Album Reviews

So gothic rock...I just thought they were German. It was nice enough but also kind of one note.

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Somewhere between shoegaze and ambient, very nice.

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Again, I am biased. I repeat, I am biased. This is better than Dookie at least

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Parlophone LPKIDA 1 (UK) vinyl rip "Optimistic" I had never heard before. Great track. It's not quite as catchy as OK Computer but the experimentation was never going to be.

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Oh my heart!

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Eh

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Lo-fi garage beat poet vibes; not exactly an album to sing or dance to

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At first I thought he was serious and then I thought no this is a joke and its all satire, but the more I listened I think he really was serious. Then looking into him this guys has won awards and is super famous...I think I am just getting old because I don't really get it

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7.5/10 - so influential it had to be on the list.

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I regarded the last Temptations album I got on this list as forgettable. This one is anything but. From the energetic opener, to the epic vamp on “Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone” to the gorgeous interpretation of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” this album has a whole lot to offer, and a lot to remember it by.

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It was fine, didn’t really blow me away but it was a decent listen

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Equal parts semi interesting and derivative bunk

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Low 3

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The most techno bullshit to ever techno bullshit. This is just some pure nonsense going nowhere and it's a damn shame someone thought this crucial to put on the list.

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Not my cup of tea.

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enjoyable 4 stars

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Une incroyable entrée en matière du monde rap francophone. Although it’s inevitably descended from American hip hop, this record isn’t a simple copycat or import of style. In addition to the requisite jazz samples, it effectively incorporates Caribbean influences, from the excellent Cymande sample on « Bouge de là » to the face-melting vocal performances on « Ragga Jam ». Along with the anti-colonial tract on « Matière grise » and the pride behind « Quartier nord, » the album boasts a confident musical and personal identity. All the more impressive that this is a debut album. Voici mon action sans transactions / La musique et le rap sont mes satisfactions … Hard ou classique, la musique / Adoucit les mœurs

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First listen of a B&S album- enjoyed their unique music and great voice!

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Kerosene was the standout to me, and many others it seems. Very cool, hard almost like a electro-punk sound at times, I am glad to have heard, and will be coming back to a couple songs at the least.

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Ça ressemble un peu à The Smith dans la voix je trouve, et dans les instrus et rythmes c'est très sympa aussi, pop-rock

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Two Stars because every song is so different it deserves some recognition. You can tell he worked. But also every song is so different.

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Vibe entre Rufus Wainwright et The Divine Comedy, j'ai beaucoup aimé !

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Kind of elevator music

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Fun album! Definitely not my style, not something I'd listen to again, but I had fun with my time with it. Dr. John. who knew?

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Really strong album in parts, her voice is great and there is enough rock to hold my interest. The band are tight and it feels like this would have been great live. Some great lyrics packed with vengeance, fun and emotions. However, irony isn't how she describes it.

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I actually thought this was a solid post-punk/pop album. As much as I think that Morrisey is a bit of a twat, he had a great singing voice. I'd likely listen again.

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This one was kind of time? Not fun-weird like later ones

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My great grandpa would've loved this

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Such a nice album, no idea why I didn’t listen to this sooner. Solid 4 and an absolute gem

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Awesome!

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I get the concept, but why am I listening to this? I could see it accompanying a movie as background mood music to enhance a scene, but on its own? No thanks. It doesn’t move me, and it’s not particularly pleasurable, even if it is somewhat interesting in small doses. I couldve done without this one.

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I’ve always been more of a cat person.

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It was pleasant enough and he has a good voice

