My 1001 Albums Journey

281

Albums Rated

3.17

Average Rating

26%

Complete

808 albums remaining

Rating Distribution

Rating Timeline

Taste Profile

1950

Favorite Decade

Jazz

Favorite Genre

other

Top Origin

Curator

Rater Style ?

5-Star Albums

1-Star Albums

Breakdown

By Genre

Top Styles

By Decade

By Origin

Albums

You Love More Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
Third/Sister Lovers Big Star	5	2.79	+2.21
Go Girl Crazy The Dictators	5	2.84	+2.16
World Clique Deee-Lite	5	2.87	+2.13
Paris 1919 John Cale	5	2.97	+2.03
Pelican West Haircut 100	5	2.97	+2.03
Country Life Roxy Music	5	3.1	+1.9
American Beauty Grateful Dead	5	3.24	+1.76
Bitches Brew Miles Davis	5	3.3	+1.7
A Girl Called Dusty Dusty Springfield	5	3.33	+1.67
Be Common	5	3.35	+1.65

You Love Less Than Most

Album	You	Global	Diff
A Hard Day's Night Beatles	1	3.89	-2.89
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath	1	3.81	-2.81
Metallica Metallica	1	3.77	-2.77
With The Beatles Beatles	1	3.65	-2.65
Van Halen Van Halen	1	3.62	-2.62
...And Justice For All Metallica	1	3.42	-2.42
Either Or Elliott Smith	1	3.4	-2.4
Lost In The Dream The War On Drugs	1	3.38	-2.38
Smash The Offspring	1	3.36	-2.36
Red Headed Stranger Willie Nelson	1	3.34	-2.34

Artists

Favorites

Artist	Albums	Average
Miles Davis	3	5
David Bowie	3	4.67
Bob Dylan	3	4.67
Simon & Garfunkel	2	5
The Rolling Stones	3	4.33
Bob Marley & The Wailers	3	4.33

Least Favorites

Artist	Albums	Average
Metallica	2	1
Willie Nelson	2	1.5
Black Sabbath	2	1.5

Controversial

Artist	Ratings
Beatles	5, 4, 1, 1
The Prodigy	4, 1

5-Star Albums (40)

View Album Wall

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Popular Reviews

The Chronic

Dr. Dre · 1 likes

4/5

That opening synth, though! To whom did Dre sell his soul to be a Synth Lord? Just all around incredible. Completely changed the entire world of music. It's still definitely not as good as 2001.

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band · 1 likes

1/5

Nope. Nope. Nope. Absolutely one of the worst ways to spend my time. Would give zero stars if I could.

4-Star Albums (80)

1-Star Albums (30)

All Ratings

Paul Simon

5/5

Tracy Chapman

3/5

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill

5/5

Pearl

Janis Joplin

4/5

Achtung Baby

3/5

The Köln Concert

Keith Jarrett

3/5

All Things Must Pass

George Harrison

4/5

The Marshall Mathers LP

Eminem

3/5

Back In Black

AC/DC

2/5

A Grand Don't Come For Free

The Streets

1/5

Born In The U.S.A.

Bruce Springsteen

2/5

The Rolling Stones

4/5

Hypnotised

The Undertones

3/5

I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You

Aretha Franklin

4/5

Transformer

Lou Reed

4/5

Amnesiac

Radiohead

3/5

Gold

Ryan Adams

2/5

Fells somehow even more bland and pandering than the Springsteen he's ripping off, buuuuut I can hear a lot of sounds that probably inspired bands I like today, so he gets a bonus star.

Live At The Regal

B.B. King

3/5

The Message

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five

4/5

Third/Sister Lovers

Big Star

5/5

Station To Station

David Bowie

5/5

Melodrama

Lorde

3/5

Better Living Through Chemistry

Fatboy Slim

2/5

The Man Who

Travis

2/5

Very Radiohead meets Coldplay. Really shines as background music you actually don't want to pay attention to.

