Random Albums Ranked, Season 4 #3 (#553 overall)
"Dust Bowl Ballads" (1940) By Woody Guthrie

There's a reason people still mention this album 86 years after it came out. It really is the first album in the modern sense, and the first concept album at that.

Since the album is also loosely based on Guthrie's own experience of the Dust Bowl, we are able to extract such intricate stories of that time, which helps these records act as a primary source of information for that ... read more

Random Albums Ranked, Season 4 #3 (#553 overall)
"Dust Bowl Ballads" (1940) By Woody Guthrie

There's a reason people still mention this album 86 years after it came out. It really is the first album in the modern sense, and the first concept album at that.

Since the album is also loosely based on Guthrie's own experience of the Dust Bowl, we are able to extract such intricate stories of that time, which helps these records act as a primary source of information for that ... read more

Random Albums Ranked, Season 4 #2 (#552 overall)
"Blue Wall" (2022) By Noah Guthrie

This attempt sounds like every other Country album released this decade. He doesn't strive for anything new here, instead opting for the low hanging fruit of whatever this god awful genre of Country is. I'm just referring to the sound and production obviously, I don't have a reason to dislike Noah Guthrie himself.

He has a good voice at some points, but otherwise it's just a ... read more

RAR #550

May 11th, 2026 - I accidentally deleted my review of this album, and I don't feel like devoting any more thoughts to this mid record

Random Album #551

"Minecraft - Volume Alpha" (2011)
(8.68/10)

Is this what true beauty is?

This album evokes a pure feeling of nostalgia that is so powerful yet so very painful to feel. Nearly every track on here brings me back to a simpler time in life. A time when I had no worries, no stress, no commitments, and friendships were much easier to maintain. The unifying factor in that equation of course being the game Minecraft. I never really played the game all that often as a ... read more

RAR S3, #49

"0"
(2013)
By Ichiko Aoba

This will take you on a wondrous ride of sorrow, joy, and whatever lies between. Ichiko Aoba has the most beautiful and talented voice that I have ever heard. Her mastery of guitar playing is just the cherry on top, she can go from soft to hard immediately, and that creates the greatest compositions of our time.

Obviously, I don't speak Japanese, so I don't know what she was singing about, but I don't need to and neither do ... read more

RAR S3, #48

"DOWNFALL OF HUMANITY"
(2024)
By Violent Nature

This is now the shortest album I have reviewed, coming in at 14 minutes. That's all.

Also, the album itself is solid. Probably not something I see myself revisiting purely because of the length. If it were double the runtime, then we'd have an even solider record.

(7.18/10)

Top 3 Songs: "STRENGTH IN NUMBERS", "VIOLENT NATURE", "SUCKA"
Least Favourite: "DEATH"

Next ... read more

RAR S3, #47

"Surrender"
(2022)
By Maggie Rogers

Ok, I promise I am not trying to give the same rating as the average score on this website. It is a weird coincidence that the last few reviews have been that way.

Anyway, I don't have much to say about this record. It's mainly a simple, poppy album with a few things to offer. Maggie's voice can sound really incredible at times, and at other times I feel it's just a little too mainstream for my taste.

... read more

RAR S3, #46

"Savage Mode II"
(2020)
By 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

This is a very spooky-sounding album. The instrumentation really does wonders here, and I love it. You'll have these strings that will invoke the sense that you're being watched, or just the voice of Morgan Freeman, who for some reason narrates this record, which adds some tension to the experience.

This is one of those albums that I thought I would dislike, purely based on how I thought of the album ... read more

RAR S3, #45

"Billy Talent"
(2003)
By Billy Talent

A bunch of reviews are complaining about the singer's basally voice and to be honest, I didn't notice it, until I read those reviews. To me, the nasally voice fits into the Punk/Alt-Rock aesthetic the band creates with this explosive record.

The screams on here are PHENOMENAL, truly. They will fill you with power and fury, and sometimes the bass and drums make me melt with how amazing and ferocious they can sound at ... read more

RAR S3, #44

"Hazardous Mutation"
(2005)
By Municipal Waste

No complaints here. This is exactly the kind of album I was expecting. It's good, really good. The short runtime probably helps it here too, because if this album were 40 minutes, it would get boring fast. The same goes for the track lengths.

