WalrusTusk: RYM Top 20 | Sputnikmusic

anode 02.07.23	I don’t listen to a lotta Kendrick. I’m sure I’ve heard a bunch of it without realizing but the only songs I recognize by him are bitch don’t kill my vibe and swimming pools and those songs fucking SUCK. How the hell an album with those two tracks made it on a top 20 albums of all time is such an insult to music
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	I'm curious as to what you don't like about them. Do you listen to a lot of hip hop? I definitely enjoy both songs given my rating but I'm just curious.
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	I should also note that I did all these write-ups before the end of last year, when TPAB was still above OK Comp so, I'm leaving it as is haha
Storm In A Teacup 02.07.23	Lots of classic albums but overall fairly boring and underwhelming. Too much Radiohead. Too much Kendrick Lamar.
anode 02.07.23	I mean swimming pools is catchy but the verses suck and got soo annoying after listening to my pal play it all the time when it first came out. Also bitch don’t kill my vibe I just dislike generally. It’s composed nicely but has such obnoxious vocals like most of Kendrick’s stuff I’ve heard. Both these songs have such a lackadaisical and amateurish atmosphere to them and at the risk of sounding pretentious, don’t think either of those belong on a top 20 album of all time list. Gimme wu tang or nas any day over that shit
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	That's a fair assessment. I can definitely see how Kendrick's vocals on that song could grate. I am surprised that Wu Tang isn't higher on their list... @Storm I agree. At some point I might hit the next 20 in their list which, especially once you get further down, there's a lot more stuff that I think is interesting.
tectactoe 02.07.23	I love Radiohead and (to a slightly lesser extent) Pink Floyd as much as the next guy but tbh it has always been cringe that half of RYM's Top 10 albums are from those two artists. Perhaps even more cringe is that there isn't a single jazz album in the Top 10. Also your ratings of A LOVE SUPREME makes me sad :o(
GhandhiLion 02.07.23	YEs but banana lyrics are juvenile and song write bad
anode 02.07.23	It’s not like someone sat down and made the list. It’s just the top rated albums on the site so it is vulnerable to about as much bias as possible
GhandhiLion 02.07.23	The dark side of the boat: reviewing Lil Yachty’s Pink Floyd-inspired album
Ryus 02.07.23	for me the ones i'd keep are loveless, madvillainy, velvet underground, black saint, remain in light, and illmatic
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	It would be smart for a website that big to have a system where albums are nominated for GOAT status and then users rate based on that. That might provide us with something a little more diverse and interesting. @Ghandhi I expected more from an album with a banana on it. Shoulda been a package of baloney.
AlexKzillion 02.07.23	all of these are obviously good albums but there are levels to this S: tpab, madvillainy, in rainbows, ziggy A: kid a, black saint, illmatic B: loveless, dark side, gkmc, velvet underground, revolver, love supreme, remain in light C: ok computer, wywh, crimson king, abbey road, kind of blue, paranoid
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	@Ryus I think Remain in Light and Loveless are going to only go up in terms of my appreciation for them. I've also just come to terms with the fact that Mingus is one of my favorite jazz composers of all time. Tijuana Nights is such a banger.
JKing92 02.07.23	Ooh, this is fun: 1. Generally don't really like this band otherwise (The Bends is great, but a lot of the other stuff I've heard from them I find admirable at best, utterly revolting at worst), but this album is thoroughly terrific. One of the best albums of the '90s. 2. My favorite album of the 2010s, bar none. It virtually ruled my musical listening when I was graduating from college. 3. Not my all-time favorite Floyd album (my least favorite of the 1973 to 1979 period, actually), but of course it's brilliant. The title track is one of my favorite songs of all time. 4. I understand why people like it, but it's not my cup of tea. 5. See 6. 6. See 5. 7. Now this is one of those albums I wish I liked more. MF Doom remains a conundrum to me -- an exceptionally skilled rapper who just doesn't connect with me on a personal level, even though he absolutely should. 8. This should be higher. My favorite album of the '70s, and my second favorite album of all time behind... 9. My favorite album of all time, and it deserves to be higher. Definitely needs to be higher than frickin' Loveless, I'll say that much. 10. Not as bad as Kid A and Amnesiac, but I still don't like it. This was the album where I pretty much gave up on Radiohead. (Even Hail to the Thief was better.) 11. How is this not higher? This album is absolutely amazing, easily my favorite Bowie album (though Station to Station comes real close). A masterpiece, one that should be in the top ten at minimum. 12. Great album, I don't love it as much as TPAB, but it was the album that got me into Kendrick in 2013, thanks to my dorm neighbor playing it a lot. Ten years later, even though I haven't seen him in forever, I still thank him dearly. 13. Amazing album. The one VU album that I think qualifies as a masterpiece (though the eponymous album from 1969 is great, too -- Loaded is a little uneven outside of the singles, and WL/WH is too noise rock for my tastes), and an album that went on to influence scores of great artists. 14. Haven't heard this one, not really a jazz guy. 15. Not my kind of music, but I get why people like them. 16. Should be in the top five. Their second best album behind Abbey Road, and the album that marked the great leap forward for the Fab Four. 17. Haven't heard this 18. See above 19. A great album that I haven't listened to in quite a while. Maybe I should put it on again... 20. Amazing album, my second favorite of theirs (behind Master of Reality). Once again, a lot of fun to do this.