You've Come a Long Way Baby

Fatboy Slim

3/5

Bitches Brew

Miles Davis

5/5

Feast of Wire

Calexico

2/5

Revolver

Beatles

5/5

Homework

Daft Punk

4/5

Low

David Bowie

5/5

Shaka Zulu

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

4/5

Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones

5/5

Metallica

1/5

The Blueprint

JAY Z

4/5

Hounds Of Love

Kate Bush

3/5

(What's The Story) Morning Glory

Oasis

4/5

Heavy Weather

Weather Report

4/5

Unhalfbricking

Fairport Convention

4/5

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

4/5

Paris 1919

John Cale

5/5

Straight Outta Compton

N.W.A.

5/5

Superfly

Curtis Mayfield

5/5

Let's Get It On

Marvin Gaye

3/5

Underwater Moonlight

The Soft Boys

4/5

The Fat Of The Land

The Prodigy

4/5

Better every listen

Gorillaz

5/5

Maggot Brain

Funkadelic

3/5

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem

3/5

Parachutes

Coldplay

3/5

Go Girl Crazy

The Dictators

5/5

Kind Of Blue

Miles Davis

5/5

All Hope Is Gone

Slipknot

3/5

Abraxas

Santana

4/5

The Band

4/5

Rubber Soul

Beatles

4/5

Nebraska

Bruce Springsteen

2/5

Who's this drunk mumble rapper trying to rip off Leonard Cohen?

Lam Toro

Baaba Maal

3/5

The College Dropout

Kanye West

4/5

Country Life

Roxy Music

5/5

Back At The Chicken Shack

Jimmy Smith

3/5

New Wave

The Auteurs

3/5

Kid A

Radiohead

3/5

Music in Exile

Songhoy Blues

4/5

Playing With Fire

Spacemen 3

2/5

Rio

Duran Duran

3/5

Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim

Frank Sinatra

3/5

Songs For Swingin' Lovers!

Frank Sinatra

3/5

Stardust

Willie Nelson

2/5

White Light

Gene Clark

4/5

Peter Gabriel

2/5

Planet Rock: The Album

Afrika Bambaataa

3/5

So Much For The City

The Thrills

2/5

Gris Gris

Dr. John

2/5

Crime Of The Century

Supertramp

3/5

Phrenology

The Roots

4/5

Figure 8

Elliott Smith

3/5

Illmatic

Nas

5/5

Odessa

Bee Gees

4/5

People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm

A Tribe Called Quest

5/5

Chirping Crickets

Buddy Holly & The Crickets

2/5

Songs From The Big Chair

Tears For Fears

3/5

Antichrist Superstar

Marilyn Manson

2/5

Apple Venus Volume 1

XTC

3/5

The Genius Of Ray Charles

Ray Charles

3/5

Music For The Jilted Generation

The Prodigy

1/5

Roots

Sepultura

1/5

Trout Mask Replica

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

2/5

The Cars

3/5

Tuesday Night Music Club

Sheryl Crow

1/5

Kings Of The Wild Frontier

Adam & The Ants

3/5

Blackstar

David Bowie

4/5

Architecture And Morality

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark

2/5

Tical

Method Man

4/5

If I Should Fall From Grace With God

The Pogues

3/5

One Nation Under A Groove

Funkadelic

3/5

All Mod Cons

The Jam

2/5

Aqualung

Jethro Tull

3/5

Natty Dread

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

A Hard Day's Night

Beatles

1/5

Van Halen

1/5

For Your Pleasure

Roxy Music

3/5

Led Zeppelin

3/5

Hejira

Joni Mitchell

4/5

It's Too Late to Stop Now

Van Morrison

4/5

Pretzel Logic

Steely Dan

3/5

Sweet Baby James

James Taylor

4/5

Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury

The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy

3/5

She's So Unusual

Cyndi Lauper

4/5

Black Holes and Revelations

Muse

4/5

Fishscale

Ghostface Killah

4/5

Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Mudhoney

3/5

The Suburbs

Arcade Fire

4/5

Here, My Dear

Marvin Gaye

3/5

Deloused in the Comatorium

The Mars Volta

2/5

Songs The Lord Taught Us

The Cramps

4/5

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth

3/5

The Last Of The True Believers

Nanci Griffith

4/5

Sheet Music

10cc

3/5

From Elvis In Memphis

Elvis Presley

4/5

Pelican West

Haircut 100

5/5

Scott 4

Scott Walker

4/5

A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector

Various Artists

2/5

Vol. 4

Black Sabbath

2/5

Your Arsenal

Morrissey

1/5

The Healer

John Lee Hooker

3/5

Automatic For The People

R.E.M.

