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).
"Their mid/late 70's masterpiece. Every track is exceptional, with four masterpieces:- Spirit of the age, Damnation alley, Hassan I sahba and Days of the underground. Space rock never sounded so good!!! And does anyone know what came first - the film Damnation alley (1977) or the track on this LP ...""Their mid/late 70's masterpiece. Every track is exceptional, with four masterpieces:- Spirit of the age, Damnation alley, Hassan I sahba and Days of the underground. Space rock never sounded so good!!! And does anyone know what came first - the film Damnation alley (1977) or the track on this LP - an amazing coincidence if they are not related."[+]Reply
"A very fresh and active sounding album. The guitar work is fantastic, the singing is emotional and powerful and the songwriting is extremely original. Only complaints being it gets a bit samey, but we'll see if it gets better with each listen."Reply
"This is Zappa and the original Mothers' last album (recorded over the same period of Weasels Ripped My Flesh). This masterpiece is a long instrumental ride through the lands of fantasy that does not attempt a definitive system, but finds instead spontaneity and grace of true genius. The centerpie...""This is Zappa and the original Mothers' last album (recorded over the same period of Weasels Ripped My Flesh). This masterpiece is a long instrumental ride through the lands of fantasy that does not attempt a definitive system, but finds instead spontaneity and grace of true genius. The centerpiece of the album is the twenty-two minutes of 'Little House I Used to Live In' featuring some stunning violin playing from Don Sugarcane Harris. 'Burnt Weeny' is a tour de force of four great soloists (Harris, Preston, Underwood, Zappa) and the rhythm section (the dual battery and Tripp Black). This album is a stylistic masterpiece and ranks as one of Zappas's greatest achievements.
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"I absolutely adore the production on this album; the industrial noise has very limited variety in terms of tone but is incredibly hard hitting. There are tracks where it drags on a little too long, but for me the noise never overstays it's welcome. The rapping is a little underwhelming and the ly...""I absolutely adore the production on this album; the industrial noise has very limited variety in terms of tone but is incredibly hard hitting. There are tracks where it drags on a little too long, but for me the noise never overstays it's welcome. The rapping is a little underwhelming and the lyrics could have been written by a high school philosophy student, but since the noise is way more powerful it doesn't drag the album down too much."[+]Reply
"Queen's let it be. A hotchpotch of solo tracks, b-sides and unfinished doodles, with only three songs recorded after innuendo. Of the 'new' songs, mother love, is the best, freddie's last vocal performance. A dark track. The other two, the funky you don't fool me, is good, but a winter's tale is ...""Queen's let it be. A hotchpotch of solo tracks, b-sides and unfinished doodles, with only three songs recorded after innuendo. Of the 'new' songs, mother love, is the best, freddie's last vocal performance. A dark track. The other two, the funky you don't fool me, is good, but a winter's tale is dreadful with irritating high pitched vocals from Freddie. The rest is just scraped from the barrels of various solo lp's and a flip side of a previous single release. The title track and, I was born to love you, were originally recorded by Freddie Mercury on his solo LP, Mr.bad guy, both these versions are better than the earlier one's as they're not so poppy. Heaven for everyone, is a song Roger Taylor's band, the cross, recorded with Freddie on guest lead vocals, Queen re-made it, it's okay, but it's nothing special. My life has been saved, originally the b-side to the, scandal, single in 1989, is average at best. It's a beautiful day, is an okay opener of a previously unfinished song, while, let me live, was originally a duet with Rod Stewart, again, it was unfinished, here, it's just a mediocre gospel/rock track, although it does feel quite emotional with Freddie, Brian, and Roger all taking a vocal spot. Most emotional of all though is, too much love will kill you, which because of Freddie's situation is moving, although it does slip into a bombastic power ballad, it's still a good song. All in all, it's the best they could have done in the circumstances but if you're a massive Queen fan you'll probably find it a much more uneven listen than those who are not, as Freddie's vocals veer from his excellent and powerful early eighties sound to the weak high pitched whine of his last few years. Altogether, Just about acceptable. "[+]Reply
"(Really cool mix of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, Neo-Soul, Jazz etc etc. And maybe most remarkable is how Batiste and Co. are able to make these varied sounds and textures meld into a coherent album. Not just a coherent album, but a joyous, celebratory, powerful, bright, inspiring album. On...""(Really cool mix of Soul, R&B, Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, Neo-Soul, Jazz etc etc. And maybe most remarkable is how Batiste and Co. are able to make these varied sounds and textures meld into a coherent album. Not just a coherent album, but a joyous, celebratory, powerful, bright, inspiring album. One of my favorite listens recently and highly recommended.)
Right from the jump, with the absolute stunner that is the opening track "WE ARE", this album treats us to such euphoric, spiritual joy, its hard for me to imagine anyone who enjoys soul/gospel/R&B/Blues or the rich history of Black American music NOT at least liking this. That opening track sets the mood so high and does so so forcefully it's truly impressive.
From there the album takes on a historical tour of some of the greatest musicians and movements of the last hundred years. One song sounds like some Sly and the Family Stone jam, then the next sounds like the modern Stevie Wonder or Marvin Gaye, then you'll be hearing some D'Angelo or Duke Ellington vibes, then some soulful blues of Albert King, and on it goes. The Neo-Soul and Conscious Hip Hop thrown in and done quite well and ably as well just adds yet another layer to this buffett of truly great and enriching music.
If the album has a major flaw, or flaws, its that the whiplash created by switching up with such dexterity between so many different genres and tempos can be I bit discombobulating. The other flaw is the well-worn go to critique of "iT's sO dErIvAtive!". And, jokes aside, I can hear where this make-believe person is talking about. Most of these sounds and styles are so FULLY embraced and integrated by Batiste that it really does feel like he is pouring himself and what makes him unique into the influences. On occasion I also feel like the sounds are a bit derivative. These moments are rare and even when that feeling of unoriginality comes in, the songs and the performances are so strong I find this critique fade away behind my bobbing head and stupid grin.
This is a refreshingly alive, vital, joyous and optimistic sounding album. It has a brightness and a hope that is infectious. The way the album starts is stunningly great. Track 1 "WE ARE", track 2 "TELL THE TRUTH", track 3 "CRY" (another song of the year candidate), track 4 "I NEED YOU", and track 6 "BOY HOOD" are each flawless. Its rare an album comes out the gates THIS. FREAKING. HAAARD.
Of course with such a beginning its likely to fall off a little in the second half lest it be one of the 20 best songs ever made. And fall off a bit it does. Still some of the songs on side 2 are quite stunning. The D'Angelo-ish jam "ADULTHOOD", and the anthemic Sly-esque "FREEDOM" being a couple examples of latter half gems.
Of course it would be silly to end a comment on this album without remarking on Jon Batiste as a vocalist and a musician. He is a great, personable, almost effervescent force as a vocalist. He radiates some kind of warmth and relatability that I love to hear and is what has been the main driving force behind me listening to this album for hours today. And as a musician, well, he got this band together, arranged these songs, assembled this album and made this music - I think he is a world-class musician and artist. Glad I found this and heard it. It really has brightened up my day."[+]Reply
"An overlooked great album by Bolan better than *The Slider" and lies 2nd to Electric Warrior for consistency . None of the tracks were released as singles an unusual event back then. Overall the album holds together as a complete unit with Bolan introducing a more soulful sound."Reply
"Cute, in a good way Has a bit of an overall deja vu feel, but plucky and catchy enough to somersault their way through a fine if somewhat flimsy album."Reply