Reviews by syrinx

This is sort of an odd, sleepy, semi-crooner record that I didn't really expect. He's got a good voice but the songs are sort of simple and plain. He delivers them well though. But I'm not exactly sure who this album is for. It came out in 2005 but if you told me this was from the early 60s I wouldn't have questioned that. There are some interesting things going on but I don't think I would really recommend it to anyone. It's not bad, it's not great, it just is. 2.5/5

I love getting records that I'd never heard of before. Sometimes you find gems.
A few songs in and I can see that this one is gonna get some mixed reviews. People will complain about the vocals for sure. I kind of like them though - the vocals fit the songs really well.
Most of the way through and I'm really liking this one. It's a great mix of punk, power pop, late 70s early new wave. It's really well played, well recorded, and all the pieces are there. Some really great guitar work too. Is it perfect? No. Was it the gem I was hoping for? Yep. I give this one a 4.25/5

This record is super famous and I've never listened to it. I'm excited for this one today though I know this is not really my kind of music.
Man what a voice on this guy. Knowing he was Jeff Buckley's father makes it a little easier to recognize the similarity, I wonder if I would have seen it if I hadn't known? Like the other album I've had from him on this list, I feel like his lyrics are really great for the most part. His music isn't really something that I enjoy that much but I can see the appeal of it to people who are into the sort of folky/bard/60s singer songwriter vibe. I don't know that I would make a point to buy this record but I think if I saw it and it was cheap I would probably pick it up. I liked this album better than Happy Sad which is the only other album of his I've heard all the way through. 3.25/5

I'm sure that somewhere out there, this is someone's favorite album of all time. I wonder what that person's life is like. It makes me sad to think of all the albums and artists that could have been included in place of this one. Generic 90s electronic dance is not a genre that I feel needs more than one record on this list. Oddly, a couple of the songs with vocals, the vocals are great will round up for that I suppose. 1.5/5

Ugh no more Bob Dylan please. I think this is number 6 or 7 for me. That's way too many Bob Dylan records. Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't like him?
Goddamn that fucking harmonica. I hate it so much. I lasted about 4 minutes into this one before I was irritated and ready to play something else. Some of the songs are actually good, but he just doesn't do them justice. I've heard covers of a few of these and all the covers a better. The Jeff Buckley version of If You See Her Say Hello is magnificent. Bob's version? Lacks any emotion or feeling at all. I just hate Bob Dylan. That's not something I really knew until I started this project so at least I've learned something about myself. 2/5

This isn't something I was into when it came out and I was like 14 (prime target audience for this record I would imagine) but I'm interested to listen to it today to see how it has held up. I would assume it hasn't really (spoiler, not well). I kind of feel like the whole Nu Metal genre garnered its fans in a very short timespan and doesn't really appeal to anyone who wasn't there at the time.
First song my immediate thought was 'jesus were Jonathan Davis's vocals always such shit?' I totally get why the appeal to angsty teen boys was so strong. Thank god I'm not an angsty teen boy anymore. Although I do have to admit that I quite enjoy Freak On a Leash.
So the music isn't too bad. I actually enjoyed some of the guitar parts, though the tone is super brittle and oversaturated. Some great drums in there too, although they largely suffer from terrible sound as well. It seems like a lot of the Nu Metal bands from this time were in the studio asking themselves 'How do we make this record sound as shitty as possible?' and this album is certainly one of those. The vocals and the lyrics are just terrible. Some super juvenile and ridiculous lyrics and blatant homophobia are kind of hard to get past. I mean I suppose this album belongs on the list because it is a good example of this genre. And why the genre was short-lived. 2/5

Going in, I have already saved 5 songs from this album to my Spotify likes. It's been a long time since I listened to this whole thing all the way through...
Everyone knows Connection (I think...) since it's been in tons of soundtracks and was immovable from alt radio in the late 90s. It's still a great song. The rest of this album is really good too. Fantastic bass tone, really great playing from everyone. I disagree with this being classified as Britpop. It's not. It's straight-down-the-middle punk-influenced 90s indie. And I'm a sucker for a rock band with a female singer so this was probably always gonna get a high rating from me. 4/5

This is one of those albums that I've seen a million times but have never actually listened to. I've heard nothing but positive things about it so I'm really excited to listen today.
This album is so diverse and surprising. It has so many different styles but it all flows together really well. The music is great (though maybe a tad simplistic at times), the lyrics are poignant, it is performed and sung impeccably well. What else can you ask for? I'll probably listen to this album a few times today and can imagine that I'll stick it in regular rotation. One that I slept on for far too long and is a brilliant piece of work. 5/5

Apparently I have listened to this album before, though I don't really remember it. I had already saved a couple songs to my likes on Spotify.

I think I was expecting a little too much from this. After reading a couple reviews I was sure I would love this album a lot. A few songs in and I'm not exactly sold. I really do like it but I'm not quite to the 'oh man I love this and will listen to more from them' point yet.
I ended up really liking this a lot. I don't think it is a perfect album but as I listened I liked it more and more. I can see why people say it was ahead of its time, but maybe just by a few years. I'll definitely revisit this one to see if I was just off at first or if this is a better/worse album than I thought. As of right now I call it a 4/5.

