nails it. She absolutely delivers beautiful, sensitive and compelling performances all the way through, with nothing to hide behind. Hard to believe she was only 19. Would it have been more appropriate to include one of her subsequent albums that showed off her songwriting? Maybe. But this is an exquisite example of her to arrange and perform traditional folk material. I think this is possibly my favourite version of the House of the Rising Sun -- it makes more sense with a female narrator, and Joan Baez's performance just feels devastatingly real. Highlights: Silver Dagger, House of the Rising Sun, El Preso Numero Nueve. 3.5 stars, rounding up.

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Garbage.

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By the time of his final album, Invincible in 2001, Michael Jackson had lost his way trying to recapture past glories. But there was still life left in the model, which Justin Timberlake was happy to step into the vacuum created by Jacko’s abandonment of the field. The singles are outstanding – Timberlake is a charismatic singer with a sexy confidence with some outstanding production from some of the best RnB producers of the day (Neptunes, Timbaland). The album is overlong, as was the fashion in the late 90s and early 2000s, and I would happily trim 20 minutes of filler. Time has not been kind to Justin’s public image, especially his apparent willingness to throw Britney Spears and Janet Jackson under the bus to further his own ambitions. And this album is Exhibit A in those crimes, which leaves a bit of a bad aftertaste. Cry Me A River and Rock Your Body are bangers, but it is difficult to listen to them without thinking about the reputational aftermath for Britney and Janet, two artists I greatly admire. So, this is really a better-than-most Michael Jackson album, released at a time when Michael’s musical output was irrelevant and his public persona unpalatable. Nothing wrong with that, although hard to hold up as particularly innovative (Neptunes’ production aside). There are some great songs here, but they do give me a bit of the ick. 3.5 stars, rounding down for the ick.

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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.

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I am reviewing ‘Ray of Light’ days after the release of ‘Confessions II’. Reviews are everywhere, people are talking about it as her best album in 20 years. But her albums always get reviewed -- they are always an event -- which is extraordinary for someone more than 40 years into a pop music career. Not even Paul McCartney really managed that. Pop music is a genre fickly obsessed with youth and novelty, so the idea of anyone remaining an important and relevant pop artist after 40 years is one of the most monumental achievements in popular culture. I mean, here is an artist who has had 38 US Top 10 singles and 50 US Hot Dance chart #1s. Fifty! So, amongst her long and illustrious career, there are a few albums that stand out above the others. ‘Ray of Light’ is one of those career peaks. It showed that, at the age of 39, she could produce a relevant, exciting and contemporary dance pop album. It also has some of her strongest songwriting, in the title track and Frozen especially. Ray of Light is, to my mind, a song that captures the ecstasy of the dance floor better than almost anything else ever written. She continues her history of working well with cleverly chosen collaborators; kudos to William Orbit for constructing a fascinating, warm, spacious and not over-polished backing track that complements but never overpowers Madonna’s singing. Unlike much electronic music of the period, it has aged well. Orbit was everywhere in the 90s, remixing and producing. He had a distinctive and tasteful sound, but I don’t think he ever really topped his work here (with the possible exception of the Bass-o-matic ‘Fascinating Rhythm’ single, but never for a sustained album). I have always found Madonna to be a _believable_ singer, which makes her a surprisingly good ballad singer given her technical limitations. That said, her work on Evita had left her voice stronger and more controlled than ever at this point. I would argue that Frozen is one of her greatest performances. Even the faux-spiritual content here is tolerable because of that credibility. The lyrics occasionally verge on yoga-mama religious dilettantism, but Madonna sings every word like it is important and she believes it with all her heart. This is ironic, because I never believe a word she speaks in interviews (or, worse yet, her megalomaniacal turn in the Truth or Dare documentary, where she comes across like a constantly calculating mean-girl control freak). She often comes across as performative and provocative and boorish but not credible when speaking. But when she sings, she seems like the real deal. It’s a paradox. Minor nitpicking; the mastering on the streaming version I listened to today was weirdly inconsistent. Also, this suffers from the late 90s trend of albums that fill CD capacity. There is some filler here; Shanti, The Power of Goodbye, or Little Star. Personally, I'd like to see this trimmed to a more focused 45 minutes. But these are minor quibbles and this album is a monumental highlight in Madonna's extensive and extraordinary career output. She is at her best when she leans into a slightly more experimental dance sound, as she does here. Madonna is one of the greatest pop artists of all time, never better than on this record, and you can dance to it.

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Listened to the whole thing and now I can honestly say, this album is complete ass and Kendrick Lamar deserves zero praise for this lazy edgelord garbage.

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(2/5) Thanks. I don't get it, but it was fine as a cultural artifact. The album was an interesting listen. It wasn't aurally offensive, but it didn't ignite anything either. It all kinda felt the same from track to track, but that could be my lack of understanding and I'm not afraid to admit that. I wouldn't mind some more (not a *lot* more) of this in the list. World music is a blind spot for me and I actually expected more of it. Instead, it's endless amounts of electronic/Britpop bullshit. This is -- by my count -- the second truly "World" music album and is likely just a 'check box' (i.e. quota) addition. We're only a hundred or so albums in.. that's 2%.