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Better than Coldplay

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Fine

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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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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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As I have cheated and searched for a few albums, I can tell you that this is the list peaking for me right here, unless there is something truly surprising coming up. Kid A is one of three albums I would consider the ‘best’ of all time, but in terms of subjective and emotional importance to me, nothing can ever come close. Kid A is perfect, Kid A is the basis of my taste in almost everything, Kid A is about as formative as formative gets for me. I can confidently say there is no album I have heard more in my life. Let me now write way too much about it while I listen to it for the nth time. First, the music. Kid A is a journey away from the confines of 'rock', in a way that I would contend feels pretty timeless. Much was - and probably still is - written about the tortured production of the record, of Thom Yorke's burnout, of the band struggling to figure out where to go after OK Computer. To emerge with something that almost entirely ignores verse-chorus structure, that left the best song these sessions produced ('Pyramid Song') on the cutting room floor, that is so confident it drops a straight-up ambient track in the middle, well it’s a work of genius. 'Everything in Its Right Place' is a warm bath, that hook starting up, the close production, the skittering cut-up vocals, it's the greatest album opener because - by design - it reveals nothing about what’s going to follow, it eases you in to this strange, angular, paranoid world. But track 2, ‘Kid A’ itself, that has always been my favourite. A strange lullaby melody, a bit-crushed vocal, a jittery tribal drum, the synths washing in at the end - this music is just so exciting to me. The whole album just reflects the endless possibility of sound, the re-configuring of the familiar into something alien. This isn't some Metal Music attempt to become willfully obtuse, this is a band wanting to make music that moves and emotes but on their own terms. ‘The National Anthem’ is such an invigorating blast of HORN DEATH that I never tire of, ‘How to Disappear’ is a Normal Song but with ondes martenot and tortured strings crying throughout. ‘Treefingers’ is the only misstep, the only sign of the band reaching too far to make their point in my opinion, but it’s swiftly battered aside by the ‘single’ (sort of) ‘Optimistic’, which again has incredible percussion and sounds like being in a swamp made of lo-res polygons. ‘In Limbo’ skitters across the surface, before the monumental ‘Idioteque’ pummels its paranoid refrains into your skull. If any song has sort of lost its impact for me from this record it’s this track, but only because I just listened to it on loop for months and months and months. I’m wondering writing this how many times my Dad has heard this album of his own free will, and how many times he instead heard it being blasted out of my bedroom! ‘Morning Bell’ is another lullaby of doom and misery, and then ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ manages to be both incredibly moving and also aware of its own schlocky production at once, like sincerity being swallowed by irony even as each syllable leaves Thom’s mouth. Anyway, needless to say, I love it, it’s the greatest record ever made, and the list is all downhill from here. Now… if you want even more words, here’s another review, this time from a very subjective place, because that's what makes this my favourite album of all time. I had just turned 16 when Kid A released. By that point I was roughly 18 months into my absolute, all-encompassing Radiohead obsession, devouring anything I could, spending far too much on imports of EPs at Tower Records, annoyingly probably only six months before I was just getting all that stuff and more off Napster. I was primed for Kid A in a way I have never been primed for anything. In the lead-up to the album Q published a massive interview with the band, where they talked about the influences behind what they were about to release. They mentioned Autechre and Aphex Twin, Naomi Klein's No Logo, Charles Mingus. They covered Can on the accompanying tour, they hired Humphrey Littleton's jazz band for Kid A's sister Amnesiac (recorded at the same time). They talked about Messiaen, Neu!, Squarepusher, and on and on. All these new influences hit at just the right time - Napster existed (I first heard Kid A the weekend before its release after it leaked online, slowly downloading each track and listening to each one repeatedly before the next one finished) so I could follow up on all these musical leads. And that's why Kid A is of infinite importance to me. I adored music before Kid A, and thanks to Blur's endless namedropping of Pavement in previous years had already started to escape the bubble of late britpop a bit, but Kid A felt like a guidebook for exploring to the very edges of the map, and a manual for how to appreciate music that some would call 'difficult'. I have Kid A to thank for most of the music I now consider my favourite, and weirdly I think this is even more the case as time goes on - it takes a lot for an indie band to make much of an impression at all on me these days. Nearly done, but first back to the release. A friend and I had convinced his older brother to drive us to Warrington to see Radiohead touring Kid A, the day after the album had released. The little of my paper round money I hadn't already spent on Radiohead hoodies, CDs, t-shirts etc. went on the ticket price, and away we went. Inspired by the aforementioned No Logo, Radiohead toured the album in purpose-built white circus tents, free of any corporate sponsors, hence the odd location - they needed big parks to do this in. This gig exists in my brain like some sort of mythical experience that I have read about myself in a book, but also I can recall the evening like it was yesterday. I remember the sound as we approached, my incredulity at my friend’s brother’s friend arriving with no ticket and just buying one from a tout, the endless mud and people along the track to the tent, the buzz of excitement. I remember the merch stand (I still wear the top I bought here!), I remember the girl who I instantly fell in love with (I was 16 after all) who spoke to me briefly about the band, I remember being amazed by how much stuff they had on stage, I remember the excitement I had whenever they played a track that would later appear on ‘Amnesiac’, like we were privately visiting the future. It finished, we went home, I hung the overpriced poster on my wall for years and years until it literally fell apart, I wore my figure-hugging very goth black long-sleeved Kid A shirt to my GCSE results with black nail varnish and a fringe I could hide behind, and said fuck you to my miserable youth. I lived and breathed this record, it got under my skin and it became a part of me. Kid A is brilliant because it is exciting, it’s difficult but still tuneful, every track is an ocean of possibility, and because without it I absolutely would not be who I am. I genuinely still shiver with excitement throughout, 26 years and thousands of plays later. It doesn’t get better than this.

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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 really like Mr N'Dour's hat.

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In January 1993, the Nigerian government arrested and charged Fela Kuti with murder and conspiracy following the beating death of Adesanwo Shokoya, an electrician and technician in his band, Egypt 80. The police alleged Shokoya was beaten to death by Fela's bodyguards after an argument regarding a payment of approximately $138.