3/5

Shleep

Robert Wyatt

4/5

If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears

The Mamas & The Papas

4/5

Green River

Creedence Clearwater Revival

3/5

Exodus

Bob Marley & The Wailers

5/5

Locust Abortion Technician

Butthole Surfers

2/5

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

4/5

The Wildest!

Louis Prima

4/5

Dr. Octagonecologyst

Dr. Octagon

1/5

The Poet

Bobby Womack

2/5

Moss Side Story

Barry Adamson

1/5

Superunknown

Soundgarden

3/5

Hot Buttered Soul

Isaac Hayes

2/5

Murder Ballads

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

2/5

Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs

Derek & The Dominos

3/5

Fisherman's Blues

The Waterboys

3/5

Celebrity Skin

Hole

3/5

Konnichiwa

Skepta

2/5

Beats were good. But the rest is just...generic trap. It increasingly feels like a "1001 albums that have been popular in Britain over the years" list.

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols

Sex Pistols

5/5

Emergency On Planet Earth

Jamiroquai

4/5

Destroy Rock & Roll

Mylo

2/5

Bringing It All Back Home

Bob Dylan

5/5

Introducing The Hardline According To Terence Trent D'Arby

Terence Trent D'Arby

3/5

Common

5/5

Street Signs

Ozomatli

4/5

The Bends

Radiohead

3/5

Ágætis Byrjun

Sigur Rós

4/5

16 Lovers Lane

The Go-Betweens

2/5

Green

R.E.M.

3/5

The Slim Shady LP

Eminem

3/5

Vento De Maio

Elis Regina

3/5

Too Rye Ay

Dexys Midnight Runners

4/5

To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar

5/5

Trafalgar

Bee Gees

3/5

Under Construction

Missy Elliott

2/5

Who's Next

The Who

2/5

Run of the mill classic rock. Some of it is pretty good when I'm in the mood, but mostly I just don't know what is supposed to be particularly good...besides Baba O Riley.

Quiet Life

Japan

4/5

Kind of a slow burn for me. Definitely just felt very 80s pop at first, then realized it was very much the original of that sound gave me some appreciation. All in all just sorta grew on me. Super solid.

Gentlemen

The Afghan Whigs

2/5

Just.......no. I don't need Songs from Underground. Also, I get it's going for grunge, but dissonant does not mean out of tune.

A Northern Soul

The Verve

2/5

They're not wrong. It is music. There are sounds and instruments and rhythms. But it's what is playing when you walk out of a coffee shop and say, "oh yeah. There was music playing". Legitimately, I've listened through 3 times and I'm like 95% sure it had lyrics. I would give it a 3 in my normal life, but the list demands more.

The Atomic Mr Basie

Count Basie & His Orchestra

4/5

New York Dolls

4/5

Picture Book

Simply Red

3/5

L.A. Woman

The Doors

2/5

Every song would be better with no keyboard solo. I'd happily take banger 2 minute songs over these self indulgent 6 minute versions.

In A Silent Way

Miles Davis

5/5

It's just....... captivating. Somehow it makes 2 15 minute adventures feel like one 5 minute song. Can definitely feel the Wayne shorter vibes as they start exploring a bit more free jazz-fusion type ideas.

Rattus Norvegicus

The Stranglers

4/5

I mean. It's 70s Brit punk. What more do I really need in my life.

Yank Crime

Drive Like Jehu

3/5

Really foreshadows all the emocore of the early 2000s...which was 90% of my teenage personality. As a more, shall we say, discerning adult, it's a bit harder to stay in it and not get blown out by the drone. But I'm somehow still here for it.

