Listed below are the overall rankings for the best albums in history as determined by their aggregate positions in over 59,000 different greatest album charts on BestEverAlbums.com! (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
"Frankly, this album is far better than anybody could have reasonably expected it to be. If you think back to the singles he's put out in the interim since The Chronic 2001, both 'Kush' and 'I Need a Doctor' were overhammed and half-speed, precisely the sorts of out-of-touch songs you would expect...""Frankly, this album is far better than anybody could have reasonably expected it to be. If you think back to the singles he's put out in the interim since The Chronic 2001, both 'Kush' and 'I Need a Doctor' were overhammed and half-speed, precisely the sorts of out-of-touch songs you would expect from a hip-hop artist nearing his fifties. 'I Need a Doctor' in particular reeked of all the focus group balladry trappings that have marred Eminem's work over the past six or seven years, and it was difficult to imagine Dr. Dre ever sounding relevant again. Thankfully, those songs can now be consigned to history, along with everything else locked away in those infamous Detox vaults; Dre finally binned that album in favour of something far more focused, and I'm delighted to say that it's an unqualified success. Now, for an album named after the city of Compton, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this album is going to be a trip down memory lane, a retrofetishist jaunt through Dre's past, from the g-funk sounds of the early '90s to the brash and cocky clean lines of his second album - and that would, in all honesty, probably be welcome (to some extent) among a lot of listeners. But, instead, Dre has opted for something else, a labyrinth of different styles, heavily layered and maximalist in the extreme, snaking in multiple unpredictable directions, refusing to settle on one particular style. It makes the album feel refreshingly out of time, neither beholden to the ghosts of West Coast past or to the sounds of hip-hop's present. I mean, yes, we do get a couple of nods to trap, and the occasional moment that harks back to Dre's early Parliament-aping days, but on the whole this album defies any sort of categorisation. It's beefy, in the same way that The Chronic 2001 was, but it's also undeniably more frazzled than that record. It's lush, but it isn't always clean. Production-wise, it sounds to me like peak-era Timbaland being reimagined by MBDTF's ambitious perfectionist, but captured through an undeniably West Coast lens. It might be comparable to 2015's West Coast masterpiece, To Pimp a Butterfly, in that it doesn't ever settle into a particular groove, but where that album was tied together by its jazzy leanings, this record is harder to pin down - we get a lot of twinkling synths and triumphant horns, but its cohesion comes from how luxurious it all sounds. If Kendrick has had a major influence on this album, it's in proving to Dre that he can make a massive, mazy album in 2015 without it having to bend to current trends, whilst still sounding utterly contemporary. It's an exciting direction for Dre, and proves that even throughout these late-career, headphone-hawking wilderness years, he can still stay ahead of the game. In terms of rapping, the album feels more mature than previous Dre albums. Whilst he has always been able to offer a more sobering view of life in the ghetto than he's often given credit for (think The Chronic's 'Lil Ghetto Boy'), this record feel undeniably more mature than previous records, something that feels to me as though it's been brought on not only by middle-age but also by his current connection to Kendrick, who has proven that you can stay true and authentic and resolutely Compton whilst still offering some perspective on that gangster lifestyle. And so, yes, this album goes over a lot of West Coast gangsta tropes, but does so in a way that feels more grown up (and, perhaps, detached) than the Dre of albums past, for better or worse. Newcomers Justus and King Mez (and, to a lesser extent, Anderson Paak) excel whenever they show up throughout the record, and there are some brilliant throwback verses from Snoop, Ice Cube, Xzibit, and in particular Cold 187um. Kendrick predictably offers standout moments, but it's Dre evolution as a rapper that is most interesting on this album. Whilst his verses are obviously ghostwritten, I don't think Dre has ever sounded this comfortable on the mic - his flow has become much more nimble with age, and gone are the clunky missteps that occasionally marred albums past. That said, he appears to have lost something vocally, and he isn't quite as immediately recognisable as he has been in the past. Being as he's never been a writer, it's questionable whether nimble flows for booming voice is a good trade off, but I generally think it works on this album, which plays out like a real team effort, with Dre acting as a deep-lying playmaker, allowing others to steal the show as and when certain people are better suited to certain moments. So lyrically, this album is a cohesive love letter to Compton, comfortably and naturally speaking on both the positives and the negatives of the city over the past three decades. Sonically, it's unique within the Dre canon, but maintains a West Coast vibe without necessarily falling back on a stereotypical West Coast sound. I've only listened to the record three times, but it already stands out as easily one of the best hip-hop records of 2015 and, as I said in my opening sentence, a far better album than could reasonably have been expected from Dre in 2015. Brilliant stuff. "[+]Reply
"(A new, slower, more world-weary and soulful Iceage has immerged with this one. And...its stunning and brilliant. Some of the best rock music of the year of any style or sub-genre. Faint hints of that youthful Iceage post-punk-y-ness that we have come to know so well melds with a blues punk, root...""(A new, slower, more world-weary and soulful Iceage has immerged with this one. And...its stunning and brilliant. Some of the best rock music of the year of any style or sub-genre. Faint hints of that youthful Iceage post-punk-y-ness that we have come to know so well melds with a blues punk, rootsy, gruff side of them that I didn't know they had in them.)