Sinternet 02.07.23	i know you didnt just trash vu then jerk off to wish you were a good album that would be preposterous
Ryus 02.07.23	lmao
JKing92 02.07.23	WYWH > every VU album
Ryus 02.07.23	honestly kind of baffling to me that an album with "have a cigar" and the title track could be held in such high regard
JKing92 02.07.23	"Have a Cigar," fine (I don't hate it, but I'll admit it's not amazing) -- the title track? That's one of the most beautiful songs ever written.
GhandhiLion 02.07.23	Have a Cigar is a weak point sure, but it's still great. T/t is pretty cool even though it probably is a rip off of "Almost Independence Day"
Ryus 02.07.23	its perfectly alright lmao ghandhi never thought of that but i can hear it. van the man stays winning
GhandhiLion 02.07.23	Crazy Diamond carries the album
Demon of the Fall 02.07.23	Radiohead good, Kid A > In Rainbows > OKC though, OKC shouldn’t be up there in terms of being an all-timer I know very little about classic jazz outside of some select cuts, but I do enjoy all three of the above, especially Black Saint. Mingus is great. King Crimson are incredible and that one is way ahead of the curve, definitely worthy Remain In Light is worthy of its lofty position, it’s not a personal ‘absolute fave’ but it is close and I get why it’s heralded. I’m just not a huge fan of The Beatles generally, that’s definitely the wrong Bowie album and DSOTM is a competent art-rock album, but I’ve never understood the acclaim. WYWH is the correct pick for Floyd, the emotional element certainly helps it. Sabbath is Sabbath, can’t deny the influence and importance even though I barely listen to that album. Madvillain is cool, barely any context for it Kendrick I didn’t really get, guessing this is a ‘me problem’ as I lack the knowledge / proper context I’ve never understood Loveless, boring song-writing masquerading as ‘atmosphere’ where I can get both from elsewhere.
Drifter 02.07.23	" don’t listen to a lotta Kendrick. I’m sure I’ve heard a bunch of it without realizing but the only songs I recognize by him are bitch don’t kill my vibe and swimming pools and those songs fucking SUCK. How the hell an album with those two tracks made it on a top 20 albums of all time is such an insult to music" how was this not a comment from 10 years ago
Demon of the Fall 02.07.23	Oh. And yeah I don’t get TVU either, it ain’t that bad tho 😄
anode 02.07.23	I woulda written the same thing 10 years ago matey
Drifter 02.07.23	you are cringe
porcupinetheater 02.07.23	Classic rock fans 🤝 jazz neophytes
anode 02.07.23	Lmao you just called someone cringe unironically. Wanna reevaluate?
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	@Jking I thought so too. As an exercise it was fun for me to practice writing about albums that are objectively considered to be great. As a music appreciator I enjoyed getting some exposure to stuff I've wanted to listen to but hadn't hit yet. @Demon, my brother and I are always arguing about which Bowie is the best. For me I would say that Ziggy is the best entry point so maybe that why it's ranked where it is? My personal fav is between Blackstar and Ziggy but my brother swears by Dogs and Monsters. That being said, an album hasn't made me as mad as that Velvet Underground album did in a while.
Feather 02.07.23	Your website is sick and has me inspired. I started one once years ago and ended up not following though. Nice work.
Prancer 02.07.23	I wonder if most people on RYM who rate these albums so highly do so because they're "supposed" to be classic albums.