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I can’t believe the top review for this record (as of Dec 2023) is from someone trying to use their PhD in Mathematics as justification for not liking hip-hop. Weak.

Oh fuck yeah, now we're talking. Wait no, I swear I'm not being pretentious. This is the lowest rated album on this site because I guess mostly people aren't very fond of German people smashing metal plates together - who would have guessed. But halle-fucking-lujah, this is something this list needs more of. Albums that make you go "well, that was an experience and now I'm a changed man". Nobody is lying on their deathbed wishing they heard more crappy 80s post-punk or late 60s psychedelic rock. THIS is what we all deserve to be listening to as we embrace eternal oblivion. I'm giving this a high rating not only because I genuinely really love it, but also to help Kid Rock move to his rightful place as the actual worst album on this list. Together we can make a difference. Save the turtles.

Brings back vivid memories of when me and my mate Ray went on a trip to Dresden. We met this rotund goth in a bar, head to toe with tattoos and piercings, real filth and after a while took her into the disabled bogs for a spit roast. We were both pumping away in her with Napalm Death on in the background and her wailing "MEIN GOTT" at the top of her lungs. I remember spaffing all over her back just as Siege of Power kicked in. As i shoot over her, she takes Ray's cock out of her gob and says "do you want fries with that?" in a faux American accent. Anyway, we go outside and there's this gammy little geezer in a wheelchair sitting there furious, giving me daggers, because he's had to wait so long, so I lean into him and I go "I hope you have as much fun in there as we just did you little cunt".

Back when I was in college I used to go to a bar and listen to Neil tunes and do magic tricks for women. There was a bartender there, he was the best. I loved that guy. Some of the best years of my life.

Back when I was in college, there was this dude who would come into the bar I worked at on a Friday night and play fucking 10 Neil Young songs in a row. He would also hit on girls by doing magic tricks. I remember how angry I got every time he made me listen to an hour of Neil Young because I was just trying to have a good time, and he fucking made me listen to this sad, soppy fuck who writes nothing but songs that sound indistinguishable from each other and never seemed to enjoy a happy moment in his entire like. Fuck that guy, and fuck Neil Young. 2/5

Shit like this on the list is both refreshing and infuriating. Refreshing because it is good, fun, interesting, and also not something I would regularly be exposed to! It's why I started this project and keeps me coming back. It's infuriating because the fact that it is included here means that Robert Dimery, the original author of the 1001 albums list is aware that music like this exists. He's clearly aware that there is an entire world of music out there. SO WHY HAVE I LISTENED TO 200 80s BRITISH NEW WAVE ALBUMS AND 200 SCOTTISH ROCK ALBUMS FROM THE 90S??!!?

I really don't get rap, and I am completely aware of why. I'm a STEM guy, specifically a Ph.D. student in mathematics. Although my verbal intelligence is quite high, it's still about a standard deviation below my quantitative intelligence. Therefore, it should not be too surprising that I prefer melodies to lyricism, and that a genre based on the latter doesn't wow me. I know I'm pretty far out of step with public opinion on this one, but that can easily be attributed to the fact that hipsters with humanities degrees (i.e. extremely verbal-dominant people) are considered the ultimate arbiters of taste for some reason. (Side note: this also explains why prog rock is seen as being for losers.) Best song: Be (Intro), which had a decent instrumental part at the beginning. Everything else just sort of ran together.

Rap isn't my preferred genre of music. But I'm a shitty mathematician so I enjoyed this.

Rage In Favor Of The Machine.

Music for incels to wank furiously by

Sorry Boomers/Gen X, I was like 20 when this came out so it's one of the best things to ever happen to me. Sorry it's not King Crimson or whatever.

The only enjoyment I got from this was reading the review about the brothers in Dresden and their lovely and talented tattooed friend.

i ain’t listening to all that i’m happy for u tho or sorry that happened

The beauty of music is that it is subjective. It’s typically great for a certain group of people, though it’s never right for everyone. Some for the masses, some more niche, but it all has its place. Meanwhile, with lists like this, there’s always artists or records that anyone would have put on in place of what actually made it. Personally, I would have included Queensryche’s Operation Mindcrime, Live’s Throwing Copper, Joe Satriani’s The Extremist, Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice, or John Mellencamp’s Scarecrow album on a list of must hear records. Others would put totally different albums on and that's awesome. What someone likes vs. dislikes is truly subjective. Again, that's the beauty. With that said, this album objectively sucks. I mean truly horrible. Something had to be the lowest rated album on the list, and this was a place well earned. There is nothing redeemable about this record. To quote my wife, “they should have stopped at 1,000.”

I am definitely not the target demographic for this album, but I still thought it was very good. There's a lot of skill and artistry put into these tracks, so much so that it is almost invisible. 4 stars for me, plus an extra star just to spite the mathematics PHD guy.