My. Gosh. I mean, Pet Sounds was ambitious for its time, and near perfect track for track obviously, but this thing is just on another level. Sure, at the end of the day, this isn't the finished album that Brian Wilson intended, and he did make his own "finished" rerecording of Smile on 2004, which certainly flows a lot better than this. But where his solo version loses me a bit is in the sound of it. The chemistry of the original Beach Boys' voices is just unmatched, and ... read more

Literally every song just gets better and better with each listen. The instrumentals are immaculate and Prince just has such a wild and infectious energy here.

Favorite tracks: Let's Go Crazy, The Beautiful Ones, Purple Rain
Least favorite track: I guess Darling Nikki? Maybe? If it's a life or death situation? But it still goes so incredibly hard

While this doesn't have as low of lows as Impera, i.e. Twenties, I feel like this album suffers from an arguably worse issue: it's boring. To be fair, I think Impera had this problem in comparison with Prequelle and Meliora, but it still had a handful of highlights that do stand out among the filler, i.e. Kaisarion, Spillways. Most of the tracks on here just felt like "yep that was a Ghost song." The main standout was Umbra which did feel like it had a lot more to show for ... read more

David Bowie screaming "YOU'RE NOT ALONE" before the album explodes into its finale is one of the greatest things I've ever heard

Hot take: Revolution 9 is good actually

He really said "gonna burn this disco out" then disco died

I promise I'm not just copying Fantano's opinions; I would've said this is probably a 10 before I saw that video. It's simply incredible how this album balances so many things while making it feel completely seamless. The vocals are simultaneously haunting and seductive, creating this feeling of mystique and allure that fits against the instrumentals which range from meditative ballads like Waiting For The Night to absolute bangers like Personal Jesus, all fleshed out with ... read more

I was a big metalhead in high school. While metal is still a genre I greatly enjoy a lot from, I often cringe when I look back at some of what I used to listen to, particularly with a lot of the really masturbatory prog stuff I was really into at the time (not that all of that is bad, or even that you're not allowed to like that if that is your thing; I'm speaking purely from my own tastes and opinions). This has been one of the most enduring albums within my taste, and still probably ... read more

There's nothing I can even say that hasn't been said over a million times. It's a modern classic and it changed a lot for me in terms of my own perception of what hip-hop could be.

While I still tend to gravitate towards their darker material on Disintegration and Pornography, this features a lot of my favorite pop centric tracks from The Cure

Neo-disco at its finest. When this came out I remember initially disliking it. I guess after Human After All, my younger self just wanted Discovery 2: Electric Boogaloo. While I still prefer Discovery overall, this probably comes in at a close second, at least if we're not counting Alive 2007. Daft Punk manage to wear their influences on their sleeve and merge that with many of the elements that make them unique and influential in their own right, creating an album that feels both ... read more

Everybody gangsta till Two-Headed Boy Pt. Two comes on

Abel's final album as The Weeknd marks both the end of a trilogy and the end of an era. There are a few moments I'm not crazy about, but overall it feels like a synth infused pop odyssey that's both dazzling and maximalist in presentation and yet some of his most emotional and honest content. This really feels like a logical step forward from Dawn FM as much as it feels like a swan song

This is how you flex

Would've been a 10 if they'd covered Leland Palmer singing Mairzy Doats

This is the Bluey of children's music. That's all that needs to be said. But this has too deep a place in my heart to not write about my experience growing up with this album.

This came out a little after I was born and they had bought the CD after I believe my aunt had recommended it because she and her kids all loved it. It was the perfect compromise because it was made for primarily an audience of children but I think the parents were still largely in mind, so my parents could ... read more

The definition of unrelenting. This is the first drone metal album that's really clicked for me so now I'm curious to actually give the genre a fair shake, because this really scratched an itch to be honest

Somehow very tonally different from Caligula, yet oddly it does feel like somewhat of a natural progression from it. A lot of the same elements are here, but the execution is done with more nuance. Obviously the biggest change is that her vocals are a lot cleaner here, both in effects and actual technique, for the most part dropping the heavy distortion and reverb that are so abundant on the previous album. She is also much more sparing here with her harsh vocals yet keeps a lot of the same ... read more

One of the most brutal listens I've ever sat through. The way she tackles her experiences with abuse in such a harrowing, primal and at the same time beautiful and cathartic way is nothing short of astounding. I struggle to think of an album that's held such a tight grip on my throat in recent memory, at least not the way it's done here. It somehow manages to blend genres that on paper don't feel like they'd gel together, but makes it feel like this is the final form in ... read more

This album feels like I'm having a bad trip and reliving childhood trauma and by some miracle that is a compliment. I first discovered this album during the first several months after going off to college and living on my own for the first time, and it's very much tied to that period of time for me years later. It simultaneously reminds me of that freezing winter, walking to class in the ice and snow, moving against the wind, the sun reflecting off the snow and burning my eyes, the ... read more