Tag

Music Criticism

185 articles

Styx - The Grand Illusion

Styx's 1977 breakthrough The Grand Illusion, reviewed — grand and theatrical hero tracks (Come Sail Away, Fooling Yourself) backed by real sensitivity. A Jamwise essential.

Bob Dylan - Love And Theft

Bob Dylan's Love and Theft reviewed: released the same day as Jay-Z's The Blueprint, a wistful album that grows on you, and a genuinely great entry point.

Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

This album has the feeling of a dude with a scruffy beard and a beanie and a guitar slipping casually across a cracking icy lake.

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory Instrumentals

Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory Instrumentals reviewed: an album that takes me straight back to baseball fields and weight rooms.

Erykah Badu - Mama’s Gun

Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun reviewed: swaggering, effortless-sounding neo-soul from a band that feels like one entity pulsing with the same beat.

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

The Avalanches' Since I Left You reviewed: a tight, cohesive, beautiful patchwork of hundreds of samples, and a prompt to think about what makes music "real."

OutKast - Stankonia

OutKast's Stankonia reviewed: bouncy, addicting beats and ridiculous hook-laden bangers, at a much faster pace than Aquemini.

Santana - Supernatural

Santana's Supernatural reviewed: a guest-star-heavy album that lands somewhere between a legitimate artistic effort and the NBA all-star game.

D’Angelo - Voodoo

D'Angelo's Voodoo reviewed: great hip-hoppish and R&B beats, and a restrained vocal style that sits far back in the mix.

Primal Scream - XTRMNTR

Primal Scream's XTRMNTR reviewed: fuzzy guitars and industrial bass lines, an album that goes off the rails, where the instrumentals hold the most value.

Blur - 13

Blur's 13 reviewed: a band morphing its sound for the late 90s without losing its identity, like changing how you season the chicken.

Mos Def - Black On Both Sides

Mos Def's Black on Both Sides reviewed: smooth delivery, laid-back beats, live instrumentation, and social commentary with an undercurrent of positivity.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication reviewed: the first 11 songs are inarguable bangers, and it's a consummate 90s kid rite-of-passage album.

Blink-182 - Enema of the State

Blink-182's Enema of the State reviewed: pop-punk upbeat whininess, and why every group of kids has to express the same things in a different way.

Muse - Showbiz

Muse's Showbiz reviewed: a stadium-sized circus sideshow soundtrack of a debut, with plenty of poise and a sound that's theirs alone.

The Roots - Things Fall Apart

The Roots' Things Fall Apart reviewed: hip hop built on live instrumentation over loops, which feels like rebellion in an electronic age.

Fiona Apple - When the Pawn…

Fiona Apple's When the Pawn... reviewed: an absolute powerhouse of an album, with grimy, sultry speakeasy jams and a 444-character poem for a title.

Outkast - Aquegemini

OutKast's Aquemini reviewed: one of the best southern hip-hop albums ever, finding its own way between the NYC and LA scenes.

Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

Lucinda Williams' Car Wheels on a Gravel Road reviewed: a second listen after a harsh first take, and why it still sounds forced to me despite the acclaim.

PJ Harvey - Is This Desire?

PJ Harvey's Is This Desire? reviewed: a wild departure toward trip-hop and moody soundscapes, one long expression of woe with the occasional break in the clouds.

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

Massive Attack's Mezzanine reviewed: an immersive trip hop album, and one of my favorite new-to-me discoveries of the past few years.

Ms. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Ms. Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill reviewed: one of the greatest albums ever made, with singing and rapping talent over reggae vibes.

Pulp - This Is Hardcore

Pulp's This Is Hardcore reviewed: britpop left on the counter a bit too long, like the last breath of a genre, and somehow still a fun listen.

Garbage - Version 2.0

Garbage's Version 2.0 reviewed: sarcastic, saccharine pop hooks and electronic production, with some drums recorded in an abandoned candy factory.

Brave Baby - 3x Blood

Brave Baby's 3x Blood reviewed: the Charleston, SC band's first album after an almost 9 year break, with tight, effortless pop-rock.

E.Z. Shakes - Leaves Grow Back

E.Z. Shakes' Leaves Grow Back reviewed: a Columbia, SC band's country-folk roots grown into moody, electric indie rock.

