Something of a litmus test for the band’s further material. If your main gripe here is the songwriting and technique, you’re pretty well guaranteed to enjoy their forthcoming records, or at least a few of them.

If your main gripe here is Mustaine’s vocals? Well…. Metallica’s right down the road

A groovy rock release that echoes the lofty nature of Cerati’s more downtempo/electronic leaning records to follow. Tracks like the opener, Te llevo, and Bajan rock surprisingly hard

Tim leans even further out of the realm of strict-punk rock than the former Let It Be, resulting in whirlwind alt-rock (with a hint of Springsteen-esque Heartland bluff) ballads like the opener, Swingin Party, and Bastards of Young, a candidate for the group's best track ever

Not nearly as ‘punkish’ as I was anticipating, though it ultimately works out for the record’s favor- your classic ‘punk rock, bitch!’ sound is one of only several influences baked deeply into the project. Imagine a halfway point between The Sex Pistols’ strict-punkishness, and London Calling’s ‘punk-reggae-blender’, though with an astoundingly catchy backbone

This in fact did not make me feelgood

Giving this a go right after re-listening to Time Out is some sort of jazz whiplash (ha) I swear. Whereas Brubeck and co sound generally quite reserved and only occasionally ‘boisterous’ on the former, this record finds the group pushing their limits with some Japanese-inspired compositions. Not to fear- tracks like Fujiyama show the group still know when to take it slow too

Just having Night Cruising alone makes this record worth your time. Like you'll encounter on any Fishmans project, the production is the star of the show here- and by star, I mean supernova. Not among my most favorite Fishmans projects, but still an essential part of the group's legendarily iconic 90s output

It's truly jarring just how quickly this record descends into cheesy Stoner Metal territory- pretty much right away, if you ask me. The *hard* lean toward a groovier, more approachable sound is one that really strips away pretty much all of Mastodon's defining characteristics that made them one of the strongest metal outfits of the 2000s. A pretty mighty fall-off after a killer four-album run

I reject the notion that Blood Mountain is in someway a ‘transitionary’ record between Leviathan and Crack The Skye, because I think there’s an argument that this is track-for-track Mastodon’s strongest album. It may lack the immediate hits of the two renowned masterpieces on either side of this record’s release, *but* this is the Mastodon record with the most sonic variety and experimentation. Seriously- what other Mastodon record has a Math Rock intro?? Should be ... read more

Mastodon's debut shows the prog-sludge arbiters barreling out of the gate with some serious horsepower- seriously, especially in comparison to their records to follow, some of these tracks are *heavy*, like Workhorse for instance. The result is a debut that may feel a bit more noticeably one-note than, say, the masterpiece that's Leviathan that would follow. That said- if super heavy, Metalcore-adjacent sludge metal is your bag, this will almost certainly be your favorite Mastodon ... read more

Kraftwerk’s opus, despite lacking the iconic presentation of Trans-Europe Express and Man-Machine. Simply put- this is a perfect electronic record through and through. Not an ounce of fat to be had here if you ask me- even the ‘sillier’ cuts like Numbers and Pocket Calculator are simultaneously mesmerizing and unabashedly goofy. Tentpole electronic record of the 80s

The Man. The Machine. The Legend. Kraftwerk's most iconic project, and it's no mystery as to why- delivers crunchy, brilliantly pieced together electronic vignettes, one after another. Sizzling

Like riding a bullet train straight toward the future. And if the future sounds like this record- it’s a groovy one. A bit of a misnomer, as ‘groovy’ initially goes against the straight-laced, rigid aesthetic Kraftwerk give off, but when you hear those beautiful synths all laid out together, you’ll know what I mean. Not necessarily Kraftwerk’s best, but certainly the moment they truly became the Electronic bastions they’re unanimously known as today

Amidst some of Kraftwerk’s most inventive compositions (title track, Airwaves, the closer), there’s also a series of tracks that feel like little more than electronic fiddling. Granted, in its own way said fiddlings are also intriguing, but compared to the far more layered and expansive tracks Kraftwerk is really known for, they fall inherently short

Four of the five tracks here are, at most, decent, and not really much to write home about. Then, why the 85?

Wir fahr’n, fahr’n, fahr’n on the Autobahn, baby

Though the most recent LCD record is their most uneven, it still packs a wallop with gems like the opener, tonite, and call the police. The shift to a more concise song-format is initially jarring, and though it doesn't hold a candle to the long-form freak-outs of the group's earlier works, it's still a winning formula on the whole

I had trepidations going in on how exactly Murphy and co would translate the bombastic, looping electronic sound of LCD’s records to a live format- well, the answer is flawlessly. The energy of the (I have to assume) enormous crowd present here adds so many layers to the already infectiously enjoyable tick of the original recordings. One of the most essential live records of the 2010s

False advertisement aside, 45:33 is a titanically impressive track that also doubles as a daring sophomore release for the already-eclectic s/t LCD release. A flurry of electronic, punk, dance, disco, and even more influences blend together to make a piece that makes up for its lack of replayability with twists and turns around every corner

James Murphy needed no time at all to immediately lock into his groove- sure, this is a particularly long debut from an artist that specializes in drawn-out, slow-burn explosions, but you *can’t* deny the confidence in identity here. Even if I don’t love every single track, I do love the album as a whole. So many of LCD’s best cuts- ever- are here. One of the most assured debuts of the 2000s

Amidst all the mid-80s cheese, three of Van Halen’s absolute best tracks are here (you know the three I’m referring to). The other tracks aren’t strong enough to qualify as anthemic, but are still some solid Glam Metal among the sea of abysmal Hair Metal by this point in the 80s