Three minutes in and I know I'm going to struggle with this one today. It sounds like the music that would be playing in the showroom of a vaguely upscale car dealership. It is generic and simple and repetitive and artificial sounding. This album is so boring I forgot it was playing. My wife was with me when I listened to this, she typically likes electronic/ambient music, and she commented several times what a garbage album this is. I do not know why this was included on the list and I can't think of any situation where I would recommend this to anyone. 1/5

The mid 2000s had a whole spate of British dance rock (is that a thing?) bands like this. Some of them I feel are indistinguishable. I like this music though I don't feel like it will really hold up past the next few years, indeed it has been waning for years now. Interestingly it cropped up around the same time as the stomp, clap, hey! bands that were thankfully short-lived. Not sure why that's significant but it seemed appropriate to mention.
I like this album - the band is super tight. Drums are great, though they are kind of dry and I wish they sounded a little fuller. Good guitars, great bass. Vocals are decent, though not the best. This is a hard one for me to rate because it is definitely not a 4 star album for me but I feel like 3 stars is a bit of a disservice. It's better than that. I'd give this a solid 3.6 and I suppose I have to round that up.

I'm sort of confused about this album. It is horribly generic but the musicianship isn't bad. I feel like if you went to some random small town festival in the summer, this is the kind of musician who would be set up between the tent selling local honey on one side and a little old lady selling her crocheted crafts on the other. Kids run around with snow cones. The locals eat (surprisingly good) food from local vendors. All the while Paul Weller is playing a solo gig with $40k worth of gear and nobody is really paying attention. He's not bad, probably a much better musician than he gets credit for, but he's just the local guy that didn't ever make anything good enough to gain much recognition outside his small town.
Maybe that's unfair - I have only ever heard a few other things he's done but I don't remember them at all. I think there was probably a better choice than this album for this list. Especially for the time this was released - there were so many things happening that were so much more interesting than this. 2.5/5

From the first notes of this I knew I was going to struggle to finish. I really did not need two hours and nine minutes of music that I hate with all my being. This was an album that made me question my vow to listen to each of these records all the way through. I will say that some of the instrumental parts were not bad but I still can’t get on with the down home, traditional Americana country. I can see that some people would really love this album, I am no one of them. 1.5/5

AC/DC is one that I never really clicked with. I mean I like the music but it’s not exactly like there is a lot to dig into. I enjoyed this album and like a handful of songs but it wasn’t exactly a revelation and my relationship with this band is exactly the same as it was. 3/5

I love this album so much. I vividly remember listening to this for the first time a couple days before Bowie died. Little did I know what was about to happen. Although in hindsight this album is the perfect farewell. And, apropos of Bowie, very different from anything he’d done. Leave it to David Bowie to put out a jazz art rock album then die two days later. I was so excited about the new direction he was taking and I don’t hesitate to call Bowie the preeminent musical genius of our time. This album sums up what he was as an artist and what he wanted his legacy to be.
This is one of my favorite albums of all time. It’s heartbreaking and wonderful. 5/5

This is such a fun album but I feel like I wanted to like it better than I actually did. I love that Boy George was making conservative people uncomfortable so long before that was a real objective. It sucks that someone like Boy George can still make people upset. Good on him.
Anyway, 3.5/5 and I guess I’ll round up because this album starts off with an all time banger.

I can see this album being pretty divisive - people who like metal and people who don't. And among those who do, the 'why not just listen to Metallica?' camp. There's some merit to that question.
As others have said, you don't go into this thinking you'll hear anything profound but its a great thrash metal record and is a lot of fun. I don't think I'll run out to buy a bunch of Megadeth records but I enjoyed this one today. 3.5/5 but gonna round down because it's not quite up to a 4 for me.

Totally surprised to see this pop up, I already had one Public Enemy record and surely there aren't two that everyone needs to hear...

I'm halfway through and have heard no 'yeaaaahhhh boiiiiiiii's yet. Why am I even listening to this? Spoiler - there were none on the whole album.
Hip hop is totally not my thing. This was a struggle though I'd take this over probably all the newer hip hop on this list. I can at least appreciate why this is relevant and included on the list. I still don't like it though. 1.5/5 and I guess I'll round up because it isn't the worst thing I've heard.

Yeah so apparently the Spotify version of this album is a completely different record from like 2013 or something? It's frustrating having to track down a record you know you are probably not going to like.

Mid 90s electronica was really something. 2+ hours of 90s electronica is categorized as torture in the Geneva Convention I think. It's so repetitive and every song is exactly the same. Remember when we called this Techno? I don't know why that was changed. Either way I hate this. And honestly I don't think listening to the Spotify version would have been any different. Still 2+ hours of nonsense. 1/5

I barely made it through this. 80s and 90s country is one of my least favorite genres. I hate the twangy (mostly) put on accents, the stupid lyrics, the bass lines that are basically just root notes, the steel guitar. And what the hell is with the vocals sounding like a pubescent boy whose voice is cracking all the time - like he randomly goes into a falsetto in the middle of every other word. Is he trying to sound like he's yodeling? What the hell?
A terrible album (for me) although I did appreciate some of the guitar parts. That's the dumb thing about country music - the vocals and most of the music is awful but you have some monster guitar players in there. 1.5/5 and will round up for some great guitar playing.