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Latest Reviews (31)

From the last 10 minutes
Funeral album cover

Funeral

Arcade Fire

4/5

I thought this was a really nice album even tho I found it as white noice and often get distracted by what I was doing at that moment, my favorite was crown of love

Kick Out The Jams (Live) album cover

I have heard of this band but never listened to a full album. Interesting that their debut album is a live one. Some good hard rock and bluesy numbers. Particularly liked Starship and there is some good guitar playing throughout the set.

Djam Leelii album cover

Djam Leelii

Baaba Maal

4/5

I had Maal's other, solo album a couple hundred albums back. I didn't know what to make of it then, and I don't quite know if that's changed. The sound of the album is very expensive, almost as a perfect soundtrack to the deserts from whence its creators came. The use of familiar instruments like the guitar makes this music more easily digestible to the average American while still allowing it to retain its distinct West African flavor. The vocals work extremely well within the album's context, though lyrics are not in a language I can speak and therefore inscrutable to me. These albums tend to be the hardest to rate due to their myriad differences from Western music, but I found myself enjoying this. I recommend this for a unique experience that is unlike the vast majority of this list's albums and will help expand your cultural awareness at least somewhat.

Live! album cover

Live!

Fela Kuti

3/5

Ginger Baker was at the peak of his powers in Cream, specifically on the album Disraeli Gears, not the 15+ min drum solo on this album. I did enjoy some of it though......

Remedy album cover

Remedy

Basement Jaxx

2/5

Unz, unz, unz, unz. Repeat for 57 minutes.

Pieces Of The Sky album cover

Pieces Of The Sky

Emmylou Harris

2/5

I often struggle to enjoy country arrangements and instrumentation on the one hand, and I've been known to be particularly tough on US folk music on the other. Emmylou Harris has a beautiful voice and an eclectic taste, but every moment that's too country or folk pulls me out of enjoying her talents. My expectations for sophistication from popular music in the 1970s of any genre may be too high — in the emotional openness and writerly transparency of both musics, the commercial genre impulse demands gestures towards the most common elements (generic and genre share the same root after all). But the moments that are more sophisticated, less generic and more subtle are breathtaking on this record. It's a shame there are fewer of those than the moments that have now become cliche — and that's the trick of listening to something "through time"; I'm sure those cliches were less built up and the moments resonated differently when their release was contemporary with their listener. But here I am listening now and having my reaction — for every 5-star moment, there's at least one 2-star lick that's become tried and true or a way of expression that's tired now.

GI album cover

GI

Germs

3/5

I’m not a mosh pit kind of guy, but I’d like to witness the pit at this show from a safe distance. I am a big fan of singers growling and shouting incomprehensibly over the top of manically crunching guitars with relentless pummeling bass and drums. This series of incredibly short punk songs are to my mind the quintessential punk sound, given this comes from 1979 I now know who was responsible for it! My main criticism is that the last third of this record really drags. For the first 11 songs it's a thrill ride, then from The Other Newest One onwards it felt like they had nothing new to say.

Giant Steps album cover

Giant Steps

The Boo Radleys

3/5

Haven’t listened to these folks. Seems to straddle a bunch of different genres. I’m not sure if I’m loving it, but it did grow on me. Won’t be listening again.

Hot Rats album cover

Hot Rats

Frank Zappa

2/5

63 yaşında olsam begenirdim belki. jazz-rock karışımı güzelmiş ama.

A Love Supreme album cover

A Love Supreme

John Coltrane

3/5

I liked this. More tuneful, pleasant and chill. More of a noticable journey than other jazz records weve rated on here. The lyrics were unexpected. However brief. I assumed he was a mute who could only communicate through his instrument.

Fromohio album cover

Fromohio

fIREHOSE

4/5

Nuf that shit George is just Animal drumming and it's a delightful interim. More albums should do fun dumb stuff.

Ritual De Lo Habitual album cover

Ritual De Lo Habitual

Jane's Addiction

4/5

It's not normally my style, but when you take in the context of its time and the full Arc of the album, you can't help but respect the raw truth the artist poured into it. Standing ovation.