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	"S: tpab, madvillainy, in rainbows, ziggy A: kid a, black saint, illmatic B: loveless, dark side, gkmc, velvet underground, revolver, love supreme, remain in light C: ok computer, wywh, crimson king, abbey road, kind of blue, paranoid" surprisingly accurate ngl
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	TVU&N being the worst album on this list by a good margin is probably the only thing op got right
SomeCallMeTim 02.07.23	I sometimes think that's what people do with wish you were here
AlexKzillion 02.07.23	i absolutely think that's the case prancer for some of these, particularly for the jazz albums and loveless as most people probably never listened to those genres until they were introduced to those albums through the rym charts (and especially considering the multitude of straight up better albums both miles and coltrane made that have like 1/4 of the votes as blue/supreme). on the other hand i think floyd, bowie, sabbath, nas kinda stuff is probably there regardless just cause of how everlasting they are in more "mainstream" culture
Ryus 02.07.23	will never understand ziggy being heralded as the best bowie. its great but honestly maybe not even top 10
sixdegrees 02.07.23	thanks kevin
ArsMoriendi 02.07.23	Wait…which songs on In Rainbows are funk?????! I’m confused
anode 02.07.23	“Sometimes I like to be alonnne” God I listen to bitch don’t kill my vibe once to respond to a question and it’s stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Fuck me
porcupinetheater 02.07.23	Feel like people saying people rate certain albums highly “because they’re supposed and want to seem like they get it” are just being defensive about not getting it tbh
Jasdevi087 02.07.23	"will never understand ziggy being heralded as the best bowie. its great but honestly maybe not even top 10" any album where a grown man sings "i'mma mama papa comin for youuuu" needs to be disregarded
Jasdevi087 02.07.23	"Wait…which songs on In Rainbows are funk?????! I’m confused" presumably he means the ones where the bass is slightly more audible than usual lmao
AmericanFlagAsh 02.07.23	"The lyrics are juvenile, the production is so abysmal I almost couldn't finish certain songs, and the song writing is bland." Lmao TVU&N is none of these things, but sad you didn't like An album I can put on and always love
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	"any album where a grown man sings "i'mma mama papa comin for youuuu" needs to be disregarded" tbf hunky dory is probably more of a wince in that regard
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	"the song writing is bland" missed this what the fuck does it mean
InfernalDeity 02.07.23	It took forever for Loveless to grow on me and then one day I just saw its genius.
sixdegrees 02.07.23	is this expanded upon on https://kevinjasica.com?
GhandhiLion 02.07.23	mfw https://cdn-s3.allmusic.com/release-covers/400/0002/760/0002760571.jpg
Jasdevi087 02.07.23	i feel like Hunky Dory gets a pass because the entire thing sounds like that, so it vibes harder
AmericanFlagAsh 02.07.23	"tbf hunky dory is probably more of a wince in that regard" Hunky Dory >>> Ziggy
Dewinged 02.07.23	I did this once too. Felt terrible afterwards. Also did the Sputnik one. Felt even worse.
z00sh 02.07.23	bowie has, like, 5 better albums than ziggy, agreed
z00sh 02.07.23	not hunky dory though
AmericanFlagAsh 02.07.23	"Downy sins of streetlight fancies Chase the costumes she shall wear Ermine furs adorn the imperious Severin', severin' awaits you there" Juvenile lol
anode 02.07.23	"It took forever for Loveless to grow on me and then one day I just saw its genius." alright ima listen to it 10 times. dont let me down infernaldeity
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	"Juvenile lol" this is literally just transgressive horny fanfic and don't get me wrong, being more 'mature' would not improve that (great) track one bit but it is what it is innit
Ryus 02.07.23	"Juvenile lol" just realized this dude has four 5's from a band whose music has comic book tie-ins and an entire fantasy neckbeardverse
Jasdevi087 02.07.23	Loveless was like that for me too tbh, i maintained that Souvlaki was the goated shoegaze album but one day i just sat down and played Loveless on loop for like 3 hours and i was like "oh"
anode 02.07.23	just realized you listen to nothing but undisputed masterpieces and then put anyone down who doesnt
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	@Feather thanks man. I got really bad about it the past couple years and really only uploaded my "Best of..." album lists there. My plan to is try to update it monthly or (hopefully) weekly. @sixdegrees you're welcome man. It's weird for someone to say my name, as I've been on this site for a decade and have never released any sort of personal information and yeah, I did a full write up on each album and posted 'em to the site. Two albums a week for five weeks. @American "I don't know just where I'm going But I'm gonna try for the kingdom, if I can 'Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man" @Ars Funk is absolutely the wrong descriptor. I typed this up in a hurry and wasn't being intentional with my genres. Also, I listened to that album a month ago and, upon skimming it today, I would agree that there really isn't a whole lot of "funk". Father forgive me. I'm learning and growing. @Prancer I really did try to approach the albums from a... naive perspective. I didn't want context to influence me too much but obviously with some of them that was impossible to ignore. I do think you're right for at least some music listeners, that there is a pressure sometimes to dig an album because it is considered classic. @Dewinged I was definitely burn out by the end. Was thinking at one point I would do the top 100 of Sputnik and then quickly reevaluated when a) there were albums that weren't rated a lot that were high on the list and b) that's a shitload of albums to listen to on top of my 125 album average for new releases.
