Average Rating: 3.62 Rating Variance: 0.54 Objectivity Score: 71% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicNas IllmaticNine Inch Nails The Downward SpiralNirvana MTV Unplugged in New YorkNirvana NevermindPink Floyd The WallRadiohead OK ComputerRadiohead The BendsSnoop Dogg DoggystyleThe Beatles Let It BeThe Clash London CallingThe Notorious B.I.G. Ready to DieThe Smashing Pumpkins Siamese DreamAbout as perfect as an album can be. It's all there. Angst, earnestness, artistic vision, catharsis, melody, ballads, all out rockers, soaring vocals, and on and on. What I really love is how the music mimics the lyrical content. At times its angry, over the top, almost violent. Other times, its quiet, almost sweet, and introspective. Yet throughout it is engaging and melodic. There isn't a dud track on the album and although Corgan was said to have been disappointed with the final production, I think that few albums have been produced as expertly as Butch Vig produced this one. It is and always will be one of my favorites. 4.5 superbAphex Twin Selected Ambient Works Volume IIAphex Twin Selected Ambient Works 85-92Black Milk TronicI felt strangely embarrassed and stupid after listening to Black Milk's Tronic last week. How was it possible that I could be caught completely unawares by an artist who has quietly managed to make the best Hip Hop album of the year? How is it possible that I had not even heard of him until recently? I'm not a hip hop expert, but this was a terrible lapse....unforgivable! Tronic is everything we want from a Hip Hop album. It boasts fantastic, fist pumping production, thoughtful, well delivered rhymes, and a sense of hunger and earnestness that sadly tends to get lost once artists reach a certain level of stardom. The other reason for my high review is that the album has consistent quality throughout. We are not subjected to pointless skits or vapid 'filler' songs. I get the sense that Black Milk believes in quality control and probably has a fair amount of material that he deemed not worthy for this release. From a production standpoint, I hear echoes of so many producers who must have influenced Black Milk. RZA, DJ Premier, Kanye, DJ Muggs are all easily discernable in the production, but Black Milk has also definitely been listening to UK grime artists (I definitely heard echoes of Dizzee Rascal’s ‘Brand New Day’ on ‘Hell Yeah’), old Jazz and Blues records, and Electro/Minimal, displaying that he has an appetite for music which transcends traditional Hip Hop influences. From a delivery standpoint, Black Milk gets his stylistic cues from Eminem. While he does not yet possess the vocal acrobatics and emotive ability of his Detroit colleague, there is no doubt that Black Milk is more than a producer who raps from time to time. Get this one. Trust.Burial UntrueCreedence Clearwater Revival Chronicle, Vol. 1Dire Straits Alchemy: Dire Straits LiveDJ Shadow Endtroducing.....Jay-Z The Black AlbumKings of Leon Only By The NightMobb Deep The InfamousMobb Deep Hell on EarthOasis The MasterplanOasis Be Here NowOasis Definitely MaybePearl Jam Live On Two LegsPearl Jam No CodePearl Jam VitalogyPearl Jam Vs.Pearl Jam TenPink Floyd PulsePink Floyd The Division BellRadiohead In RainbowsRadiohead are truly in fine form with In Rainbows. I had 'All I need' on rotation for ages....love that reverbRage Against the Machine Rage Against the MachineRed Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex MagikSasha AirdrawndaggerTruly a benchmark for progressive EDM. Sasha's ability to mix melody with cathartic peaks and complex yet very danceable beats is second to none. Silverchair DioramaThe Clash The Story of the ClashThe Roots Game TheoryThe Smashing Pumpkins AdoreThe Streets A Grand Don't Come For FreeWait What the notorious xxWu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)4.0 excellentAmy Winehouse Back to BlackCitizen Cope The Clarence Greewood RecordingsClipse Hell Hath No FuryIMO one of the best Hip Hop releases in 2006 and possibly since. The material is hard edged but diverse enough to be interesting, and the guys definitely have the ability to delve beyond the basic brag and brawl raps that many in the hardcore hip hop scene seem to be unable to transcend. The production is sparse yet well done, props to Pharrell and co. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 4 Way StreetEddie Vedder Into the WildEminem The Slim Shady LPEminem The Marshall Mathers LPGreen Day American IdiotHot Chip One Life StandJay-Z Reasonable DoubtJoe Strummer and The Mescaleros StreetcoreJunior Boys Last ExitJunior Boys So This Is GoodbyeKings of Leon Because Of The TimesLou Reed Perfect Night: Live In LondonM.I.A. ArularManu Chao ClandestinoMuddy Waters Hoochie Coochie ManNas It Was WrittenNas UntitledNine Inch Nails Pretty Hate MachineOasis Standing on the Shoulder of GiantsOasis (What's the Story) Morning Glory?Pantera Cowboys from HellPink Floyd Wish You Were HereR.E.M. Automatic for the PeopleRadiohead Kid ARage Against the Machine RenegadesRage Against the Machine Evil EmpireRyan Adams Easy TigerSasha InvolverSaul Williams The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy TardustSigur Ros Med Sud i Eyrum vid Spilum EndalaustSigur Ros Live at the Icelandic Opera HouseSilverchair FrogstompThe Beatles Magical Mystery TourThe Beatles Past Masters, Vol. 2The Black Keys Magic PotionThe Game The DocumentaryThe Police Every Breath You Take: The ClassicsThe Police