YoYoMancuso
Jack Mancuso
Emeritus

Reviews 125
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Soundoffs 144
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Album Ratings 1901
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Last Active 01-10-23 3:56 pm
Joined 04-16-12

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12.12.21 YoYo's Top 25 of 202111.27.21 YoYo's Revolutionary Rush Ranking
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04.26.21 YoYo's Definitive Dinosaur Jr. Ranking ♦01.01.21 YoYo's Top 100 Albums of All Time
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YoYo's Definitive Dinosaur Jr. Ranking

Ever since my Sweep It review, I've made it my goal to listen through the rest of the Dino Jr. discog. Turns out they're one of the most consistently great acts in rock history! Let's jump in.
12Dinosaur Jr.
Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

3/5. The only misstep of Dino’s reunion, occasional bangers but mostly uninspired and a lot of the songs are way longer than they need to be. Best track: Lost All Day
11Dinosaur Jr.
Hand It Over

3.5/5. Basically a less engaging version of Without A Sound, but it’s always nice to hear J Mascis show off his drum chops. Would be a spot higher without the completely unnecessary 8 minute “Alone”. Best track: Never Bought It
10Dinosaur Jr.
Green Mind

3.5/5. Great songs but not a very unified album at all, a lot of songs sound like they were recorded in different studios with different equipment and the whole thing feels a bit disjointed as a result. Some of these songs are still legendary in the Dino canon though. Best track: The Wagon
9Dinosaur Jr.
I Bet on Sky

3.7/5. You know you’re an incredible band when this only earns the #9 spot. I Bet on Sky is a satisfying listen the whole way through, but never reaches the heights of the band’s previous two reunion albums. Best track: Pierce the Morning Rain
8Dinosaur Jr.
Without a Sound

4/5. Without a doubt their most underrated and overlooked work. Dino was only a two-man band at this point, but I’ll listen to J & Mike slay these tracks any day of the week. The legendary "Feel the Pain" opens this album, but there’s even greater treasures to be found deeper inside the tracklist. Best track: Mind Glow
7Dinosaur Jr.
Where You Been

4/5. Contains some of their most legendary moments, but is also extremely front-loaded. This is the last Murph performance we would get until Beyond, and it’s a hell of a swan song for him. Best track: Out There
6Dinosaur Jr.
Sweep It Into Space

4/5. Besides their debut, this is the fullest realization of Dino Jr.’s original goal to be an “ear-bleeding country” band. See my review for more detailed thoughts. Best track: I Ain’t
5Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur

4.2/5. Lou Barlow receives his biggest share of the spotlight on Dino’s debut, and to say this album is crazy is an understatement. This is just a volatile witches brew of every single Dino Jr. influence and it’s absolutely captivating to listen to. This volatility results in occasional missteps, but it’s remarkably consistent for a debut album. Best track: Bulbs of Passion
4Dinosaur Jr.
Bug

4.2/5. Yup, the legendary Bug only makes its way to 4th on my list. Here’s why. For its first seven tracks, this album is on par with the band’s best ever work. “The Post” is a plodding, bass-heavy number that only serves to kill album momentum, and while “Poledo” enthralled and mystified, “Don’t” falls flat on its face. This poorly produced nightmare of a track singlehandedly knocks Bug out of the top 3, but don’t be mistaken, plenty of Dino’s greatest moments are here. Also, this is apparently J's least favorite of their albums. Best track: No Bones
3Dinosaur Jr.
Beyond

4.5/5. Dino’s first reunion album exceeded expectations in every way possible. Improved production, awe-inspiring soloing, and some of Barlow’s best tracks under the Dino Jr. name are a great way to introduce yourself to the band in general, let alone their reunion period. Best track: Pick Me Up
2Dinosaur Jr.
Farm

4.7/5. Currently debating giving this a 5 rating and I’m running out of excuses to keep it at a 4.5. Farm is Dino’s most fully realized reunion effort. Anything I could say about Beyond applies even more to this masterpiece of a record. This is also their best album artwork, if that matters. Best track: See You
1Dinosaur Jr.
You're Living All Over Me

5/5. One of my favorite albums of all time, by one of my favorite bands of all time. Distinctly more lo-fi than even their debut album, but it doesn’t even matter because the band just rocks so damn hard here. Almost every track has one of the single greatest guitar moments of the 1980’s, and even the ones that don’t are songs like the closer “Poledo”, which preceded Barlow’s work in Sebadoh and is one of the most uniquely brilliant tracks in the Dino canon. After 8 years of listening to this album, I can’t imagine it ending any other way. Best track: The Lung
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