Parallel Lines

Blondie

5/5

Before this I had heard of the name Blondie, but that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge. Then I saw all the names of the songs on this album. All the hits. All bangers all the time, even the ones I had never heard before.

The Chronic

Dr. Dre

4/5

That opening synth, though! To whom did Dre sell his soul to be a Synth Lord? Just all around incredible. Completely changed the entire world of music. It's still definitely not as good as 2001.

Shadowland

k.d. lang

2/5

Far from music I actually like, it somehow still has a vibe. Her voice is amazing enough I think she can just do whatever she wants and I'll pay attention to it. Nevertheless, half an hour of old country covers just doesn't seem like it's worthy of the list, and I am again very confused about the reason this album was picked over so many better, more impactful ones.

1999

Prince

2/5

I appreciate that if I heard it in 82 it would have felt.....less dated? But today, to me, it just feels like what you'd get if a 14yr old kid opened up garage band and said what's a key-tar. Nothing really interesting or exciting about it. Sorry.

Bert Jansch

2/5

Feels like a worse Bob Dylan, and it's interesting cause he got screwed by a record company?

The World is a Ghetto

War

5/5

So good! It sounds a lot like most late 80s pop/funk/jazz fusion stuff, and it should, because it's incredible and inspired all the kids who were 10 in 1973. Absolutely hasn't aged. So subtle and smooth with all the instrumental bits. None of the solos feel selfish or even wanted, just what the vibe needed at the time. Groovy, groovin', grove.

Palo Congo

Sabu

3/5

Really cool example of what I want from the list. I wouldn't say I liked it in the way I normally like music, but it was neat and interesting and felt like it would be foundational to a lot of Latin stuff. Maybe it's also the novelty.

Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd

2/5

If you asked me yesterday, I would have said I was a decent pink floyd fan. But this....I guess it's fine. Pretty good listening. Honestly doesn't excite me in any sorta way. Wish you were here is obviously a good track. Idk. White noise, I guess. A good edit for me would be to have Crazy Diamond 1-3, throw the other 6 parts in the trash, and maybe write another 4 songs that did anything different. It just gets real repetitive real fast after that first chorus finally resolves. Also, have a cigar is deeply bad. Dislike on all levels.

Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle

Bill Callahan

2/5

It's fine. Mostly pretty good, but a few really bad ones being it down as a whole.

Adele

4/5

Honestly rolled my eyes when I saw this, but these are banger songs. They're definitely way popular and she gets written off as a pop artist, but she's really good. I think they're also new enough they still really suffer from being overplayed, but as my fiance likes to say, songs get overplayed for a reason....

Head Hunters

Herbie Hancock

4/5

Look. It's super good, and I love it, but it's just not quite there for me. Funk without being funky. Jazz without being jazzy. Idk. I want more fun and fresh and dancy. Oooorrrr more jazz and technical and complex. It's just....not quite there for me and I can't explain why. Maybe I just think Herbie is better than this.

Ramones

4/5

Just bangers all the way down. 29 minutes of raw, unfiltered energy.

Selected Ambient Works 85-92

Aphex Twin

2/5

But like....where's the drop!? It definitely feels ahead of its time, and I don't doubt it has been immensely influential, but man is it hard to listen to! It's not chill enough to be actually ambient and background noise but it's way too boring and bland to be fun and dancy.

Music Has The Right To Children

Boards of Canada

2/5

As beats go, these are pretty banging. You can kinda groove, but they're not overwhelming or steal your attention. But that feels like exactly the problem: they're beats, not songs. It feels incomplete. They'd be super great as background for a hip hop album or like, the intro to a Muse song.

Arrival

ABBA

4/5

Yes it's relentlessly poppy and commercial, but that's what it's supposed to be. It's very good at what it wants to be good at. I also don't think you can argue against that scale of global success.

Black Sabbath

1/5

Nope!

Psychocandy

The Jesus And Mary Chain

3/5

Sooo, what I'm hearing is that Scotland invented grunge in 1985. It's a lot of good, early, raw "rock" sounds that definitely moved the genre forward away from more pop stuff. I wouldn't say I enjoy it, but I respect it.

