I’ve been listening to a large quantity of music lately, little of which I actually like. It’s called “pushing my boundaries.” At the least, I managed to find a few good gems in the rough. In the process, I’ve been rating all of the albums I own, and the albums I’ve borrowed for listening purposes.
I’m going to maintain a list of those here, grouped by rating. The ratings are pretty coarse, but whatever. Come back to this post once in a while; it’ll be kept up to date as I listen to more music.
Best Albums (9/10)
- barenaked ladies. gordon. pop.
- boards of canada. in a beautiful place out in the country ep. ambient.
- radiohead. ok computer. rock.
- sarah mclachlan. fumbling towards ecstasy. pop, pop-rock, folk.
- sarah mclachlan. the freedom sessions. pop, pop-rock, folk.
- thievery corporation. the mirror conspiracy. downtempo, dub, jazz.
Great Albums (8/10)
- aphex twin. selected ambient works 85-92. experimental, ambient, drum & bass.
- autechre. amber. ambient, experimental.
- beatles. 1967 to 1970. pop, rock.
- beatles. magical mystery tour. pop, rock.
- bebel gilberto. tanto tempo. latin, pop.
- black sun empire. driving insane. drum & bass.
- boards of canada. geogaddi. ambient.
- boards of canada. music has the right to children. ambient.
- bob marley and the wailers. very best of the early years 1968-74. reggae, dub.
- broken social scene. you forgot it in people. rock, pop.
- calexico. a feast of wire. rock, latin.
- clifford gilberto. i was young and i needed the money! acid jazz.
- deadbeat. new world observer. dub, downtempo, minimal techno.
- delerium. karma. ambient, world, trance, new age.
- dizzy gillespie. compact jazz. jazz.
- dj krush. jaku. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
- dj krush. ki-oku. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
- dj maüs. intersections. drum & bass.
- dj teebee. the legacy. drum & bass.
- dj tiësto. in search of sunrise. trance.
- elektrofant. flipstick ep. downtempo, synthpop.
- elvis costello and the attractions. very best of elvis costello and the attractions. pop, reggae.
- fatboy slim. halfway between the gutter and the stars. big beat, breaks.
- four tet. rounds. ambient, glitch, folk.
- franz ferdinand. franz ferdinand. rock.
- freddie hubbard. the body and the soul. jazz.
- future sound of london. cascade ep. ambient.
- godspeed you black emperor!. lift your skinny fists like antennas to heaven. postrock, rock.
- herbaliser. blow your headphones. acid jazz, hip hop.
- herbie hancock. head hunters. jazz, funk, hip hop.
- kruder & dorfmeister. the k&d sessions. downtempo.
- manu chao. clandestino. pop, latin.
- massive attack. blue lines. trip hop.
- metric. old world underground, where are you now? rock, synthpop.
- michael brook. cobalt blue. ambient, new age.
- miles davis. the best of miles davis. jazz.
- miss kittin. radio caroline. techno, electro.
- monolake. gravity. ambient, minimal techno.
- mouse on mars. autoditacker. ambient, minimal techno.
- mouse on mars. instrumentals. ambient, minimal techno.
- neil young. sleeps with angels. rock, folk.
- nicola conte. bossa per due. downtempo, acid jazz.
- nils petter molvaer. solid ether. acid jazz.
- nina simone. jazz masters 17. jazz, soul.
- nirvana. nevermind. rock.
- nirvana. unplugged in new york. rock.
- peace orchestra. peace orchestra. downtempo.
- plaid. double figure. techno, ambient.
- pluhgt. when nature calls. ambient, drum & bass.
- police. live!. rock, pop.
- portishead. dummy. trip hop.
- prodigy. fat of the land. big beat, breaks.
- quench. punctuated. ambient.
- radiohead. the bends. rock.
- radiohead. kid a. rock.
- radiohead. hail to the thief. rock.
- rae & christian. northern sulphuric soul. downtempo, soul, hip hop.
- r.e.m. automatic for the people. rock.
- r.e.m. monster. rock.
- rjd2. deadringer. hip hop.