Dog Named Squid - Manners

Dog Named Squid's Manners EP reviewed: the work of a young band with real potential, a little like The Dip with a hint of country twang.

The Simplicity - MONEY

The Simplicity's MONEY reviewed: straight shootin' rock and roll from Charleston, SC, with a froggy growl and the flavor of a cold Miller Lite.

Little Stranger - Sat Around Trippin

Little Stranger's Sat Around Trippin reviewed: a Charleston group rapping and reggae-ing through mostly unserious songs, from Wordle to Radiohead.

Shovels & Rope - Something Is Working Up Above My Head

Shovels & Rope's Something Is Working Up Above My Head reviewed: a stripped-back, almost spiritual album from a South Carolina lowcountry staple.

Slow Funeral - Super Jesus Small Town

Slow Funeral's Super Jesus Small Town EP reviewed: a Greenville, SC band showcasing Mary Norris' vocals, and a lot more energetic than the title suggests.

Erykah Badu - Baduizm

Erykah Badu's Baduizm reviewed: an insanely mature, soulful debut that sounds road-tested in smoky speakeasies for years. No notes.

Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out reviewed: jittery energy from start to finish, with a singer who sounds on the edge of losing control but never quite does.

Elliott Smith - Either/Or

Elliott Smith's Either/Or reviewed: a dreamy, longing voice and dainty, melancholy songs with brown camper van vibes.

Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death

The Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death reviewed: an iconic golden-age voice with unhurried swagger and a delivery always a little behind the beat.

Creed - My Own Prison

Creed's My Own Prison reviewed: melodramatic, brooding, and a little preachy, but still awesome pop rock and a guilty pleasure.

Radiohead - OK Computer

Radiohead's OK Computer reviewed: a favorite album that's also bittersweet, because of what the band might have made if they'd kept exploring this sound.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman’s Call

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' The Boatman's Call reviewed: sleepy, church-pew dusty, and like a middle-aged man gently lamenting that clouds exist.

Foo Fighters - The Color and the Shape

Foo Fighters' The Color and the Shape reviewed: a worn-out-CD favorite from early Foo, with a few duds and plenty of headbangable classics.

Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind

Third Eye Blind's self-titled album reviewed, from someone whose first ever live concert was a Third Eye Blind show.

Tool - Aenema

Tool's Aenema reviewed: industrial grossness of the non-destructive variety, like the soundtrack for humans returning to a destroyed Earth.

Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire

Rage Against the Machine's Evil Empire reviewed: pretty damn good, with metal riffs, shout-rap poetry, and funky drums, though not on the level of their debut.

R.E.M. - New Adventures in Hi‐Fi

R.E.M.'s New Adventures in Hi-Fi reviewed: a gloomier sound with uneven recording quality, but still a great work from a band that rarely misses.

Beck - Odelay

Beck's Odelay reviewed: an album that seemed mind-blowingly deep to a pre-teen, and is inventive and entertaining even if it isn't Shakespeare.

Jaÿ‐Z - Reasonable Doubt

Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt reviewed: a debut that sounds like a guy in the streets of NYC, elevating hip-hop to an intellectual art form.

Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album

Aphex Twin's Richard D. James Album reviewed: rushed, chaotic, and confusing as hell, the kind of album that makes you wonder how people make art like this.

Fiona Apple - Tidal

Fiona Apple's Tidal reviewed: a debut that sounds like a far more established artist, with buried hooks and a focus on her own mind.

Pulp - Different Class

Pulp's Different Class reviewed: the best parts of Britpop with a polite class-war feeling, and one of the better lines out there from "Mis-Shapes."

Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith's self-titled album reviewed: gloomy, whispery bedroom pop that feels unexpectedly current, with f-bombs on "Christian Brothers."

Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill reviewed: a sound that can't be engineered, with endlessly singable number one bangers and something totally original.

2Pac - Me Against the World

2Pac's Me Against the World reviewed: somewhere between boom-bap and G-funk, with existential explorations of life and death that show how intelligent Tupac was.

Radiohead - The Bends

Radiohead's The Bends reviewed by a listener with issues listening to Radiohead, working through their discography chronologically.

PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love

PJ Harvey's To Bring You My Love reviewed: a little industrial sound enters her ever-changing musical vocabulary, and it freaking works.

Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Sessions

Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory? Sessions reviewed: enjoyable but overinflated bangers, with a head and a heart that disagree about how good it is.

Hole - Live Through This

Hole's Live Through This reviewed: Courtney Love as a force of nature, and an album that uses its hooks as an on-ramp into something deeper.

R.E.M. - Monster

R.E.M.'s Monster reviewed: "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" is the perfect album opener, and the rest can get a bit sleepy, like elevator alt rock.

Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York

Nirvana's MTV Unplugged in New York reviewed: a stripped-back acoustic set with nowhere to hide, and why acoustic versions show off a band's musicianship.

Blur - Parklife

Blur's Parklife reviewed, with a look at 90s British songwriting that observes British stuff happening in British places.

Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral

Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral reviewed: a fuzzier, more staticky take on industrial sound, like an old factory where the robots need oil.

Pearl Jam - Vitalogy

Pearl Jam's Vitalogy reviewed: a droning, angrier evolution with some filler, but rewarding with adult ears, like a band fighting the need to grow up.

Tom Petty - Wildflowers

Tom Petty's Wildflowers reviewed: beautiful and extremely sad, a miserable but almost peaceful album about a collapsing relationship.

Oasis - Definitely Maybe

Oasis' Definitely Maybe reviewed: good-time rock 'n roll that's impossible to hate, and a look at why it may be overrated in our collective memory.

Green Day - Dookie

Green Day's Dookie reviewed: great album construction under the pop-punk attitude, and a sound that may be the most remembered of 90s rock.

Portishead - Dummy

Portishead's Dummy reviewed: trip-hop beats and inventive songwriting adding up to a true 1+1=3 situation.

Jeff Buckley - Grace

Jeff Buckley's Grace reviewed, and why the "Van Morrison meets Led Zeppelin" label puts the album in a box that doesn't fit.

Nas - Illmatic

Nas's Illmatic reviewed: jazzy, gritty East Coast hip hop with multi-tiered rhymes, and hard to believe it's a debut.

Soundgarden - Superunknown

Soundgarden's Superunknown reviewed: a long-deserved mainstream breakthrough, with Chris Cornell's voice going from throat-shredding scream to haunting melody.

Weezer - Weezer

Weezer's Blue Album reviewed: a geeky, self-aware, completely unforgettable debut that works at face value or with a hint of irony.

Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess - Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan's Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess reviewed: four recurring themes from the top of the 2024 charts, and a long, hard slog to get there.

Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine

Ariana Grande's eternal sunshine reviewed: a voice mixed so far forward you forget there's music behind it, from the most talented pure singer on the list.

Olivia Rodrigo - GUTS

Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS reviewed: if T Swift is reinventing the blues, Rodrigo is reinventing punk-pop, a little angry and a little unserious.

Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Billie Eilish's Hit Me Hard and Soft reviewed by a skeptic: pure bedroom confessional pop songwriting, and impressive control.

Sabrina Carpenter - Short n’ Sweet

Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet reviewed: flawless production and an absolute bubblegum banger in "Espresso," but it feels more designed than personal.

Taylor Swift - THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department reviewed: is she creating a new version of the blues? Sad girl bedroom pop with hope in the major chords.

beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves

beabadoobee's This Is How Tomorrow Moves reviewed: honest-to-god guitars, stellar songwriting, and a pick for 90s alt-rock fans.

Counting Crows - August and Everything After

Counting Crows' August and Everything After reviewed: a former college baseball player's relationship with "Omaha," the mantra of the College World Series.

Cypress Hill - Black Sunday

Cypress Hill's Black Sunday reviewed: an East Coast guy admits he's a West Coast guy when it comes to golden age hip hop, with G-funk weaseling into my heart.

Björk - Debut

Bjork's Debut reviewed: dancey, acidy, trippy, experimenty, with sounds you can't predict and art she's trying to share instead of wall off.

Radiohead - Pablo Honey

Radiohead's Pablo Honey reviewed: the tortured teenage poppy alt rock that started their career, and music I could at least understand.

Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See

Mazzy Star's So Tonight That I Might See reviewed: a dreamy, sleepy, folksy album and a counterpoint to the about-to-explode 1993 alt scene.

Sheryl Crow - Tuesday Night Music Club

Sheryl Crow's Tuesday Night Music Club reviewed: it sounds like a group of friends making an album for fun, with a voice that's effortless and cool.

Pet Shop Boys - Very

Pet Shop Boys' Very reviewed: the poppiest of the poppy, ornamented with strings, horns and synths, and leaning into the tropes so hard it works.

Buhloone Mindstate - De La Soul

De La Soul's Buhloone Mindstate reviewed: an album that might blow up but won't go pop, and proof that self-aware, nonserious music is my absolute jam.

Wu‐Tang Clan - Enter the Wu‐Tang (36 Chambers)

Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) reviewed: grimy, dusty, analog New York underground sound that's nerdy and smooth, with nine vocalists.

The Breeders - Last Splash

The Breeders' Last Splash reviewed: it took about four listens, then wormed its way into my head, and I bet a live show of these songs would be lit.

Yo La Tengo - Painful

Yo La Tengo's Painful reviewed: droning shoegaze riffs that try to float you along, and what the review calls boredom music, not meant negatively.

Depeche Mode - Songs of Faith and Devotion: Remix

Depeche Mode's Songs of Faith and Devotion: Remix reviewed: a longing, industrial-adjacent sound that borders on melodrama, like a stadium-sized support group.

Pearl Jam - Vs.

Pearl Jam's Vs. reviewed: more than 300 albums into a project to get away from 90s alt rock, early Pearl Jam still scratches an itch.

Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle: The Samples

Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle: The Samples reviewed: four parts gangsta rap to six parts chill-out party rap, with beats that are a blast.

Nirvana - In Utero Demos

Nirvana's In Utero Demos reviewed: a fuzzier, room-sounding answer to Nevermind's polish, with songs that are siblings to Nevermind's.

A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders

A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders reviewed: an unforced, tight album that rose above the escalating extremes of early 90s hip-hop.

PJ Harvey - Rid of Me

PJ Harvey's Rid of Me reviewed: angst 2.0, dark and ironic, from an artist whose thread continued strongly after grunge hit a dead end.

Arrested Development - 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of…

Arrested Development's 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... reviewed: an Atlanta group's hip hop about the south, faith, and family.

Selected Ambient Works  85—92 - Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works 85-92 reviewed: unpretentious, smart ambient electronic music I actually enjoy, and a widely cited inspiration for Kid A.

Stone Temple Pilots - Core

Stone Temple Pilots' Core reviewed: straightforward, purified grunge rock, and a well-developed example of smart people making heavy rock music.

Alice in Chains - Dirt & Sap

Alice in Chains' Dirt & Sap reviewed: crawling, grimy, oily, grungy metal, with harmonies like warlocks chanting in the forest.

Sonic Youth - Dirty

Sonic Youth's Dirty reviewed: grunge seeping into their signature tone, with a more polished sound than Goo and a puzzle over why fans supposedly hate it.

PJ Harvey - Dry

PJ Harvey's Dry reviewed: another insanely impressive debut, the definition of raw energy, and a path toward something totally her own.

The Cure - Wish

The Cure's Wish reviewed: why "Friday I'm In Love" is the band's cheeseburger song, and what the rest of the album is up to around it.

R.E.M. - Automatic for the People

R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People reviewed: why I disliked R.E.M. for years, and how a $5 allowance and a closet of greatest hits CDs explain it.

The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde

The Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde reviewed: a breath of fresh air next to early 90s gangsta rap, with a chill-out reaction and a bizarro feel.

Sade - Love Deluxe

Sade's Love Deluxe reviewed: smooth soul that requires you to slow down and pay attention, and a second try after doing the band a disservice the first time.

Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine's debut reviewed: unforgettable metal guitar riffs, unmatched energy, and the big difference between complaining and Raging.

Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement's Slanted and Enchanted reviewed: sloppy guitars, bored vocals, and basement production that somehow add up to a refreshing album.

