Ozzy finally sounds fully reenergized on this, Zakk Wylde immediately makes his presence felt, the songs hit harder than they had in years, and while it's not quite an all-time Ozzy classic, it's easily his strongest album since 1983 because the guy is just a goat.
Best: Miracle Man, Crazy Babies
Worst: Nothing terrible, but Demon Alcohol doesn't stick with me as much as the highlights.
Randy Rhoads somehow turns an already-classic Ozzy setlist into one of the greatest live albums ever recorded, with playing so absurdly good that the only real flaw is that it reminds you we never got to hear what he would've done next.
Best: Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Flying High Again
Worst: Randy dying way too young.
This feels like Ozzy chasing slick radio-metal trends instead of doing what made him great, and while it's not completely awful, the flat performances and samey songwriting make it one of his more forgettable albums.
Best: Shot in the Dark
Worst: Never Know Why, Fool Like You
This proves Ozzy could survive after Randy Rhoads, but while Jake E. Lee shreds hard and keeps the riffs coming, the album feels like a step down in personality and ambition, trading genius for a really solid dose of straightforward '80s metal.
Best: Bark at the Moon, Rock 'n' Roll Rebel
Worst: So Tired
This is Ozzy at his most unhinged and Randy Rhoads at his most godlike, and while I barely remember parts of the second half, the title track alone is enough to drag this album into greatness and remind me how badly rock music was robbed when Randy died so young.
Best: Diary of a Madman, Over the Mountain, Flying High Again
Worst: Tonight
This album is basically a bunch of really good funk songs and also like 25 extra minutes of Childish Gambino vibing a little too hard, but man that first half is insanely groovy and the best songs alone almost make me forgive the bloated back half
Best: Redbone, Me and Your Mama, Zombies
Worst: Baby Boy, California
Khalid really made an EP where the biggest emotion I felt was “damn, I wish this was a little better” while floating through 30 minutes of pleasantly numb background vibes that never fully crash nor fully hit, like the musical equivalent of staring at LED lights in a dorm room at 2am.
Best: Better, Saturday Nights
Worst: Motion, Why Don’t You Come On
This is the definition of a bloated-but-fun album where the highs absolutely rip, but there’s so much generic filler that by the end I’m more exhausted than impressed
Every single track on this thing sounds like Joe Walsh accidentally stumbled into making one of the coolest, loosest, most effortlessly fun rock albums of the ‘70s, and somehow there genuinely isn’t a weak song here.
Best: Rocky Mountain Way, Meadows, Dreams
Worst: there honestly aren’t any, which feels annoying to admit for an album this laid back
“Kill kill kill the poor” might genuinely be one of the hardest opening punches ever because this thing is just 35 minutes of razor-sharp, funny as hell, insanely catchy punk perfection where even if you somehow hate it you absolutely will not be bored for a single second
Best: Kill the Poor, California Über Alles, Holiday in Cambodia
Worst: Viva Las Vegas
This is the album that basically rewired my brain as a teenager and still sounds like the exact blueprint for everything I want out of music, warm, messy, nostalgic, heartbreaking, fun as hell, and so genuinely perfect that I’ve played it front-to-back a million times without ever getting tired of it.
Best: A Praise Chorus, The Middle, Sweetness
Worst: literally don’t embarrass yourself by asking me to pick one
This somehow opens with two genuinely great songs and an all-timer before slowly turning into 35 minutes of pleasantly glossy background noise about being in love, but at least it knows to clock out before I completely stop caring.
Best: When It’s Over, Answer the Phone, Words to Me
Worst: 10 Seconds Down, Under the Sun
Why did the Devil May Cry adaptation have to be such a butchered mess while simultaneously giving me one of the hardest tracks of 2026, because this shit is insanely heavy, the Hanumankind feature actually works, and after the boring-ass Wake Up Calling this genuinely feels like Papa Roach remembering how to make a banger again.
Every lame late-90s post-grunge band somehow had exactly one undeniable banger and for this it’s the one you all know, while the rest is polished mall-rock filler that’s too poppy to hit hard and too “punk” to be catchy enough to fully work.
Best: My Own Worst Enemy
Worst: Miserable, Zip-Lock
I once listened to this in class expecting a 2-hour endurance test and instead got steamrolled by this massive, messy, pretentious, genuinely amazing blob of grungy hardness and weird Broadway-musical-ass alt rock that somehow swings between catastrophically awful and transcendent every five minutes yet still completely works by the end.