- sarah mclachlan. surfacing. pop, pop-rock, folk.
- sasha. xpander ep. trance.
- sigur rós. ( ). postrock, rock.
- simon & garfunkel. old friends. pop.
- spring heel jack. 68 million shades. drum & bass.
- squarepusher. feed me weird things. drum & bass, experimental.
- squarepusher. hard normal daddy. drum & bass, experimental.
- suba. são paulo confessions. latin, acid jazz.
- tea party. the edges of twilight. rock.
- thievery corporation. dj kicks. downtempo, dub, jazz.
- thievery corporation. sounds from the verve hi-fi. downtempo, dub, jazz.
- tom jenkinson. bubble and squeak ep. drum & bass.
- tori amos. from the choirgirl hotel. pop, pop-rock.
- tori amos. under the pink. pop, pop-rock.
- tosca. suzuki. downtempo, dub.
- trüby trio. dj kicks. acid jazz.
- u2. achtung baby. pop-rock, rock.
- u2. the joshua tree. pop-rock, rock.
- u2. under a blood red sky. pop-rock, rock.
- various artists. compost – the future sound of jazz 4. acid jazz.
- various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 5. acid jazz.
- various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 9. acid jazz.
- various artists. heat soundtrack. soundtrack, jazz, minimalist, ambient, industrial.
- various artists. instinct – the future sound of jazz 3. acid jazz.
- various artists. mojo club dancefloor jazz 9. jazz, funk.
- various artists. nettwerk – plastic 4. trance.
- various artists. ninja tune – funkungfusion. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
- various artists. ninja tune – xen cuts. hip hop, acid jazz, downtempo.
- various artists. st. germain café – the finest electrojazz compilation. acid jazz.
- various artists. the blue box – blue note’s best. jazz.
- yo la tengo. and then nothing turned itself inside-out. pop-rock, rock.
Good Albums (7/10)
- a forest mighty black. mellowdramatic. downtempo.
- air. 10,000 hz legend. downtempo.
- air. premiers symptomes. downtempo.
- air. the virgin suicides soundtrack. downtempo.
- alex cortex. laconic. techno.
- alex reece. so far. drum & bass.
- amon tobin. bricolage. drum & bass.
- amon tobin. out from out where. drum & bass.
- amon tobin. supermodified. drum & bass.
- antibalas afrobeat orchestra. liberation afrobeat vol. 1. jazz, world, downtempo.
- aphex twin. selected ambient works volume 2. experimental, ambient, drum & bass.
- apollo four forty. electro glide in blue. drum & bass.
- arcade fire. funeral. rock.
- arcade fire. the arcade fire ep. rock.
- as one. 21st century soul. downtempo, soul.
- a tribe called quest. beats, rhymes and life. hip hop.
- a tribe called quest. midnight marauders. hip hop.
- a tribe called quest. people’s instinctive travels and paths of rhythm. hip hop.
- a tribe called quest. the low end theory. hip hop.
- autechre. tri repetae++. ambient, experimental.
- b.b. king. best of. blues.
- beastie boys. hello nasty. hip hop.
- beastie boys. the in sound from way out. hip hop.
- beastie boys. the sounds of science. hip hop.
- beatles. past masters vol. 1. pop, rock.
- beatles. the white album. pop, rock.
- beck. midnite vultures. rock.
- beck. odelay. rock.
- beefcake. ¥003 + ¥024 + 2x = ¥727. drum & bass, techno, idm.
- belle & sebastian. 3..6..9 seconds of light ep. pop.
- belle & sebastian. dog on wheels ep. pop.
- beth orton. daybreaker. pop, trip hop.
- big bud. infinity + infinity. drum & bass.
- billie holiday. the quintessential billie holiday vol. 2. jazz.
- bitman y roban. robar es natural. downtempo, turntablism.
- björk. homogenic. pop, trip hop, ambient.
- björk. post. pop, trip hop, ambient.
- blue rodeo. five days in july. rock, western.
- blue rodeo. nowhere to here. rock, western.
- boards of canada. aquarius ep. ambient.
