Reviews by florida-metalhead810

Alright, another 1980s punk/new wave album. Interestingly, the band is American rather than British like most of the random new wave bands. It does have some blues and country influences in the guitar playing, but mostly just sounds like basic post-punk. The songwriting isn't very notable, and neither are the lyrics. While the songs are energetic, none of them are particularly enjoyable, and the album is more boring than anything else. The vocalist is actually very annoying at times, and it's pretty much the only thing on the album that inspires actual emotion. An absolute nothingburger of an album that is rightfully consigned to the dustbin of history.

This is my second Queen listen of the list, and it's also probably their best-known album. I mean, it has "Bohemian Rhapsody" on it. However, it's not just that song; it's actually a very sonically varied album that tries a lot of different things and manages to land most of them. It takes hard rock, opera, folk, and blues and manages to blend them all into an iconic piece of 1970s AOR. Lyrics vary in quality, with "I'm In Love With My Car" being a low point and "Death on Two Legs" being a high point. The album has strong hooks backed up with great musicianship, making it a classic. It rightfully deserves its place as Queen's breakthrough album.

This is my third Radiohead listen of the project, and is the most recently released of the albums I've had generated. It melds the guitar-heavy sound used on "The Bends" with the electronic experimentation of "Kid A" without reaching the heights of either album. It feels rather mediocre for the most part, lacking the songwriting of The Bends and the atmosphere of Kid A. Lyrics are of a similar quality to most Radiohead lyrics. I don't know how essential this particular album is in the Radiohead discography, especially coming after their most seminal works. This could easily have been left off the list without much effect. However, it's not a terrible album, and it will still sound good to devout fans of Radiohead.

I am quite familiar with this album, having listened to it quite a few times before beginning the project. This is probably classic hard rock in its purest form. It gets by on two things: anthemic choruses and loud riffs. And, really, what else do you need? This is a great album just off the colossal hits that came off it, proving that the masses love this brand of raw rock with just enough pop polish to make the top 40 for 12 weeks or so. Lyrics are simplistic and dumb, but that's the point if I'm being honest. However, they clearly have a talent for songcraft, making simple three-chord riffs into anthemic songs that still hold up in the modern era. AC/DC of this era never fails to be a fun listen if nothing else, and this album is hardly the one to disappoint. It's an absolute classic of the classic rock genre, and I will never be able to rate it less than 5 stars.

Overly pretentious indie albums like this usually suck...so we'll find out if this is the exception. Unfortunately, it is not. It is very stripped-back indie folk with bad vocals and bad lyrics. Some of the songs have good hooks, but they're too short and don't really do much to the listener. Nothing on this album does much to the listener, honestly. I can hardly see why an album of 2-minute folk songs with annoying vocals and-more damningly- simplistic lyrics that mean nothing is considered essential listening. Lump this album in with all the other shitty hipster music and have a decent day.

As mentioned in my review of The Prodigy's 1994 album, "Music for the Jilted Generation", electronic music is a difficult genre to properly rate. This is an electronic music record from that same era with a similar style. Unlike the Prodigy, there is little palpable emotion here; it's techno for the masses. A lot of it is surprisingly hooky, and there's some definite efforts at songwriting. However, electronic music isn't really my thing, and this album isn't particularly great even within the boundaries of the genre as a whole. It works to set a vibe or as party music, but it isn't good to just listen to on a casual basis. Overall, it's an admirable but not stellar effort in a genre that is far from easy to properly listen to and rate.

This is my third listen to the Beatles of the project. It's their turning point(along with the preceding Rubber Soul) when the Beatles truly began to experiment with their sound rather than make standard pop music. Fittingly, it has many great Beatles songs on it, with the one-two punch of "Taxman" and "Eleanor Rigby" being especially strong. Many of the lyrics are simple love lyrics, but the first two songs have excellent lyrics that tackle politics and the human condition. They also experiment with Indian music on a couple tracks, which works pretty well but doesn't augment their songwriting all that much. However, as evidenced by "Yellow Submarine", they have a silly side as well. The Beatles are often credited with inventing the modern pop song, and this album is loaded with great hooks that only further this impression. A true classic for sure.