Best: 1979, Tonight, Tonight
Worst: We Only Come Out at Night, probably like 4 other songs I forgot instantly because this thing is TWO HOURS LONG
This feels like a slightly midder Golden Hour where Kacey Musgraves trades cosmic polish for dusty liminal-country introspection with some genuinely profound songwriting and warm Texas/Tejano textures, even if a few tracks get a little too vague and overwrought trying to sell the aesthetic.
Best: Middle of Nowhere, Dry Spell, I Believe in Ghosts, Loneliest Girl
Worst: Horses and Divorces, Uncertain, TX
This feels like Death Grips, Danny Brown, and Machine Girl got locked in a grimy New York basement rave together and somehow made one of the most exhilarating, chaotic, weirdly nutritious albums I’ve heard in a minute, this thing throws underground rap, rage, dance-punk and total sensory overload into a blender and I genuinely think it might grow on me even more with time.
Best: It’s The Magic, Milky Max, The Heart
Worst: my future tinnitus lawsuit against Lip Critic
Tori Amos really came back swinging on this, it’s a little too long and Fanny Faudrey drags a bit, but the songwriting is some of her most inspired work in years and genuinely made me think “dear god please never let this woman retire.”
Best: Shush, 23 Peaks, Blue Lotus, In Times of Dragons, Song of Sorrow
Worst: Fanny Faudrey
“Panic stopped being good when Ryan Ross left” and nobody bats an eye, but the second I say this was actually the last good Panic! At The Disco era before the Musical Theatre Imagine Dragons transformation fully consumed them, society calls me crazy; I used to love this album until I grew up and realized it’s frontloaded as hell, but those melodramatic emo-kid lyrics still hit me like a truck even while the back half slowly turns into wallpaper and a couple songs actively ... read more
This is the kind of scrappy, messy hardcore record I can’t fully defend but still kept replaying because the rough dynamics and genuinely catchy moments make it feel way more alive than a lot of “better” albums.
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On Tried2BFunny's review of Elliott Smith - Either/Or
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On vivi's review of lexi - will we lead, or will we follow?
"Drawing inspiration from artists such as Porter Robinson and Daft Punk is also a great direction for electronic music. Even if people differ on the score, releasing your first full-length electronic album and putting it out there takes bravery, so I'll give it a listen later."
On vivi's review of Marilyn Manson - Eat Me, Drink Me
"@vivi LMAO, I was perusing AOTY at the same time and your review popped up on my feed ๐ญ amazing timing. But that was a really good write-up, so I had to leave a comment."
On muslim_joestar's review of Venetian Snares - Find Candace
"Interesting choice; I haven't listened to this one yet, but an 81 for something by Venetian Snares piques my interest because his work may range from genius to totally insane. The fact that "Find Candace" is your favorite track suggests that this is one of his more focused efforts, so I'll listen to that first to see whether it appeals to me."
On ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐๐
๐'s review of clipping. - '96 Neve Campbell
"Lowkey weird hearing that because I haven't gotten around to it yet, but the way you describe it makes it sound like one of those tracks that just latches onto your brain and refuses to leave. Visions of Bodies Being Burned already has some extremely tight flows and creepy production, so if this is one of the catchiest cuts on there, I'm definitely slacking by not spinning it yet; I'll address that shortly."
On vivi's review of Marilyn Manson - Eat Me, Drink Me
"Damn Lexi, this was a fantastic write-up; the way you described the mood and the overall "vampiric / cinematic" vibe helped the album make sense to me, even though I hadn't played it yet. I had no idea about the Manson-and-Sköld-only lineup for this one, or that he recorded vocals while lying on the floor, but it truly explains the slower, groaning voice sound you described. I also appreciate that you didn't simply hype it up but also addressed the tempo and weaker tunes; the 85 feels fair based on how you worded it."
On Codak_002's review of Parquet Courts - Sympathy for Life
""Narrow asleep" is a confusingly peaceful way to describe a 45 ๐ญ. It seems like it just strolled into a slumber halfway through, rather than being horrible. I haven't heard it yet, but I am expecting something unusually dull in a very specific sense."
On Codak_002's review of Haruomi Hosono, Shigeru Suzuki & Tatsuro Yamashita - Pacific
"Damn, it seems totally up my alley. I haven't heard it yet, but "retro-futuristic 70s paradise City Pop with wonky production" is like a cheat code for me. The Hosono + Yamashita combo alone sounds stacked, and if Suzuki adds some strange flavor on top, I can see why you got 94. This is definitely climbing up my listen list; if it truly balances that silky "butter to the ears" vibe without devolving into background music, it's exactly the type of City Pop project I end up obsessing over."
On Codak_002's review of Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper
"Yeah, that sounds about right for this lol, not exactly something you throw on for "fun," but the way you describe it makes it seem like the atmosphere is the whole point, like it slowly crushes you for an hour straight; honestly, an 88 makes sense if it truly commits to that mood without losing impact."