They blend the Punk and Thrash genres here, I personally heard way more Punk than Thrash, but it's definitely still there. Overall, a decent pick for when you want to ... read more

RAR S3, #43

"Nurture"
(2021)
By Porter Robinson

This record lives up to its name, because it nurtures you with its melodic mastery and electrifying soundscapes.

Never in my life have I heard such a calm, soothing album that also has the most insane background noise imaginable, and yet still somehow it manages to be really good. You get taken on this trip of melancholy and profoundness, which I presume to represent the headspace that I or someone of Porter's age would find ... read more

RAR S3, #42

"Marquee Moon"
(1977)
By Television

The guitar playing was so catchy, so good, so amazing, it felt like my brain was registering it as vocals and not even as a guitar.

This is the sound of Punk becoming Punk and Rock evolving yet again. The fact that this debut album managed to change so much of the zeitgeist at the time is truly wonderful.

Nothing else to say. This record was incredible, it was innovative, and the songs changed as they went on, so they never got ... read more

RAR S3, #41

"54•40"
(1986)
By 54•40

This was sort of your typical Canadian Alt Rock sound that was coming out around this time. Not bad, in fact it could be considered good at some points. I found everything on this record to be somewhat enjoyable and catchy. I also had no idea that this album had the original version of "I Go Blind", made popular by Hootie And The Blowfish of course.

Overall, the band delivered a solid album with solid rhythms and melodies ... read more

RAR S3, #40

"The Stone Roses"
(1989)
By The Stone Roses

What an incredible debut, it really is. They pulled out all the stops for this one. Listening to this record was such an intricate experience, I am convinced that there are still things I haven't heard from this album. During the reviewing process I only just noticed the incredibly groovy bass on "Made Of Stone", which was so cool to notice.

That is the essence of what makes listening to albums fun. If they ... read more

RAR S3, #39

"The Grand Illusion"
(1977)
By Styx

This is how mainstream Prog should sound, whimsical and epic. I was completely taken away by how mesmerizing this album was. All of the harmonies and guitars and vocals and drums, everything fit perfectly while still being consumable by the general public.

Obviously, as I alluded to, this record has a more mainstream sound and appeal to it. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just personally don't think that you should ... read more

RAR S3, #38

"Toto"
(1978)
By Toto

I was expecting something much more Prog Rock oriented, based on that cover. I'll settle for this though. The album had some interesting moments, I'm pretty sure there's a sitar or something on the final track, but I will say that it wasn't bad at all. At its worst, the songs are just cringy, and at its best, you have "Hold The Line", a truly amazing 70s tune.

Otherwise, this might be an album I would consider ... read more

RAR S3, #37

"Chicago X"
(1976)
By Chicago

Just a simple, groovy, smooth listen. The horns really do add a lot to the overall sound on this record. I can't really think of what else to say, this is the kind of album that I'd throw on the record player, turn off my mind, and just listen. Overall a solid attempt, but surely not their best I can imagine, considering the prestige the band's name carries.

(7.57/10)

Top 3 Songs: "If You Leave Me Now", ... read more

RAR S3, #36

"Rock The Nations"
(1986)
By Saxon

They strived to make Heavy Metal, but gave us aluminum instead. This album is boring, the vocals are boring, the guitars are boring, and the drums are boring. Very few things on here save it from being utter garbage. Can I name them? Nah, I'm not feeling up to it right now, and besides, it's not even worth my time.

Top 3 Songs: "You Ain't No Angel", "Northern Lady", N/A
Least Favourites: ... read more

RAR S3, #35

"Modern Escapism"
(2021)
By Blanket

We get a sort of Deftones-esque sound layered into this album, and that normally wouldn't be a terrible thing, but on this record the band seems to have raised the volume of the instruments so much, that it drowns out the vocals. To me that creates this sound that, while still good, just isn't quite as enjoyable as something you'd hear from Deftones. Though I will say that the mixing actually works for me with the ... read more