Endtroducing.....

DJ Shadow

4/5

First impression was that it was just more ambient electronica garbage, but quickly realized what it actually was: a masterpiece of sample mixing. Really cool and interesting. It's nice to find an album that's the opposite of most, where it doesn't really work as background, but definitely rewards closer attention.

American Beauty

Grateful Dead

5/5

Never listened to any Dead before. Pretty banging. I could definitely spend a decade or 2 following these guys around the country. If you told me they were a bluegrass band formed in montana in 2016 I'd absolutely believe it. It's just that good, folksy, bluesy timeless sound.

Definitely Maybe

Oasis

3/5

It sounds exactly like everything from the early 2000s.....10 years early. Feels kind of washed out and bland today, but is still sneaky good when you really sit and pay attention to it.

Play

Moby

3/5

A lot of it just kinda sounds like impressions or almost soundscapes. Obviously the 10s tracks do, but even the longer ones. I don't feel like they really take me anywhere or change at all the way a normal song would. Generally boring and dated, but I do see the influence of it, and I guess it isn't bad. Obviously South Side is a banger.

Joan Armatrading

5/5

She's so incredible. Pulling on so many different sounds and influences with what is essentially just a singer over some chord changes. How do you say sad in every genre? As a complete, thought out work of art this is amazing. Absolutely one of the better full-album arcs of music I've heard. And I do appreciate the bookending steel strings.

If I Could Only Remember My Name

David Crosby

2/5

Certainly nothing memorable, just felt like 1/3, maybe 1/4 as good as what I'm used to hearing with his voice.

Fire Of Love

The Gun Club

4/5

Live these guys. Absolutely an essential listening album

Stankonia

OutKast

5/5

As always, the skits just kinda take me out of it, but the music is absolutely top notch. And, while it's not quite at the level of ATLiens or Speakerboxx, it's still way better than rubber soul.

Maxinquaye

Tricky

3/5

This is a weird one, and I have to keep reminding myself that it's from 1994, and the reason it sounds so much like a lot of things from the mid-200s is that it clearly inspired and influenced it. All in all, I think I'm here for it? It's just a bit too engaging and out there to be truly background coffee shop noise, but it's not really listenable or "easy" enough to be truly enjoyable. I think it just truly lives in that trip-hop, trance, chill electronica space that it was clearly designed for. I do also really appreciate the variety of flavors going on here, all the way from jazz flute to reggae to noir film score. A few tracks were giving me strong Dune and 300 vibes.

The Notorious Byrd Brothers

The Byrds

2/5

Just kinda nothing.

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Sinead O'Connor

1/5

But like.....what else is about it? Yeah she's a good singer but the only reason this isn't all immediately forgettable is because it's kind of bad? I would refuse a Grammy too, if I knew I didn't deserve it.

Either Or

Elliott Smith

1/5

Was he Billy Eilash's voice coach or something?

...Baby One More Time

Britney Spears

2/5

Look. It's not good. But it is always hard to argue against wildly popular things, even if their popularity doesn't really last. These are far from timeless sounds, buuuuut they definitely completely changed the face of music. There is undoubtedly some historical significance there, regardless of how problematic her life and treatment was/is. For at least a few years before she was the poster child for exploitation/manipulation/abuse, she was the face of pop music, and that means something.

McCartney

Paul McCartney

2/5

Maybe I'm amazed, but maybe it's just pretty mid. They mostly just feel like all the songs he had started writing before the breakup, and he wanted to rush and get them out while he was relevant. Didn't bother actually polishing them all, and it suffers for it. Obviously Maybe I'm Amazed is amazing.

Africa Brasil

Jorge Ben Jor

3/5

Another one I probably would not have ever heard without this project. Obviously I wish I spoke Portuguese, but it's still pretty dang enjoyable stuff.