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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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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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An absolutely perfect album and one of my all time favourites. Giving it only five stars feels like a disservice. Plus, it contains the only version of 'Hurt' worth listening to. A masterpiece

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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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(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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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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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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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 would have been about 13 or 14 when a slightly older school mate mockingly suggested that Autobahn was the sort of thing that I would like. I remember him sarcastically singing "fun fun fun on the autobahn" (as he pronounced it) like it was the most ridiculous song ever. I didn't actually know anything about Kraftwerk at that stage but mentally filed it away for future reference on the assumption that, if an obnoxious prick like him hated it, there must something worth investigating. A year or so later I picked up a copy from the Ashfield Record Bar in Hercules St -- I assume it was cheap, I didn't have much money -- and it became a core part of my nascent record collection. Not owning many LPs, I listened to this a lot. The sound of this album has become such a part of the mainstream that it is hard to remember how fresh it once sounded. Minimal, repetitive synth pop is everywhere now, but it started here. While the 7" edit of the title track was a mere novelty for many, the album stretched to explore the possibilities of the synthesizer and suggested a whole new approach. I would argue that Autobahn is not as influential (or possibly even as good) as their following four albums, which set became unlikely influences on pop, electro and hip hop. It sounds a bit dated these days. But I have a nostalgic love of Autobahn because it was a special record for me in my teens. I think my school mate had this pegged as nerd music, played by nerds and only fit for nerds like me. And it is true that Kraftwerk (and I) were nerds. But it was rare in the early 80s for a nerdy kid like me to have musical heroes that I could relate to. Eventually the nerds would conquer the world, and Kraftwerk would be hailed as the innovators they were, despite the fact that they have essentially rested on their laurels for the past 40-odd years. Personally, I quite liked Electric Cafe, the last all-new album they released. I bought it on release, and I really dig the crisp, super-minimal, lock-step funkiness, especially on the first side. Most people consider it a flop, and it seems to have shattered Kraftwerk's creative operating model. Since then, it has been remixes, the odd "event" single, and increasingly elaborate live shows showcasing their classic catalogue. People say the shows are amazing, but I haven't felt the need to see them live -- the records are perfect.

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Oxygene Part II features prominently in the climactic scene of Gallipoli, which is a 1981 film little known in the rest of the world, but an important and ubiquitous part of Australian culture in the 1980s. Do people still watch it? It felt like a cornerstone of our national identity at the time -- fuckin' Pommy bastards drank tea on the beach while the ANZACs died! Died for nothin', mate, for nothin'! I'm sure either Gallipoli or maybe hearing Part IV on the radio was my initial exposure to Jean-Michel Jarre as a child, and it would be fair to say that I became a fan. I own most of his 70s and 80s albums, usually purchased mail order from the World Record Club catalogue and then obsessively played. But my interest started waning in my mid-teens as I discovered more rock. I don't think I have spun this album -- or any Jarre record -- in over 35 years. They just collect dust in the backwaters of my collection. History seems to have relegated him to the "naff" bin. Tangerine Dream and Eno and Neu! are all cool, but Jean-Michel Jarre is not. I suspect that is because he was popular. He sold a lot of records and he played some very big concerts. He wasn't afraid of comprehensible harmonies (there is a strong classical influence in his work) and catchy melodies or exploiting the novel sounds of the synthesizer. Listening today, I kind of wish he hadn't leaned so heavily on the tweedily-deedily-deedily noises or the whooshing sounds or fake waves or birds or the LFO sweeps. But I found the listening experience holds up. Oxygene sounds of its time but still sounds great. It is a now quaint idea of what the future would sound like -- although, in fairness, people are still producing electronic music with cheesy drum machines, big washy synth pads and LFO sweeps. And it has some cracking tunes and it aims to please. It gave me a nostalgic buzz. Maybe it was too popular to be cool, much the way that Mike Oldfield isn't cool. It's an instrumental, ambient synthesizer album that lots of people liked -- improbable, but it happened. More power to him. 4.5 stars, rounding up.

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This is delightfully weird. There are things that genuinely surprised me when listening, like the lyrics "We talk about love, we talk about dishwasher tablets, illness, and we dream about heaven." It's surreal and quotidian and full of interesting juxtapositions. I really couldn't predict what would happen next, while remaining placed in a comprehensible framework. I think we can all agree that this album has absolutely no business being on the list, but I dig it. It reminds me a lot of Laurie Anderson; minimal electronics with pitch-shifted vocals and a slightly askew world view, which makes me wonder why her Big Science album isn't on this list? I mean, 'O Superman' is the bomb, right? 3.5 stars, rounding up because I enjoyed listening to it.

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The scumbag guitarist actually deserves to be killed. Boyan Chowdhury is putrid human garbage.

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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 seems like an oversight, IMHO)

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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 pop 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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(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 despise Beyonce; she represents the absolute worst of the USA - espouser of self-satisfied evangelical bullshit, a mediocre whiny warbling egomaniac with a nasty victim complex. Oh, you're a "Survivor", eh? Of what? You dad firing other member of your shitty girl group because you didn't like them? Fuck off, you talentless shrew. An absolute harbinger of the bland selfish millennium to follow. The best moment of this is two seconds stolen from Stevie Nicks, on repeat. All involved in the final track should be imprisoned.

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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.