Can't Buy A Thrill album cover

Can't Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan

4/5

Welp. My mid-life crisis must be coming soon, because I really liked this. I nearly let out an audible “Hell yeah” when Reeling in the Years started, plus Dirty Work is an all-timer. A great listen.

The Stone Roses album cover

The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses

5/5

Legendary, iconic, many of the songs were already in my playlist so listening to whole album just made sense.

Power In Numbers album cover

Power In Numbers

Jurassic 5

5/5

Makes me think of summer, calling your friends on landlines, and what it was like to have friends and neighbors before the iPhone age. Also realizing the supreme debt owed by all the 2020’s hip hop artists I listen to.

With The Beatles album cover
2/5

The Beatles before they were actually good. Simple tunes performed well, basically. It's wild to think that in just two years they'd be releasing Rubber Soul, followed by Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's. The gulf between this and those is vast.

Back to Basics album cover

Back to Basics

Christina Aguilera

3/5

A couple of good songs, quite a bit of filler. This really didn't need to be a double album with a track that's just a string of answering machine messages from fans. Ain't no Other Man is still a bop though

Come Away With Me album cover

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

4/5

girly pop vibes, slow and steady with a groove - best listened to cycling home on a summer evening or making girl dinner at home!

Hot Reviews (15)

Top reviews from the last 30 days
Cut album cover

Cut

The Slits

5/5

Everyone should listen to Typical Girls before they get hit by a bus

The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn album cover

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Happy Trails album cover

Happy Trails

Quicksilver Messenger Service

5/5

First off, this album kicks major ass. If I had a time machine I would go back to the late 60's in San Francisco. For me, the psychedelic rock scene of that period produced some of the greatest music of all time and you could go see some killer live music every day of the week. Secondly, a bit of a rant. This album starts with a 25 minute version of a Bo Diddley song, but the entirety of this book is devoid of a Bo fucking Diddley album. The most egregious omissions of this book is it's lack of real blues music. By my estimation there are only 5 actual blues records on the list. No Howlin' Wolf, no Buddy Guy, no Big Mama Thornton, no Butterfield Blues Band, no Fred McDowell, no Mississippi John Hurt, no Magic Sam, no Freddie King, No Albert King, no Otis Spann, no James Cotton, and on and on and on. I don't have many soap boxes but this is one of them. But anyway, highly enjoyable listen for me. The recordings of these gigs at the Fillmore West in '68 had the Grateful Dead on the bill also, it must have been jam band heaven.

The Trinity Session album cover

The Trinity Session

Cowboy Junkies

5/5

In my share house days in the early 90s, it was common after a big night out for a small posse of die-hards, stragglers and ne'er-do-wells to convene in our lounge room for a late-night chill-out. We were pretty rock crowd, leaning towards alternative, industrial and goth, but The Trinity Sessions album was a favourite for the wee small hours while we came down from the effects of the evening. This record is spacious and gentle, wonderfully and sympathetically underplayed, and Margot Timmins voice is beautiful. I love the simple and honest recording. No notes, five stars.

2112 album cover

2112

Rush

5/5

Coincidently, i just listened to this album yesterday, and i was more than happy to listen again today. Rush is a Mt Rushmore band for me. Like every other band nerd on their high school drum line I idolized Neil Peart and listed to more Rush than I likely should have. I wore out side one of my 2112 cassette learning Overture and Temples of Syrinx, and I will still rock out hard to Temples on my steering wheel. Worth the sore hands and the multiple close calls running off the road. Rush is just three Canadian guys, each an amazing player. They created new music for nearly 40 years, and toured even longer. They never dialed it in, they didn't milk a decades old catalogue, they created to the end. Side one is a dystopian story about the beauty and power of music told in 7 movements. Neil was an avid reader and had been into Ayn Rand for a bit, he was also the author of all the Rush lyrics so that explains side one, aka the first song on the album. Side two is includes some Rush classics, passage to bangkok, something for nothing, tears....why name favorites....side two is as amazing as side one. No bad songs on this album, a classic. Rush is not a band for everyone, and that's more than fine. I'm a fan boy.