I've never heard of this, but I already have low expectations of it. Of course, it's a generic 2000s indie rock album that sounds like every other 2000s indie rock album. The lyrics aren't really noteworthy, and neither are the actual songs. Nothing here is really all that great, but none of it is explicitly terrible. It's just background music, and that prevents it from being listworthy. This album is not important at all, and it has no legacy. So-and here comes the question I've asked too many times before- why is it on the list? What makes it stand out from other 2000s indie rock albums that didn't make the list?

I had this guy's other album, which was pretty good but not quite great. This is apparently a highly political album that contains only two tracks. The first track, "Zombie", is a very energetic and political Afrobeat jazz track. The second, "Mr. Follow Follow", is slower but no less political. The musicianship on both tracks is undeniably excellent, and they both have excellent grooves to them. The lyrics of "Zombie" primarily deal with the military and it's blind following of orders, while "Mr. Follow Follow" is a call to the ordinary citizens of Nigeria to protest their corrupt government. Both tracks have power and passion behind them, and both are great songs. Therefore, this is a great album, even if it stretches the idea and definition of "album" somewhat.

I've never heard of this. Weirdly, it is the only album these "Disposable Heroes" ever made. Four of the tracks were not available on Spotify in the United States, so I had to find them on Youtube. Sadly, the album is not very good. The raps are very politically conscious, but they are too literal. It feels artless, almost, with weak flows and basic beats behind them. This is a completely disposable album from the 90s era of politically conscious hip hop. The lyrics have all the subtlety of the album cover, and this is a damning flaw in a genre that relies almost exclusively on lyrical content. I don't think this is even remotely close to list-worthy. It is also the worst rap album I've had(at least Ready to Die had good flows!)

I had this band's other album earlier in the project and thought it was pretty meh, so I expect mediocrity from this as well. It's actually a lot better than I would have thought(and Celebrity Skin was). The album is raw, passionate, and angst-filled in that oh-so-early 90s tradition. The lyrics are rage-filled and deeply personal, and the songs are strong alt-rock numbers with clear hooks. The vocals are as passionate as everything else here, and the album as a whole is very angry. It has everything you could expect from a grunge album in spades, and it isn't too polished. It's very of its era, but it encapsulates the spirit of the era perhaps as well as any other album of the era.

When you hear the name Genesis, you may be tempted to think of their 80s pop era(and Phil Collins's solo work that sounds very similar). This isn't that. It's slightly folky, keyboard and guitar-heavy classic prog rock. The lyrics are very intricate, often to a detrimental degree that makes the record sound pretentious(though that's basically the point of prog rock). All the musicians are very skilled, and this is the album's greatest strength. However, I don't like the way the vocalist sounds all that much. It comes off as whiny and overly dramatic to my ears. Nevertheless, this is far from a bad album; it's pretty close to greatness honestly. Not bad for a band that would eventually turn to by-the-numbers pop music.

I've heard that this is one of the greatest live albums ever made. I don't think that's quite true, but I could be wrong here. It's essentially a standard 70s blues-rock album played live with a handful of the songs being insanely long jam sessions. It's a good album, even though the songs are basic and the lyrics even more so. The album is entirely carried by the musicianship; every soloist is clearly good at their instrument. That said, the extended songs are mostly pointless and could have stayed a normal length. Therefore, this is not the greatest live album ever made like some say it is. It's just a good concert recording that showcases the talents of the band members.