- bob marley and the wailers. exodus. reggae, dub.
- bob marley and the wailers. legend. reggae, dub.
- bottine souriante. anthologie. celtic, jazz, québécois.
- bran van 3000. glee. pop, disco.
- cake. prolonging the magic. rock.
- cat power. moon pix. pop, rock.
- cat power. you are free. pop, rock.
- charles mingus. this is jazz vol. 6. jazz.
- chemical brothers. dig your own hole. big beat.
- chemical brothers. surrender. big beat.
- chris clark. ceramics is the bomb ep. experimental, ambient.
- cinematic orchestra. every day. acid jazz.
- cinematic orchestra. man with the movie camera. acid jazz.
- concrete blonde. bloodletting. rock.
- cujo. adventures in foam. acid jazz, drum & bass.
- cure. galore. rock, synthpop.
- dandy warhols. thirteen tales from urban bohemia. rock, pop, synthpop.
- dandy warhols. welcome to the monkeyhouse. rock, pop, synthpop.
- david gahan. paper monsters. rock.
- david hedes skönt. hedoni ep. downtempo.
- delerium. semantic spaces. ambient, world, trance, new age.
- depeche mode. singles 86-98. synthpop, rock.
- depeche mode. ultra. synthpop, rock.
- depeche mode. violator. synthpop, rock.
- de phazz. detunized gravity. acid jazz, downtempo.
- diana krall. when i look in your eyes. jazz.
- dieselboy. dungeon master’s guide promo. drum & bass.
- dj czech. hooked on phonics. breaks.
- dj food. a recipe for disaster. acid jazz.
- dj krush. zen. acid jazz, downtempo, hip hop.
- dj shadow. endtroducing. hip hop.
- dj shadow. the private press. hip hop.
- dj tiësto. in search of sunrise 2. trance.
- dj tiësto. live on trance airwaves 2004.05.15. trance.
- doors. the doors. rock.
- doves. lost souls. rock.
- duke of harringay. alroy road tracks. drum & bass, acid jazz.
- dupain. musica viva. rock, dub, français.
- dzihan & kamien. freaks & icons. downtempo.
- ed rush & optical. the creeps disc 1. drum & bass.
- electrelane. rock it to the moon. rock.
- ella fitzgerald & louis armstrong. best of. jazz.
- elliott smith. xo. pop.
- elvis costello and the attractions. this year’s model. pop, reggae.
- eminem. the eminem show. hip hop.
- eric clapton. the cream of clapton. blues, rock.
- everything but the girl. temperamental. pop, downtempo, house.
- everything but the girl. walking wounded. pop, downtempo, house.
- fatboy slim. you’ve come a long way, baby. big beat, breaks.
- fc kahuna. machine says yes. house, big beat, acid house, techno.
- fila brazillia. brazilification. downtempo, latin.
- findley quaye. maverick a strike. reggae, trip hop.
- flaming lips. the soft bulletin. rock.
- flim. helio. ambient, folk.
- four tet. as serious as your life ep. ambient, glitch, folk.
- four tet. pause. ambient, glitch, folk.
- frank zappa. freak out!. rock, humour.
- freak power. more of everything for everybody. downtempo, funk.
- freaky flow. obscene underground 1 – tits. drum & bass.
- freddie hubbard. this is jazz vol. 25. jazz.
- fryderyk chopin. piano concertos 1 & 2 – murray perahia. romantic.
- future prophecies. warlords rising. drum & bass.
- future sound of london. dead cities. ambient.
- future sound of london. lifeforms. ambient.
- future sound of london. my kingdom ep. ambient.
- galliano. a thicker plot: remixes 93-94. acid jazz.
- glenn gould, j.s. bach. goldberg variations. baroque.
- godspeed you black emperor!. f#a#oo. rock, symphonic rock.
- harry manx. wise and otherwise. blues.
- herbaliser. session one. acid jazz, hip hop.
- herbaliser. very mercenary. acid jazz, hip hop.
- hrvatski. swarm and dither. glitch.
- hybrid. wider angle. trance.
- james. laid. rock.