No need to put it off, I love this album. Almost everything about it is just the right thing for me. Its a slowed down, soulful, worn-out sounding rock album at its core. It manages to combine some of the more old-school Iceage post-punk anger and aggression with a world-weary blues earthiness. The band evolves and re-invents their sound to a majior degree but sticks the landing first try.
From the first stunning track to the last, this album feels mature, gritty, thematically heavy, and just great. The production is dirty and the sounds consistently edge each other out and make for a muddy sound. The bits that come in to hit the heavy end of punk blues are so gnarly and convey a certain gruffness that I love. The more soft and tuneful tracks and parts are so sad and weighed down.
When this album dropped it dropped at the same time as Squid's debut, and so this gem was overshadowed. I listened to both albums back to back and while Squid's record was more brainy, angular and complex, this album was the one that really hit me on an emotional level. Its great to hear that this band which blew up 10 years ago continues to release new and fully-realized albums without getting stuck in any kind of stylistic rut at all. This may be my favorite Iceage album yet, which is saying something because they are all very good to great."[+]Reply
"One of my favorite new wave albums of the early 80s and all time. Blinded me with Science was issued on subsequent releases to this album so I do consider it part of Golden Age of Wireless"Reply
"Red rose speedway, is one of Paul McCartney's most underrated records. It contains some great tracks, the best being the beautiful, my love, one of McCartney's greatest solo tracks(alright, it's technically Paul McCartney and wings, but you know what I mean), and, little lamb dragonfly, is one of...""Red rose speedway, is one of Paul McCartney's most underrated records. It contains some great tracks, the best being the beautiful, my love, one of McCartney's greatest solo tracks(alright, it's technically Paul McCartney and wings, but you know what I mean), and, little lamb dragonfly, is one of his most overlooked songs, it's brilliant. Elsewhere, there's the bluesy opener, big barn bed, the soul of, when the night, the sweet, one more kiss, and the experimental, Loup. The thing most criticized on the album is the medley that closes the record, alright it's not the second side of, Abbey road, but it's still enjoyable enough. Red rose speedway, would obviously be surpassed by it's follow up, band on the run, but it's still a very good LP. "[+]Reply
"This is not really anywhere near Burial's best work, but I respect an artist's attempts to change and progress their sound and challenge their listeners. I'm not all too crazy about some of the percussion on here, in particular the very tacky off-kilter drums on Hiders. I hope if he/she ever drop...""This is not really anywhere near Burial's best work, but I respect an artist's attempts to change and progress their sound and challenge their listeners. I'm not all too crazy about some of the percussion on here, in particular the very tacky off-kilter drums on Hiders. I hope if he/she ever drops a 3rd LP it sounds like Kindred, I fucking love that shit.
Favorite tracks: Rival Dealer, Come Down To Us, and Hiders"[+]Reply
"I fail to see why this album is maligned by so many. This is the missing link between blues and hard rock....and Muddy's rendition of Let's Spend the Night Together is absolutely scorching."Reply
"I never got some of the lower ratings for this album, sur eit's nothing out of the ordinary, but it isn't as bad as people claim it is. Not sure why this album was decided to be choosen for the over - hate."Reply
"Not bad, but not nearly as good as their first. My favorite songs are Used to Bad News and A Man I'll Never Be. This album's song titles alternate between positive and negative. Not sure what was going on with the band on a personal level (though I know they had their legal troubles) but someone ...""Not bad, but not nearly as good as their first. My favorite songs are Used to Bad News and A Man I'll Never Be. This album's song titles alternate between positive and negative. Not sure what was going on with the band on a personal level (though I know they had their legal troubles) but someone sure seems conflicted, based on the song titles and lyrics."[+]Reply
"Stormbringer is way better than you might expect. Rhythmically there is lots of funk and fewer complex rock elements, but there are many good songs. The instrumentation is solid and Coverdale is more confident. Hughes is a fine player and gives the band a fine base to rock on. This is the FINAL M...""Stormbringer is way better than you might expect. Rhythmically there is lots of funk and fewer complex rock elements, but there are many good songs. The instrumentation is solid and Coverdale is more confident. Hughes is a fine player and gives the band a fine base to rock on. This is the FINAL Mark 3 album and definitely it is recommended."[+]Reply