Reviews by suspiciousnumber

Lost my review for this one, but this album is a great touch stone for how far synth music had come by 1990 (when compared to earlier albums like Truth or Dare by Human League). It sounds much more mature than the works of the 80s which is probably a testament to the advance of technology more than anything else.

This album is very much worth a listen and features some of Depeche Mode's most famous songs

4/5

I really liked this album. The vocals are beautiful and compliment the music very well. I felt like the style of the album got a bit repetitive toward the end

4/5

It's hard to imagine Ella Fitzgerald putting out a bad album because of how exquisite her instrument was, and this album certainly meets her usual standard. I'm not a huge fan of this type of music, but she is undeniable as a vocalist. Well worth the listen

4/5

The concept behind putting together Billy Bragg and Wilco to record unreleased Woody Guthrie songs is a very interesting idea that is mercifully well-executed here. I'll confess that I'm much more a fan of Wilco than Bragg, but this album works really well. It features a lot of the straight-ahead alt-country sound of Wilco's earlier albums. Guthrie's songs work really well for both artists. Tweedy brings a more modern sound, while Bragg sounds like the specter of Guthrie himself risen out of the past. I think I'll have to look out for this one on vinyl

4/5

This album sounds good, but it doesn't feel like there's a lot to it as far as groundbreaking music goes. It definitely has some of the Steely Dan sound that Fagen was instrumental in forming. Overall, it comes off more as an easy-listening album than an album that pushed the boundaries of music in its time. It's not bad at all, in fact it's quite pleasant, but I don't see much else here. I'm on the third song and I'm already bored (update: as of song 5 I am still bored and about to give up on this album). As always, it's a super bad sign when the coolest thing about an album is its cover

3/5

How are there two Hole albums on this list? This album isn't bad, but it also doesn't feel good enough to be on this list. There definitely seems to be a popularity bias with the material selected from the 90s. I haven't seen any Butthole Surfers albums on here, nor, for that matter, any Stooges albums. Hole is simply not as important in musical history as either of those bands (I would put the Stooges as one of the most important bands of the 20th century).

This album is fine. The lyrics feel a bit juvenile. The music is good overall. It's just not clear why this particular album was important enough to put on this list when so many other influential bands seem to be entirely left off. I can't imagine that this album would be here if Courtney Love was not married to Kurt Cobain. Weirdly, I've gotten more Hole albums on this list than Nirvana albums. It just seems like a popularity contest more than an critical examination of the most influential and technically-advanced albums.

3/5

One of the more notable things that listening to an album a day from this list has done for me is to give me much more of an appreciation of Bob Dylan. He was always one of those musicians that I liked but didn't really "get." Now, having gotten to sample from a good portion of his career, I'm really starting to enjoy his music. I don't really see myself buying any of his albums, but I liked this one

It starts out with Like a Rolling Stone, an all-time banger, at least for folk music. Nothing after that is as good, but what are you going to do? The whole album is very consistent, both in terms of its musical quality and its lyrical depth. Certainly a ground-breaking album for 1965. Definitely worth a listen.

What is there to say about this album. It's an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end. It's also the beginning of one of the greatest three album runs in the history of recorded music. What's more, the more I listen to this album, the more I like it. It just works on every level. Even songs that I would find annoying on a lesser album, like Fitter Happier manage to fit into this album. It's dark and beautiful, wounded yet resilient.

5/5

It's been a long time since I came back to this album. Historically, I've always preferred Reasonable Doubt to this album. However, listening to this after getting a better understanding of the history of hip-hop, it's really hard to deny how incredible The Blueprint is. It has plenty of hits, but it also features a lot of the production styles that would be featured during the next decade of rap music. The name The Blueprint ended up being prophetic in that sense. I don't hand out 5 stars to many albums, and I wasn't anticipating doing it for this album, but I can't think of a single argument for why this album doesn't deserve it

5/5

There are some things about this album that are neat. I can't say that it sounds like anything else from its time. It's like a Tom Jones album made with 90s sensibilities. I think that it is possible to make a good album in with this approach, and Casanova has a nice voice that works with the musical arrangements

On the other hand, I found this album cloying from the very beginning. I kept waiting for it to turn into something that I could get into, but that eventually turned into me waiting for it to finally end. I think that the name of the album and artist are an attempt to be funny, but like with everything about this album, execution is lacking. My only hope at this point is that I can get drunk enough tonight that I forget that this album ever existed, since the odds of anyone in my life ever bringing it up at any point in the future are pretty small

2/5

This album is okay for what it is, but I found it a bit dull. The part where he is just announcing the instruments as they come in sounds like an old Disney documentary about sound. It's cool that he was so young when he did this, and that he played all the instruments. It's one of those examples of an album concept that was produced with a huge amount of talent and effort, but still doesn't work that well in the end. Also, I've never really understood why people like the movie The Exorcist so much. I just figured while I'm tossing out unpopular opinions related to this album I might as well air that one out as well

3/5

I am very excited to read the reviews on this one. Somehow I'm guessing that there's not going to be a lot of middle ground between love and hate.

I'm one of the people that love this band, and this album in particular. Suicide was one of the bands that helped form the late 70s punk scene in New York. No one has ever sounded like them since. Suicide is a beautiful combination of idiosyncrasies that can never be replicated. The perfect people at the perfect time, with perfect ideas about music and perfectly shitty equipment

5/5

This marks the third Bruce Springsteen album that I've gotten on this list, and while I don't think that I'll ever consider myself a Springsteen fan, I must say that I've enjoyed all three albums. This album is classic Sprinsteen, straight-ahead rock with a working class message. It's good all the way through, though one song sort of blends into the next since they all have a similar feel. The song I'm on Fire helps break up the monotony, though. Overall, though, there's nothing bad about this album that I can point to. The man makes solid work

4/5

This is a cool jazz album that really hits the sweet spot between being good jazz and being easy to listen to and digest. I don't have much else to say about this one other than that it's great to listen to and I'm going to keep my eyes out for a vinyl copy of it to add to my collection

4/5

This is a very interesting album. I remember hearing about it a long time ago as one of the earliest examples of proto-punk music. I can certainly see how it's that, as well as how it fits in with a lot of the garage band music of the time. Overall it's a good album, far more pleasant and well-produced than I would have expected. There are even some songs that I think could have been released as singles.

4/5

I thought this album was really neat. The French influence on the music and lyrics makes it very distinctive

4/5

This album definitely falls close to the David Bowie sweet spot for me. Low is my favorite album, though I also have to admit my undying love for Hunky Dory. This album seems to be in the middle of those two. It's far less poppy than Hunky Dory, but far less dark than Low. Despite being something of an in between album, it's really enjoyable.

4/5

I would not have thought that I would enjoy this album, and having listened to it, I'm not exactly sure why I enjoy this album. I do enjoy it however. It has a very consistent sound without sounding repetitive. Ace of Spades is an all time banger. Well worth a listen

4/5

I wanted to like this album, I really did. Parts of it are good. However, the album grinds to a fucking halt during the 10 minute long Free Form Guitar song, and it had already been a while since the album had any notable highlights. It's fine for albums to do experimental stuff, but that song does not fit in with the rest of what they're doing, and it is absolutely crucifying to listen to

3/5

This album is pretty cool. I didn't love every part of it, but it certainly sounds advanced for its time. Some parts could be repetitive (Pilgrim is a pretty dull song), but the songs flow together well. The underlying theme of the atomic bomb is very interesting, especially since the fear of nuclear war was pretty low in 1999. The music has a diverse set of influences

4/5