Duck Rock album cover

Duck Rock

Malcolm McLaren

1/5

Duck Rock? Uh, ok..? the British (UK) slant on this list is on full display here, it seems, after reading the reviews before going in. I've never heard of it or him (even in passing) and I consider myself pretty knowledgeable in music. I've been a good sport, so far, but I hold little hope. I do vaguely recognize "Buffalo Gals", but it's been eons since I've heard it. What the actual f*ck is this? Is this what cocaine does? I've never had the privilege. This clinches it -- I officially know what the soundtrack to cocaine sounds like. What a hyperactive mess. I chuckled at the absurdity of it. It's definitely something, but it's not anything I care for. "Jive My Baby" and "Duck For The Oyster" actually had me rolling around laughing they were so absurd. Not sure that was the intent. (1.5/5) because I laughed (unintentionally), but rounding down because there is nothing redeeming here. It actually felt more like an assault.

Only By The Night album cover

Only By The Night

Kings of Leon

5/5

Being a middle age guy and standing in the kitchen and having coffee this morning with my wife of 20 years while Sex on Fire is playing is the height of irony. I was barely competent in the sack when I was in my prime, now the only thing on fire is my lower back pain. I'd be laughing right now if it wasn't so damn depressing. Like my last Kings of Leon album, it's much better later in the day. This cats vocals pre coffee are a no go for me, but it's all good this evening. Jared Followill is a badass bass player. Very tasty bass lines and the highlight of this album in my opinion.

Water From An Ancient Well album cover

Water From An Ancient Well

Abdullah Ibrahim

2/5

after the first two songs i was ready to question myself as to whether i do enjoy jazz after all. the rest of the album however proved i don‘t.

461 Ocean Boulevard album cover

461 Ocean Boulevard

Eric Clapton

1/5

Well what a whole lot of nothing this is. It's like an auditory boiled rice and tofu sandwich. Music you'd hear while you're waiting to have your root canal done. Fuck this shit, I'm putting the new Neurosis album on again

Moss Side Story album cover

Moss Side Story

Barry Adamson

1/5

Hard pass. Tried the first four tracks and this is officially the first album in this sequence I abandoned. I saw someone write that it sounds like a soundtrack. I agree, and not in a good way. Nope. (1/5). Just nope.

Good Old Boys album cover

Good Old Boys

Randy Newman

5/5

The Good: Just some good old boys… The Bad: Got it confused with The Dukes of Hazzard! The Ugly: The above mentioned tv series getting the same kind of crap as the album we are about to rate… Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Today, we live in a society where too many idiots scream out of outrage about the usage of a word, or the imagery of a symbol… scream scream scream. The opening track, the first time I remember hearing it, I almost choked on my drink when I got to the end of the song… I doubt many people get that far today, because they hear a word that only certain people are allowed to use. To those idiots, I say, get off your high horse, sit down, listen to the song again, and use your f-ing brain—that is if you have one. I do have to be honest here and admit the fact that, frequently, I can’t be bothered to pay attention to the lyrics on many of the albums that I’ve had the displeasure to listen to. So, I too should get off my high horse… But not before rating this album with a 5*, not because it is that special, but because, out of oh so much shit I’ve had to listen to these past couple of weeks, it shows that sometimes something that seems mediocre is actually worth it’s weight in gold.

Most Popular Reviews

All-time top rated reviews
Be album cover

Be

Common

4/5

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.

374 likes View Author
Kollaps album cover

Kollaps

Einstürzende Neubauten

4/5

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.

286 likes View Author
Scum album cover

Scum

Napalm Death

3/5

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".

265 likes View Author
Shalimar album cover

Shalimar

Rahul Dev Burman

4/5

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??!!?

211 likes View Author
Rust Never Sleeps album cover

Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

2/5

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

211 likes View Author
Rust Never Sleeps album cover

Rust Never Sleeps

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

5/5

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.

210 likes View Author
Be album cover

Be

Common

1/5

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.

190 likes View Author
Be album cover

Be

Common

5/5

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

182 likes View Author
Melodrama album cover

Melodrama

Lorde

5/5

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.

172 likes View Author
69 Love Songs album cover

69 Love Songs

The Magnetic Fields

2/5

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

160 likes View Author
Scum album cover

Scum

Napalm Death

1/5

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

155 likes View Author
Be album cover

Be

Common

5/5

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.

153 likes View Author

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