This is an album I am very familiar with, by a band I love. Therefore, I don't need to listen to it per se, but I want to. Obviously, it's an absolute classic of an album. Rush were always one of the better lyrics bands of the classic rock era, and this album doesn't disappoint on that front. Neither does the musicianship, as all three members are in peak form on this record. In terms of iconic singles, this record is unrivaled in the Rush catalog. It's perhaps the record that best blends Rush's artistic vision with the commercial trends of the day. However, it's not my favorite record of Rush's; 2112 is uncompromising in its vision and is perhaps the best encapsulation of Rush as a band. This, however, is still a record that has withstood the test of time to become an icon of early-80s rock music.

This is my second Björk listen of the project(after Vulnicura). It is a very atmospheric record with hints of electronic music mixed in there. Lyrics are OK, but not great. The vocals, while an acquired taste, actually enhance the sound and vibe of the record. She clearly has an artistic vision, and it's one I rather like. While many of the songs run rather long, they are good songs with good writing. Many of the reviews here either hype it up as an all-time great album or diss it for being "too weird", and neither are entirely the case. This is simply a good album with its own unique character, just weird enough to avoid boredom while still being fairly accessible. It is an excellent listen for situations when an atmospheric, mildly theatrical record is the order of the day.

Oh, goody, another obscure British new wave album from the 1980s. This one has very few distinguishing qualities and mostly just sounds like a generic new wave album. The lyrics are unremarkable, and the songs themselves are no better. They sound like Echo and the Bunnymen in terms of vocals, but they don't have the same level of songcraft, instead settling for faceless 3-minute compositions. This album is absolutely inessential for this list and has no reason to be included, marking yet another questionable album choice in a list packed with questionable album choices. This is best left to the dumpster of history, despite not being completely insufferable.

Ok, I'm a little scared of this one. Steely Dan are kind of boring, and this is just one of the guys from Steely Dan doing a solo album. Lo and behold, it sounds pretty much exactly like Steely Dan. Smooth, polished, overproduced rock with all the emotion smoothed out of it. The lyrics aren't very good, and the instrumentals are competent if bland. This is the definition of "muzak": music that is made by committee to be unhateable and inoffensive. Yet, at the same time, it is these very qualities that keep it from being good. It's not going to have any bearing on your life whether you hear this(or really any Steely Dan-related anything) because it's just so polished. It has no grit, no soul, no passion; just ennui for the masses. This should not be on the list, and really it belongs in a landfill with the rest of the era's soft rock bands.

This is the fourth of my Led Zeppelin listens on the list. Considering that I first had them at album 129 and this is album 257(including the one I haven't yet rated at the time of writing). This is probably the most indulgent album Zeppelin ever made, with tracks like "In My Time of Dying" running for far too long. Despite this, it feels different than earlier Zeppelin. It feels less flashy than a lot of their old songs, and a bit more tired. They're beginning to lose their edge on this record, unfortunately. However, it's still Zeppelin-and Zeppelin songs are almost always inherently good. It's still an enjoyable record, even if it's quite bloated and lacking the vitality of older records.

It's well known that this was the only album the artist released during his life, as he was killed just days before releasing his second effort. Unfortunately, it's not a very enjoyable rap album. While his flows are strong, and he has obvious storytelling abilities, he just stays in one mode for the bulk of the album. Even more damningly, that mode is "brag about shooting people and committing violent crimes", which does not make for an enjoyable listen. While I understand(or think I understand as much as I can, being a white teenager from suburban Florida) where it all comes from, I just don't want to hear it. That, ultimately, ruins the album for me, alongside the tedious length. It just gets boring after a while, and it wasn't great to begin with, so it gets a 2.

Ok, another 1980s British synthpop album appears! At least this band is actually decently known! Anyway, this album sounds almost exactly like I expected it to. While there are some quite engaging rhythms and guitar in addition to the synths and hooky songs, it mostly just sounds like all the list's other 80s pop albums. The vocalist especially is insanely generic, and so are the lyrics for the most part. The history of this band is probably why they're better known than most of the era's bands, as there's little difference in quality between this and, say, Soft Cell. I don't even think this is their most popular album, so I genuinely have no idea why it was included. Oh, wait, it's 1980s British synthpop, that's why.