anode 02.07.23	oh yeah i been down the souvlaki hole i think im ready
Ryus 02.07.23	"just realized you listen to nothing but undisputed masterpieces and then put anyone down who doesnt" yeah
AlexKzillion 02.07.23	ziggy is a great album with mostly great songs but i think most of what people love about the ziggy concept that pushes the album into this territory over other bowie albums comes from live performances (and really: fan fiction) and not the contents of the album itself.
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	@Ryus only three. If you're gonna be a dick about my music taste at least do the bare minimum amount of effort to comment on it. It's fine if you don't agree, but my opinion on one artists music doesn't invalidate my opinion on another.
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	"i think the most of what people love about the ziggy concept that pushes the album into this territory over other bowie albums comes from live performances (and really: fan fiction) and not the contents of the album itself." you can claim this for the mythos behind basically any classic bowie record tbh (especially S2S and the Berlin trio)
WalrusTusk 02.07.23	I would highly recommend Dylan Jones' "David Bowie: an Oral History" to anyone who wants to dig deeper into his mythos. It's a really fascinating and comprehensive read.
Jasdevi087 02.07.23	I'm not gonna do that but cheers
JohnnyoftheWell 02.07.23	does Dylan Jones explain what bland songwriting means
Ryus 02.07.23	5.0 classic Andrew Lloyd Webber Jesus Christ Superstar: Motion Picture Soundtrack Billy Joel Songs in the Attic Clown Core Toilet Coheed and Cambria The Second Stage Turbine Blade Coheed and Cambria From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness Coheed and Cambria In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 Coheed and Cambria Neverender
Jasdevi087 02.07.23	gonna have to bump one of those down now
Ryus 02.07.23	the cats out of the bag 😳
AlexKzillion 02.07.23	"you can claim this for the mythos behind basically any classic bowie record tbh (especially S2S and the Berlin trio)" while that's def not untrue... i don't think its the same extent as ziggy. nobody really acts like sts is some linear thin white duke narrative like they do with ziggy for instance.
Dewinged 02.07.23	@Tusk It's also the fact that these are top rated albums which somehow compels you to like them/rate them high, etc, which was not always the case for me. It was interesting of course, but Idk, not very rewarding.
GhandhiLion 02.07.23	clown core toilet is a masterpiece of rock deconstruction. Gecs could never make that record
WalrusTusk 02.08.23	@Ryus thought you were talking solely about Coheed. That being said, by your standards of what constitutes a "concept album", most of my 5s are concept albums so I guess you win. @Ghandhi this guy knows what's up.
tectactoe 02.08.23	Paranoid is crusty foot-imprinted Birkenstocks metal. Still good tho.
zakalwe 02.08.23	To Pimp A Butterfly is the greatest record of all time is it? Is.It.Fuck.
anode 02.08.23	@Ryus only three. If you're gonna be a dick about my music taste at least do the bare minimum amount of effort to comment on it. It's fine if you don't agree, but my opinion on one artists music doesn't invalidate my opinion on another. of course it does. this is sputnikmusic dot com where we invalidate anyone's opinions who listen to music other than our own
Ryus 02.08.23	uhh yea exactly
anode 02.08.23	yeah we live in the saddest of times zakalwe where people actually believe that shit
anode 02.08.23	and im joking btw walrustusk in case you didnt realize. if these pretentious folk cant realize how obtuse they are then thats their problem
WalrusTusk 02.08.23	@anode oh trust me, my taste in music is far too ridiculous and I've spent far too much time on this site to take anything super personal.
Drifter 02.08.23	>if these pretentious folk >obtuse
WalrusTusk 02.08.23	"Paranoid is crusty foot-imprinted Birkenstocks metal." lol
someguest 02.08.23	let's talk about rym's best feature: rating singles (songs, not babes)
WalrusTusk 02.08.23	That's actually pretty dope. I've just started to tinker around on the site and didn't know that.
Pheromone 02.08.23	"it absolutely deserves to be considered the best album ever made. It loses a little steam in the back half" hehe
WalrusTusk 02.08.23	Making fart jokes and I'm not even aware of it.
markjamie 02.12.23	Kudos for recognising OK Computer is overrated. Kid A is the only Radiohead I can listen to without cringing apart from a few songs here and there.
ToSmokMuzyki 02.12.23	imagine simping for rym