On Codak_002's review of Deee-Lite - Dewdrops in the Garden
"I haven't heard this yet, but your description makes it sound like the perfect "wandering around in a colorful alternate universe" CD. The Wonderland parallel combined with Lady Miss Kier literally functioning as the tour guide sounds amazing, especially if the production pushes heavily into that hazy, sensuous vibe. A 92 is a big number, so my expectations are high; if this makes me feel like I accidently took a tab while doing homework, I'll blame you."
On Codak_002's review of Bud Powell - The Amazing Bud Powell
"Although I haven't heard it yet, the way you describe the compositions and full-band cuts makes it feel like one of those records that is more essential than the terrible recording quality may suggest. If Bud Powell's playing puts him in the same league as Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk on this one, it's a fairly compelling case for essential bebop listening. I'm definitely adding it to my list; early 1950s jazz piano is a genre I'd like to learn more about."
On MalcolmGray15's review of Bruno Mars - The Romantic
"That is truly disheartening to hear, particularly from Bruno. I haven't heard The Romantic yet, but "a bunch of nothing" is about the worst possible outcome for a Bruno Mars album; his entire appeal is generally large personality and catchy hooks. If the only thing that sticks is the single, it appears that he played it too safe this time. I will still give it a shot at some time, but a 44 from you has significantly reduced my expectations lol."
On Task's review of The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed
"This is more than simply the massive opening and closer; pieces like "Gimme Shelter," "Love in Vain," and "Midnight Rambler" are among the most melancholy songs The Rolling Stones have ever produced. I understand that it will not appeal to everyone, but a 60 is harsh for something as important and atmospheric."
On Task's review of Buffy Sainte-Marie - Illuminations
"75 feels fair based on what you mentioned. I haven't heard it yet, but the way you talk about "God is Alive and Magic is Afoot" and "The Vampire" makes me want to check it out. Sounds like one of those albums that is a little inconsistent yet has some really memorable moments. I'm definitely putting it to my list."
On Task's review of Sonny Sharrock - Black Woman
"Peanut & Blind Willie's recommendation makes me feel like I need to bump this right now; I haven't heard this before, but "dense, abstract, beautiful" is exactly the kind of description that either completely rewires my brain or leaves me looking at the wall thinking for 20 minutes. I'm very fascinated about Bialero right now. Very good writing."
On Task's review of Vรญctor Jara - Pongo en tus manos abiertas
"I appreciate the recommendations! I haven't heard this yet, but a 70 from you makes me curious. I've heard wonderful things about Victor Jara in general, so I'll start with Te Recuerdo Amanda and Plegaria an un Labrador and progress from there. Thank you for sending me in the correct place; I'm always interested in learning more about folk music from that time."
On Codak_002's review of Rush - Rush
"I'm curious: does anything hint at the more progressive route they'd take later, or is this purely pre-evolution Rush?"
On Codak_002's review of Rush - Fly by Night
"Is the title track the only one that really hits, or are there other moments that foreshadow what they'd realize later on, such as 2112 or Moving Pictures?
Also, I'm delighted you mentioned the cover art because Rush never fails to impress visually. Even if the album is more of a stepping stone than a masterpiece, I admire that stage in a band's maturation where you can hear them finding things out in real time. Makes me want to spin it only to capture those early progressive sparks."
On MalcolmGray15's review of TX2 - End of Us
"Lowkey curious: do you think TX2 could develop something solid if he toned down the edginess a little? Or do you believe that energy is key to the entire appeal?"
On Task's review of Joni Mitchell - Clouds
"I might have to schedule this soon; your recommendations list makes it tempting."
On Task's review of Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
"Would you consider this peak CCR or more middle-of-the-pack? I might have to eventually give it a listen."
On Task's review of Otis Redding - Love Man
"50 seems like a "respect it but not feeling it" score. I'm curious what might have made it more clear for you."
On Task's review of Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash
"You might have just convinced me to give it a try."
On Codak_002's review of Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
"I haven't heard Halcyon Digest yet, but a 97 from you is not casual praise ๐ญ, so I'm actually curious. When you say it's their most complicated and extensive, do you mean structurally (with longer, more layered songs) or just in terms of atmosphere and scope?
Regardless, you sold it. I might have to give Deerhunter a real shot."
On Codak_002's review of Morbid Angel - Covenant
"Now I'm curious: is it more memorable in terms of riffs than Altars, or is it about consistency and flow as a whole album experience? In either case, a 95 from you indicates that I should address this blind spot as soon as possible."
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