Brothers In Arms

Dire Straits

2/5

Today I learned Dire Straits has a song other than Money For Nothing. That song is not called Walk On By. Saw the album and rolled my eyes at more boring, bland, nothing classic rock. Was pleasantly surprised at a few random sounds that came out. Learned the title and artist of a song I've been mis-hearing my whole life. Yep. No impressions. No nothing. Why did the entire rock genre spend 15 years writing the exact same songs over and over and over over and over and over over and over and over? +1 for Saxophone.

Vulnicura

Björk

4/5

Never heard any Bjork before. Came into this album with a fair amount of negative bias, and within 2:00 of Stonemilker that was completely overturned. It's all absolutely incredible, artistic, impressive music, but that sort of emotional weight starts to wear on you over the course of the whole album. It's not fun, poppy, dancy time, and it doesn't want to be. Definitely can't just leave it on repeat in the background, but that's more because of how much it rewards close attention.

KIWANUKA

Michael Kiwanuka

4/5

Love the Gorillaz sample to open the album. I almost want to call it modern soul? It's a really cool mix of a lot of sounds. Big fan.

After The Gold Rush

Neil Young

3/5

Pretty solid. I don't think it's his best.

Cupid & Psyche 85

Scritti Politti

1/5

Oh great. 80s brit-pop. Gross.

Power In Numbers

Jurassic 5

4/5

I don't know if I'd even call them skits, but it's a nice change that the little interludes feel so at home, actually pulling you into the music instead of distracting from it.

American Idiot

Green Day

5/5

Absolutely top tier. No doubt it's one of my best 20 of all time. You just don't see a lot of cohesive, full album narratives, let alone ones this well done, with songs that are also capable of standing on their own.

Catch A Fire

Bob Marley & The Wailers

4/5

Bummed

Happy Mondays

3/5

Wasn't impressed on the first listen, but really came to respect the impressive breadth of music on here. Pretty much running the gamut of musical genres. Also, banger album art.

Run-D.M.C.

1/5

Look. I get that's it's historically important, but I was utterly blown away by how bad it was and how little I wanted to listen to it. Before today I honestly thought I liked run dmc, and now I'm questioning everything. I get that 80s hip hop has not aged well and is always a tough listen, but this was truly bad. Zero interest in ever hearing it again.

Horses

Patti Smith

2/5

Reggatta De Blanc

The Police

3/5

Never really heard the Police before, other than their big 3 or 4 songs. It was fine. I'd call it a pleasant surprise. Nothing very life-changing, pretty generic, but I have a feeling it was other bands copying them more than the other way around. Really enjoyed the titular track.

The Gilded Palace Of Sin

The Flying Burrito Brothers

2/5

I would die for the flying burrito brothers

Lost In The Dream

The War On Drugs

1/5

Thanks to advances in modern science, we can now make Springsteen 80% more bland, boring, and unenjoyable.

Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine

Cee Lo Green

4/5

Never heard this before. Only cee-lo I knew was fuck you. Obviously he did a ton of work with Outkast before this, and that sound definitely comes through. He is definitely a soul machine.

The Joshua Tree

3/5

I'll go with ....better than expected? I know it's one of those albums everybody knows and raves about, but it's still classic rock. Took a few tries to get over that hurdle, but it wasn't terrible.

School's Out

Alice Cooper

1/5

I saw Alice Cooper and immediately thought there would be nothing of value. That was a mistake. There were a few lovely moments of West Side Story covers.

Are You Experienced

Jimi Hendrix

4/5

With a name like the Jimi Hendrix experience, I assume he is the lead singer? Whoever that lead guitarist is, man they are incredible. I hope they have a long and prolific career ahead of them.

Dear Science

TV On The Radio

2/5

They Were Wrong, So We Drowned

Liars

1/5

"Noise" rock has never felt like such an adequate description of something....

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Elton John

3/5

Obviously there's some all time great songs here, but a lot of it just feels kitschy and silly and weird.