Dr. Dre - The Chronic

Dr. Dre's The Chronic reviewed: phenomenal, trailblazing G-funk beats and a huge moment in production, with lyrics that haven't aged great.

Teenage Fanclub - Bandwagonesque

Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonesque reviewed: Spin's 1991 album of the year ahead of Nevermind, a two-star Rolling Stone review, and a wistfully 70s sound.

De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead

De La Soul's De La Soul Is Dead reviewed: a smooth, silly, almost bored sound with whiplash-inducing variety, and a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater connection.

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless

My Bloody Valentine's Loveless reviewed: an album I first bounced off while shuffling best-album lists, and how the context of 1991 changed that.

R.E.M. - Out of Time

R.E.M.'s Out of Time reviewed: really good southern-tinged alt rock, less frivolous than the R.E.M. I know best, and my favorite of their albums.

Pixies - Trompe le Monde

Pixies' Trompe le Monde reviewed: alt rock before it was cool, influential, underrated, and less dated than other alt rock from the period.

U2 - Achtung Baby: Collection

U2's Achtung Baby: Collection reviewed: U2 before they forced their music onto every iPhone, and "One" as the band's ultimate distillation.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers' Blood Sugar Sex Magik reviewed: why they polarize people, and why their all-in commitment is energizing anyway.

Massive Attack - Blue Lines

Massive Attack's Blue Lines reviewed: the debut credited with kicking off trip hop, with a variety and finding-themselves vibe I liked even more than Mezzanine.

Metallica (The Black Album) - Metallica

Metallica's Black Album reviewed a second time: shredding that sounds like pieces in an orchestra instead of blunt instruments.

Nirvana - Nevermind

Nirvana's Nevermind reviewed: every song would be the crowning achievement of any lesser band.

Primal Scream - Screamadelica

Primal Scream's Screamadelica reviewed a second time: early 90s electronic sound, an epic video game quest vibe on "Inner Flight," and a favorite of the genre.

Pearl Jam - Ten: The Rough Mixes

Pearl Jam's Ten: The Rough Mixes reviewed: an album memorized as a young teen, and one of the reasons I got into the guitar in the first place.

A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

A Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory reviewed: 90s rap with smooth, effortless beats that sound good loud or quiet, and a look at the jazz rap label.

Ice Cube - Amerikkka’s Most Wanted

Ice Cube's Amerikkka's Most Wanted reviewed: a great voice and great beats, but more crime credentials than social commentary, and it has aged poorly.

Public Enemy - Fear Of A Black Planet

Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet reviewed: nonstop energy and commentary that's still relevant, delivered in a way that's brilliant and somehow uplifting.

Sonic Youth - Goo

Sonic Youth's Goo reviewed: noise rock that morphs abstract experimentalism into structured songs, by smart musicians who don't take themselves too seriously.

Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas

Cocteau Twins' Heaven or Las Vegas reviewed: judged on pure vibes, a cotton candy dreamscape with a wistful air and words you'll never quite make out.

Sinead O’Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got

Sinead O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got reviewed: painful on purpose, with no veil between her innermost feelings and the music.

Madonna - The Immaculate Collection

Madonna's The Immaculate Collection reviewed: a pop chameleon who took ownership of pop, whether she invented it or just perfected it.

Depeche Mode - Violator

Depeche Mode's Violator reviewed: goth dance floor music, vampire drama soundtrack, and brooding trance, all elevated into something sophisticated and darker.

The Beatles - Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band reviewed: a perfect mixture of potentially LSD-inspired whimsy and musical genius.

The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths' The Queen Is Dead reviewed: an extremely cohesive album with effortless songwriting and a polite middle finger to the establishment.

Mary J Blige - What’s The 411?

Mary J Blige's What's The 411? reviewed: incredible singing talent over songs with the lyrical complexity of a children's book, and "lovin'" on every track.

Solange - A Seat At The Table

Solange's A Seat At The Table reviewed: calmer than expected, laid back R&B that focuses on the music more than the singer, like Speakeasy Beyonce.

KISS - Alive

KISS's Alive reviewed: a live album of undeniable rock n' roll fun, and a rock n' roll Mandela effect where you think you know all the songs.

