Must Hears: #65

Probably my favourite rock album from this decade, at least by far. Musically, Are You Experienced is incredible, Jimi Hendrix's riffs are otherworldly, the production is great too, the band is awesome and talented. Hendrix's intonation and overall voice is really cool, just pure rockstar energy all around him. I'm satisfied with the lyrical matter of the album, but I think the production is better and I'll revisit this album more for that. I love the ... read more

Must Hears: #64

The last of the Nina Simone albums that are widely considered classics, has her branching out even more, tapping into the Blues genre in her own way. Even though she's trying something new, it's still on the level of her other classics: the album's format is pretty much the same, she sings about the same stuff she usually does, only the production is different. The album instantly pulled me in with the opener, Do I Move You? sounds really nice, and you instantly ... read more

Must Hears: #63

Still at the dawn of innovating rock music, the genre was still in baby steps when The Velvet Underground and Nico made this groundbreaking record, named after themselves. Even though nothing on the outside shows any signs of a depressive sound, the album very much has it. I was looking at the Genius annotations, which I had to, because otherwise I couldn't have guessed what they were singing about, and by the 4th track I realized this album takes every nostalgic feeling ... read more

Must Hears: #62

Another legendary black woman appears on the list after Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone, and she appears with a bang, Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You was a very successful genre switch that elevated her music by a lot. The album starts with a cover of Otis Redding's Respect, which is in my opinion much better than the original, the production is more energetic and alive and Aretha's performance has more fire to it. Most of the tracks are ... read more

Must Hears: #61

The Doors' self titled album was one I wanted to listen to for a long time, because it is a rock classic, and because I had very little idea what very early non-Pop Rock sounded like. When it comes to the production of this album, it is revolutionary, I especially like the synths as they have been rarely used before in popular music before, especially in Rock music. The lyrical themes aren't deep, but they're catchy, they're mostly about love, making love ... read more

Must Hears: #60

The duo's second album is more interesting for me than their first one, thematically at least. I like the mysteriousness of tracks like Patterns and Cloudy, while the contrast of love and war on the intro and the outro tracks are thought-provoking. The production is mostly stripped back, but at times it can be so rich, I like this duality, it pleases everyone's taste who's open to this genre of music. Paul Simon really takes you through very different emotions in ... read more

Must Hears: #59

Nina Simone's insane run continues with Wild Is The Wind, an album full of leftovers from 1964 and 1965 studio recordings. I gotta say, if these are the leftovers, she was having a feast, because these tracks are very high-quality. The only way the album feels like leftover tracks is because the wide range of the songs' genres and their sequencing, besides that, it sounds like any of her greatest projects. She's a master of vocal jazz, a genre that speaks to my ... read more

Must Hears: #58

For me, this is their breakthrough album. I wasn't fully convinced by Rubber Soul, but Revolver is on a different level. I admire this album for two main reasons: 1. It contains most of their best songs up to this point in their career, those being Eleanor Rigby, I'm Only Sleeping, Here, There and Everywhere, For No One, Got to Get You Into My Life and Tomorrow Never Knows. 2. The huge influence this album had on the whole music industry, it even inspired artists who ... read more

Must Hears: #57

This is the last Coltrane album I will be listening to in this series, or at least it's the last for now, gotta wait for the other ones to hit must hear (he currently has 10 of those, which is incredible). The album starts off with his most insane track ever in my opinion, The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. This song features Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, who is another musical extraordinare and a master of the free jazz genre, going ham on their saxophones, trying ... read more

Must Hears: #56

My 100th review! I think there's no better way to celebrate than to review an album from someone I've grown to like way more than before, Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. I've said before that when I listen to Bob Dylan album, I always come for the lyrics, and it's becoming more true with every album of his. Right off the bat, he starts the album with a very Bob Dylan-like track, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 has every element of what he put on his previous ... read more

Must Hears: #55

A true internet classic, a record that will be timeless for a very long time, beloved by music nerds and casual listeners all around the world, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys. Baroque Pop, when done well, really appeals to me, it just has a grandiose aura around it, to me it's like the royalty of music. The lyrics are absolutely stunning, Brian Wilson speaks about love like no one else does, it's powerful and somehow silky. The production is unlike anything in the ... read more

Must Hears: #54

There hasn't been music like this for a long time in this series, until now! Wayne Shorter delivers some good, classic Post-Bop that I honestly have been missing, something about the atmosphere of the music just makes me feel good immediately, especially if the opener is this good. The musicians are all doing an amazing job, Herbie Hancock plays the piano here which I'm happy about considering he's a great solo artist as well. Even though the musicians are all ... read more

I like the first edition more, that being said, it's a fantastic record with visionary thinking and revolutionary ideas.

Must Hears: #53

When I listen to these albums, it usually takes one listening to work out the general ideas and soundscapes the album is going for. Sometimes, it takes two listens for the album to click. This album needed a few listens for me to get through the chaos and the loud instruments to try to understand the whole genre through this record. This album is the start of Coltrane's transition into Free Jazz and Spiritual Jazz, subgenres he pioneered and in some sense, perfected. When ... read more

Must Hears: #52

Simon & Garfunkel, who after gaining fame off of a remix of their most iconic song, The Sound of Silence, got back together to make their second album, Sounds Of Silence. Even though this project was made in quite a short time, and it's showing especially in the runtime of the album, the album has a nice folk sound, the duo has great chemistry and their lyrics are good too. The highlights for me are the title track, Somewhere They Can't Find Me, April Come She ... read more

Must Hears: #51

Arguably their first classic album, in my opinion they topped their previous five albums, because the album sounds more cohesive and the quality of the songs and the lyrics are better. I like how they tap into the folk sound on some tracks, it fits them and those songs are up to some of the greatest folk artists' songs. Also, these songs are so good, they make me appreciate the tracks that sampled them, for example Michelle made me appreciate Champagne Poetry by Drake, ... read more

Must Hears: #50

I've reviewed Maiden Voyage, which I liked but I didn't think it was incredible. I like this one a bit better, it's a little more creative and I had more fun listening to it, the album is full of good vibes. I like the playfulness of the songs, it gave off like a hot summer day in the park kind of vibe. What stood out for me was the bass and the drum solos, these solos are why Jazz is one of my favourite genres, it puts instruments into the spotlight which ... read more

Must Hears: #49

This album has the most chaotic album intro ever, it reminded me of that meme where Donald Glover brings pizza to a burning room. It ultimately deserves a must hear for the idea of putting one quartet in your left ear and the other quartet in your right ear. I can't say anything else about the album except that it's insane and that it needs time to warm up to it, but when you do, you will find the beauty and the fun in it.

Must Hears: #48

I got to be honest, I have seen this movie for the first time a few hours before reviewing the soundtrack, possibly because I'm not American. With zero expectations towards the movie or the soundtrack, I listened to the soundtrack first, so then I can tie the songs to the movie when I'm watching it. I knew the soundtrack was going to be amazing the moment they started playing O Tannembaum jazzy. Then I watched the movie, and that was so good as well! I couldn't ... read more

Must Hears: #47

Back to folk we go, with Jackson C. Frank's only album, which he named after himself. The songs he plays are depressive, but I'm glad he wrote them and put them out to the world, because he revealed the great personality he had and he influenced a lot of great musicians like the producer of this album, Paul Simon or the great Nick Drake. I like how he's not afraid to be himself and make choices according to his views and wishes. The album is very consistent ... read more