SynchronicityThe Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite SadnessThe Streets Original Pirate MaterialThe White Stripes Icky ThumpThe White Stripes ElephantThe Who TommyTool UndertowWu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Forever3.5 greatBen Harper Live From MarsBroken Bells Broken BellsBrotha Lynch Hung Season of da SiccnessBuena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social ClubBurial BurialDamian Marley Welcome To JamrockFlying Lotus Los AngelesGhostface Killah IronmanIda Maria Fortress Round My HeartInfected Mushroom Converting VegetariansJesse Malin Glitter in the gutterJesse Malin The Fine Art Of Self DestructionJonsi GoJurassic 5 Quality ControlKasabian KasabianLupe Fiasco Food & LiquorLupe Fiasco The CoolLykke Li Youth NovelsMetallica Death MagneticNas I Am...Nas StillmaticNas Hip Hop Is DeadNine Inch Nails With TeethNine Inch Nails Further Down the Spiral (US)Nirvana From the Muddy Banks of the WishkahNirvana In UteroNirvana BleachOasis Heathen ChemistryOasis Familiar To MillionsPantera Vulgar Display of PowerPinch Underwater DancehallPink Floyd RelicsPublic Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us BackR.E.M. DocumentRadiohead Hail to the ThiefRage Against the Machine The Battle of Los AngelesRed Hot Chili Peppers CalifornicationRegina Spektor Begin To HopeSnoop Dogg Tha DoggfatherStone Temple Pilots CoreThe Black Keys Attack & ReleaseThe Game Doctor's AdvocateThe Smashing Pumpkins GishThe White Stripes Get Behind Me SatanThe White Stripes White Blood CellsThe Who The Who Sell OutThe xx xxVampire Weekend ContraWu-Tang Clan Iron FlagZero 7 When It Falls3.0 goodBlackalicious The CraftCitizen Cope Every Waking MomentFaker Be The TwilightFaker Addicted RomanticFoals AntidotesGreen Day InsomniacGreen Day DookieIan Brown The World is YoursJay-Z American GangsterKings of Leon Aha Shake HeartbreakLCD Soundsystem Sound of SilverLily Allen Alright, StillM.I.A. KalaM.I.A. Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1Method Man TicalMuse Black Holes & RevelationsNine Inch Nails The SlipNine Inch Nails The FragileNirvana IncesticideOasis Dig Out Your SoulOasis Don't Believe the TruthPantera Far Beyond DrivenPantera The Great Southern TrendkillPearl Jam YieldPearl Jam Pearl JamRadiohead AmnesiacRadiohead Pablo HoneyRed Hot Chili Peppers One Hot MinuteRyan Adams CardinologySilversun Pickups CarnavasSnoop Dogg No Limit Top DoggThe Bug London ZooThe Field From Here We Go SublimeThe Game LAXThe Killers Hot FussThe Roots Rising DownWu-Tang Clan 8 DiagramsWyclef Jean The Carnival2.5 averageArcade Fire Neon BibleBjork MedullaDiplo FloridaFlying Lotus CosmogrammaGnarls Barkley St. ElsewhereGreen Day NimrodGreen Day WarningKasabian EmpireNine Inch Nails BrokenPearl Jam BinauralPink Floyd UmmagummaPink Floyd MorePublic Enemy He Got GameSilverchair Young ModernSleater-Kinney The WoodsSnoop Dogg Dead Man Walkin'The Good, The Bad and The Queen The Good, The Bad & The QueenThe Streets The Hardest Way To Make An Easy LivingTwista Adrenaline Rush2.0 poorEminem EncoreGuilty Simpson Ode to the GhettoNas NastradamusThe Smashing Pumpkins ZeitgeistThe Streets Everything is Borrowed1.5 very poorKanye West 808s and Heartbreak6) 808's & Heartbreaks: Kanye West Ok so I got around to listening to this and it is awful I find it bewildering that so many reviewers gave it good to decent marks. The only think I can think of is that they were so taken aback by differences between this and his previous work that they felt intimidated enough to give it critical praise ("I don't wanna look like I don't 'get it' so i'll pretend that I do. I mean, if its like, different, then it must be good, right?"). Let me break it down for them. i) The production is NOT groundbreaking! It is well within the limits of what many electronic producers have been doing for a very long time. Just because Kanye just discovered the minimal techno sound doesn't make it trailblazing. A lot of it sounds like Kanye just adapted some Junior Boys and Slam beats, threw in a few soul sounds, and called it a day. It's lazy, unconvincing, and disingenuous ii) For once, 50 Cent was right about something. This does sound like a T-Pain album. Kanye makes the baffling decision to sing rather than rap throughout 90% of the album. Of course the trouble with that is that he can't really sing to save his life. Even the 'ahem' liberal use of Auto Tune can't disguise how below par his singing is. In a sense, it actually makes this worse than a T-Pain album, because at least T-Pain can hold a note. Auto-Tune pitch distortions are ok if they are used sparingly for effect, but throughout the entire album? It doesn't sound 'futuristic' unless your perception of futuristic is Cher circa 1999. It comes as little surprise the the two bearable songs on the album include some rapping by Kanye or Weezy ('Heartless' and 'Tell Everybody That you Know') iii) The lyrics will make you vomit unless you are an adolescent cretin. I'm not lovin you, the way I wanted to What I had to do, had to run from you I'm in love with you, but the vibe is wrong And that haunted me, all the way home So ya never know, never never know Never know enough, til it's over love Til we lose control, system overload Screamin no no no, no no - Love Lockdown Do we really deserve to endure this garbage? We can only hope that Kanye's neurons have been overloaded with post breakup chemicals which have only temporarily rendered his musical ability null and void.
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