Steely Dan - Can’t Buy A Thrill

Steely Dan's Can't Buy A Thrill reviewed: a little yacht rocky, but great classic rock and a chill listen, from someone who once thought Steely Dan was no good.

Laura Nyro - Eli and the Thirteenth Confession

Laura Nyro's Eli and the Thirteenth Confession reviewed: obviously good songwriting from an artist I'd never heard of, six decades on.

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly reviewed: a smoothly performed stream of consciousness, bouncing like a pinball from social commentary to love to raw anger.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love

The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Axis: Bold As Love reviewed: textured guitar parts that sound like they're dripping with moisture, and a great "She's So Fine."

Gang Of Four - Entertainment!

Gang of Four's Entertainment! reviewed: a band I'd never heard of, pre-punk pop with a driving drumbeat, and above-average enjoyment.

Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville

Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville reviewed: no single song grabbed me, but the whole album is such a vibe, with big-personality artists of future years in it.

Pearl Jam - Ten

Pearl Jam's Ten reviewed: an album heard more times than almost any other, with four generations of the Ten T-shirt to show for it.

Lil Wayne - Tha Carter iii

Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III reviewed: one of the albums that got me addicted to hip hop, and proof this guy is a genius.

Grateful Dead - Workingman’s Dead

The Grateful Dead's Workingman's Dead reviewed: godfathers of the jam band movement, on a stellar album that's hard to separate from the whole.

I've Finally Given Up On Objective Music Ratings

Plus: Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Primal Scream, Tom Waits, Loretta Lynn, Elvis Costello

Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits

Hank Williams' 40 Greatest Hits reviewed: a compilation of songs so classic they've almost become fossilized, like songs sung by bards in fantasy novels.

Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison

Johnny Cash's At Folsom Prison reviewed: a career-reviving live album with surprisingly good recording quality and banter with the audience.

Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle

Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle reviewed: the best shiznit I'd heard in a while, with some lyrics that haven't aged well and a reason the guy is so famous.

Shakira - Donde Están Los Ladrones?

Shakira's Donde Están Los Ladrones? reviewed: quality music and emotion, and the frustration of not speaking enough Spanish to get the lyrics everyone praises.

J Dilla - Donuts

J Dilla's Donuts reviewed: 31 songs in 43 minutes, mostly made in a hospital room, and best appreciated all together start to finish.

Pixies - Doolittle

Pixies' Doolittle reviewed: critically acclaimed, slightly punky alt-rock from 1989 that's just awesome.

The Doors - The Doors

The Doors' debut reviewed: the organ took some getting used to, but the songwriting and Jim Morrison make up for almost anything.

Arctic Monkeys - Am

Arctic Monkeys' AM reviewed: dark and brooding vibes and sexy grooves, on an album that feels cohesive and varied at the same time.

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head

Beastie Boys' Check Your Head reviewed: forever party music, completely irreverent, and a mood lifter every time.

Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever

Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever reviewed: musical onomatopoeia, simple rock songwriting perfection, and a huge reason I'm a massive Tom Petty fan.

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

Fleetwood Mac's Rumours reviewed: an album tied to childhood road trips, and a masterpiece once you see the beauty in the songs.

Pavement - Wowee Zowee

Pavement's Wowee Zowee reviewed: indie grunge alt rock with funky tones and sound explorations, not 100% for me but a good experience.

Phil Spector and Various Artists - Back To Mono

Phil Spector and Various Artists' Back To Mono reviewed: a 73-song box set of Spector productions, including the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody."

Radiohead - Kid A

Radiohead's Kid A reviewed: a band I've tried to like since childhood, and a second listen with good headphones and a candle.

Janis Joplin - Pearl

Janis Joplin's Pearl reviewed: blues rock at its best, and the current leader in albums I'd play for my future daughter.

Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream reviewed: overdone guitar fuzz, but great songs, emotional vocals, and a classic album.

Ray Charles - The Birth of Soul

Ray Charles' The Birth of Soul reviewed: a 1991 compilation of 1950s recordings from an innovator with one of the most iconic singing voices ever.