Red Headed Stranger

Willie Nelson

1/5

I just don't see the appeal here. Every song, musically, and lyrically, just bleeds right on into the next one over and over again. And it's not good music, either. It's incredibly simple, repetitive chords under "oh no I'm sad, let's go murder the woman who made me sad, oh no I'm still sad"

With The Beatles

Beatles

1/5

A bunch of 16 year olds singing covers. It's basically kidzbop.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme

Simon & Garfunkel

5/5

You had me at harpsichord. They are a band I always forget is amazing. In my head they're just some random folk duet, but the music is secretly very diverse. It's subtle and honestly pretty complex in a sneaky sort of way.

Stand!

Sly & The Family Stone

4/5

The La's

4/5

Queens of the Stone Age

Queens Of The Stone Age

3/5

Blue Lines

Massive Attack

3/5

Your New Favourite Band

The Hives

4/5

Madman Across The Water

Elton John

4/5

Repeater

Fugazi

4/5

In The Court Of The Crimson King

King Crimson

4/5

Slayed?

Slade

3/5

Made me think of a lot of generic late 70s stuff. But I have to be charitable and imagine that's just the sound of the times or even them inspiring later bands, not them just being copycats. I was also impressed by the general breadth of sound they managed within that framework. All in all a really good listen. Except for whatever the heck that last stupid "thank you" track was.

Elvis Is Back

Elvis Presley

2/5

It's just so hard for me to enjoy just about anything from this era. I appreciate he's important historically, but it is really not for me.

Surf's Up

The Beach Boys

4/5

I don't know how they do it. They just feel timeless and incredible, but somehow it's so clearly just that beach boys, 50s, California vibe.

Like A Prayer

Madonna

1/5

I guess it's on the list because....blowjobs? It's definitely not good or interesting musically.

Morrison Hotel

The Doors

2/5

Like all the doors music, I find this incredibly bland, boring, and self-indulgent

Calenture

The Triffids

3/5

At first, I was thinking it was pretty boring 80s trash, but somehow it was still enjoyable. I almost felt like I was talking myself into hating it. As the album went on, I realized there's some actual depth and complexity to it. It's just buried in the mix a little on the earlier tracks and comes out more further in.

The Gershwin Songbook

Ella Fitzgerald

5/5

It is really nice to see this on here. I was originally a bit put off by the fact that this list has no classical music, but I guess it gets weird with where does a "Symphony" become an album. Buuut, there's just something so enjoyable about the full orchestra that is severely lacking in modern music. Also, there are a number of reviews about this being a compilation album, and I wholeheartedly disagree. If anything, I would say it's a cover album, but realistically it's just Ella taking on an absolutely massive project to bring light to music that has inspired her over the years. I think it just looks weird to or modern eyes to see the actual songwriters get credit on the cover, when today they're buried deep in the credits, if the rights aren't bought outright behind the scenes by the labels themselves.

Penthouse And Pavement

Heaven 17

4/5

It's punk. But funk. What now do I want on my life?

Sunshine Hit Me

The Bees

3/5

Perfect cool vibes on a rainy, dreary day. Otherwise, very generic, kinda eclectic/fusion sounds. Nothing really stands out.

Hot Rats

Frank Zappa

4/5

Like anything experimental, there are some hits and misses. This one has more good than bad, and really did feel ahead of its time.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips

4/5

Absolutely one of my favorites. As with all skits, the battle scene still kinda takes me out of it, but it is pretty well done and sounds like a fight. The rest of it is definitely some of the best the lips have to offer.

Harvest

Neil Young

4/5

Just feel like Heart of Gold and Old Man stand head and shoulders above the rest of the album. But they also stand head and shoulders above most music that's ever been written, so what are you gonna do?

Central Reservation

Beth Orton

3/5

It's very late 90s, solo female music. But I'm kinda here for it. There's a lot of nice little touches that definitely makes it a step above a lot of the other names of that time.

Rock 'N Soul

Solomon Burke

3/5

It could just be the nature of soul, but it doesn't really sound dated. Idk if maybe that genre just hasn't really changed much over the years. It also is just good quality music, even if the only song ever written is "baby I miss you"

Rapture

Anita Baker

1/5

Just really wasn't feeling it. Maybe it's because spotify only had half the album and it came the day after another soul album, but I was just incredibly sick of hearing "I miss you" sung over and over and over and over again

Millions Now Living Will Never Die

Tortoise

1/5

Was really not enjoyable at all. So forgettable I wasn't even always sure the album was playing.