Music Critics and You: How to Find Music Writers You Trust

Plus: Miranda Lambert, Santana, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Cat Stevens, Led Zeppelin

Tame Impala - Currents

Tame Impala's Currents reviewed: a psychedelic rock heavyweight that's all the work of Kevin Parker, almost trance-inducing with dreamy lyrics.

Cream - Disraeli Gears

Cream's Disraeli Gears reviewed: the album I learned guitar on, with a million plays of the "Sunshine Of Your Love" lick in my parents' basement.

Otis Redding - Otis Blue

Otis Redding's Otis Blue reviewed: great grooves and expressive vocals, a puzzle over how to rate the covers, and stunning originals like "Respect."

Taylor Swift - Red

Taylor Swift's Red reviewed: simple, hook-y singles alongside a whole-sound experiment, and why people who say Red isn't genius are wrong.

Big Star - Third

Big Star's Third reviewed: meandering songs from a band in decline, and the question of whether it would be rated so high without the story behind it.

Objectivity In Rating Music, part 2

Plus: Kanye West, Sparks, Rod Stewart, Daddy Yankee, Bob Dylan, Nick Drake

Daddy Yankee - Barrio Fino

Daddy Yankee's Barrio Fino reviewed: an undoubtedly important album for reggaeton and Latin music, and a lesson in the difference between reggaeton and reggae.

Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story

Rod Stewart's Every Picture Tells A Story reviewed: one of the more unique voices in rock history on a raw, live-recorded album that feels more real.

Sparks - Kimono My House

Sparks' Kimono My House reviewed: an album that escaped my notice my entire life, and turned out to be off the wall, with strong Bowie vibes.

Nick Drake - Pink Moon

Nick Drake's Pink Moon reviewed: clean, tight songs packed with emotion, and already one of my favorite singer-songwriter albums after one listen.

Kanye West - Yeezus

Kanye West's Yeezus reviewed: an aggressive, dark, experimental album from a conflicted, angry, brilliant lyricist and even more brilliant producer.

Michael Jackson - Bad

Michael Jackson's Bad reviewed: proof that the big hits don't capture his range, with "Man In The Mirror" in my personal top 5 songs of all time.

Bob Marley and the Wailers - Legend

Bob Marley and the Wailers' Legend reviewed: a compilation that's been a favorite for years, since I found the CD in a used music store.

LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out

LL Cool J's Mama Said Knock You Out reviewed: best album title ever, and a chance to hear the rapper from before he became a TV character.

Television - Marquee Moon

Television's Marquee Moon reviewed: big-brain punk, like the A students who figured out the system sucks and started a band instead.

How To Appreciate Music From Our Past

Plus Michael Jackson, Television, Bob Marley & The Wailers, The B-52's, LL Cool J, The Ramones

The Ramones - Rocket to Russia

The Ramones' Rocket to Russia reviewed: cranking guitar riffs plus downcast, introspective tracks, with more depth than the big hits would suggest.

The B-52’s - The B-52’s

The B-52's self-titled album reviewed: a first listen that started with the wrong assumptions and got corrected real quick by "Planet Claire."

Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul

Aretha Franklin's Lady Soul reviewed: an album I felt I should know, like Shakespeare, and how "Chain of Fools" took me back to a basement pizza buffet.

The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes

The Ronettes' Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes reviewed: more a collection of singles than a single unit, including "Be My Baby" and "Chapel of Love."

Why Music Curation is More Important Than Ever

Plus Prince, Neil Young, Aretha Franklin, The Ronettes, Bad Bunny

Prince - Sign O’ The Times

Prince's Sign O' The Times reviewed: a funky album with a strut-worthy title track, dark lyrics, and a "Slow Love" that shows off his voice.

Neil Young - Tonight’s The Night

Neil Young's Tonight's The Night reviewed: an acquired-taste voice, and an album you come to for the lyrics, the music, and the rawness.

Bad Bunny - X 100Pre

Bad Bunny's X 100Pre reviewed by a first-time listener: critics and the public agree on this one, and it's popular for a reason.

Objectivity In Rating Music

Plus: Mariah Carey, Amy Winehouse, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Big Star, Boyz II Men, Lucinda Williams

The Importance of Context In Music

Drake, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Brian Eno, Ornette Coleman, Bob Dylan & The Band - Why context is so important as a music listener