Smash

The Offspring

1/5

Expected absolute bangers, but it turns out of youve heard one Offspring song you've heard them all. Frankly disappointed.

Exile On Main Street

The Rolling Stones

4/5

Every time I see Rolling Stones I roll my eyes a bit, but this was good. I think the problem is that their more popular stuff is kinda crap, and a lot of the music that was a bit edgy for the time is actually pretty neat and interesting and has held up a lot better.

Bookends

Simon & Garfunkel

5/5

I legitimately don't think they've ever written a bad song, and I am loving getting to listen through more than just the 10-15 I already know from them. Obviously "America" and "Mrs. Robinson" are all time, but hazy shades of winter was a revelation!

Grievous Angel

Gram Parsons

1/5

Electric Warrior

T. Rex

4/5

Highway 61 Revisited

Bob Dylan

5/5

Two Dancers

Wild Beasts

2/5

Pet Sounds

The Beach Boys

4/5

I don't think it's their best, but obviously B-dubs doesn't make anything bad.

I’ve Got a Tiger By the Tail

Buck Owens

1/5

It's a bad version of a bad genre

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

Iron Butterfly

3/5

Not really my genre, but clearly ahead of its time a bit, and honestly kinda neat.

Everything Must Go

Manic Street Preachers

3/5

To my modern ears it sounds a bit generic, definitely not bad. They clearly pre-empted a lot of early 2000s music. I'll go with...decent enough.

Wild Is The Wind

Nina Simone

5/5

Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

1/5

Nope. Nope. Nope. Absolutely one of the worst ways to spend my time. Would give zero stars if I could.

World Clique

Deee-Lite

5/5

No white, 90s, electronica band has any business being this incredibly fun and funky.

Disraeli Gears

Cream

4/5

Faust IV

Faust

1/5

Just because it's experimental doesn't mean I have to listen to it.

Alien Lanes

Guided By Voices

3/5

You could really hear the inluence of a lot of very famous bands, but none of it really sounded new or original. Don't get me wrong, it was good and I'm a fan, but I don't really know what I'm supposed to have been getting out of this album.

Mask

Bauhaus

3/5

I'm in a weird spot here. I don't particularly love it, but I don't dislike it. I can hear where it would have been amazing in 1980 and I bet a lot of the bands I love would have loved it.

Fear Of Music

Talking Heads

5/5

Iconic.

Electric

The Cult

1/5

It's like everything bad about classic rock all rolled into one place with no redeeming qualities.

The Village Green Preservation Society

The Kinks

4/5

While it's not their best, it's still super solid, and picture book is an all-time great. Feels a bit like a stepping stone album toward what they would accomplish.

3 + 3

The Isley Brothers

5/5

Absolutely essential listening. The samples and covers of these songs have echoed throughout the history of music.

...And Justice For All

Metallica

1/5

The Metallica songbook is just a series of How To Play Guitar exercises for 4th graders to learn their first 5 notes, where half the quarter notes are triplets and "advanced" musicians play it double time.

Ghosteen

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

3/5

I didn't realize Nick cave was capable of writing a good song.

A Girl Called Dusty

Dusty Springfield

5/5

I'm so often confused by the inclusion of these albums that are entirely covers. But I just have to keep reminding myself that's how it worked back then, and you just choose the one that has the best overall versions rather than 20 distinct albums by different artists, which may or may not just be singles. Either way, she's great, and these are all amazing songs.

Foo Fighters

2/5

They're fine. Dave Grohl does his job. Couple good ones, but it's mostly noise.

Metal Box

Public Image Ltd.

2/5

It's like a bad talking heads. Not terrible, but certainly not anything fantastic

Face to Face

The Kinks

4/5

So freaking good. Absolute classic.

Time Out

The Dave Brubeck Quartet

5/5

Femi Kuti

4/5

Another example of the kind of stuff I'm here for. I never works have gone looking for African 90s jazz, but I'm super glad I found it