- jamiroquai. synkronized. funk.
- jamiroquai. travelling without moving. funk.
- jean leloup. l’amour est sans pitié. québécois, rock.
- jean leloup. le dôme. québécois, rock.
- jewel. pieces of you. folk, pop.
- joe henry. scar. pop.
- kate bush. hounds of love. synthpop, pop.
- keith jarrett. standards, vol. 1. jazz.
- ken nordine. colors. jazz.
- ketil bjørnstad. the sea ii. jazz.
- kid koala. carpal tunnel syndrome. turntablism.
- kid koala. scratchcratchratchatch demo. turntablism.
- kruder & dorfmeister. dj kicks. downtempo.
- laika. good looking blues. trip hop.
- laika. sounds of the satellites. trip hop.
- lamb. fear of fours. trip hop.
- led zeppelin. houses of the holy. rock.
- led zeppelin. physical graffiti. rock.
- lee scratch perry. arkology. reggae, dub.
- legion of green men. floating in shallow water. techno, downtempo.
- leonard cohen i’m your man. folk, pop.
- lil kim. la bella mafia. hip hop.
- little rabbits. la grande musique. français, downtempo.
- llorca. new comer. acid jazz, house.
- lonesome organist. collector of cactus echo bags. rock, novelty, experimental.
- lou donaldson. blue breakbeats. jazz, funk.
- luomo. the present lover. microhouse, house, pop.
- magnetic fields. 69 love songs. pop, humour.
- man or astroman? intravenous television continuum. rock, surf.
- manfred hüber & sigfried schwab. vampyros lesbos sexadelic dance party. soundtrack, acid jazz.
- manu chao. proxima estación: esperanza. pop, latin.
- manyfingers. manyfingers. ambient, folk.
- massive attack. 100th window. trip hop.
- massive attack. protection. trip hop.
- mazzy star. among my swan. rock.
- meat beat manifesto. actual sounds and voices. big beat.
- michael blake. blake tartare. jazz.
- miles davis. birth of cool. jazz.
- miles davis. bitches brew. jazz.
- miles davis. kind of blue. jazz.
- miles davis. ’round about midnight. jazz.
- moby. play. ambient, acid jazz, techno.
- mocean worker. home movies from the brainforest. drum & bass, acid jazz.
- mocean worker. mixed emotional features. drum & bass, acid jazz.
- monolake. cinemascope. ambient, minimal techno.
- monolake. interstate. ambient, minimal techno.
- monolake. live at beta lounge 1999.11.23. ambient, minimal techno.
- moog cookbook. the moog cookbook. novelty, rock.
- most serene republic. underwater cinematographer. rock.
- mouse on mars. agit itter it it. ambient, minimal techno.
- moxy früvous. bargainville. pop, humour.
- mr. scruff. keep it unreal. acid jazz.
- mùm. yesterday was dramatic – today is ok. ambient, glitch.
- murcof. martes. ambient, minimal techno, glitch.
- my bloody valentine. loveless. rock.
- naomi. pappelallee. pop, downtempo.
- neil young. freedom. rock, folk.
- nine inch nails. fixed ep. industrial, rock.
- nine inch nails. march of the pigs ep. industrial, rock.
- nine inch nails. pretty hate machine. industrial, rock.
- orbital. untitled. techno, ambient.
- orb. orbus terrarum. ambient, ambient house, ambient techno, dub.
- orb. u.f.off. ambient, ambient house, ambient techno, dub.
- orb. u.f.orb. ambient, ambient house, ambient techno, dub.
- oscar peterson and freddy hubbard. face to face. jazz.
- overman. 100% loaded ep. ambient.
- passengers. original soundtracks 1. experimental, rock, ambient.
- paul simon. graceland. pop, world.
- pavement. terror twilight. rock.
- pearl jam. ten. rock.
- pearl jam. vs. rock.
- peatbog faeries. mellowosity. celtic.
- photek. form & function. drum & bass.
- pink floyd. meddle. rock.
- pixies. doolittle. rock.
- placebo. placebo. rock.
- plaid. peel session. techno, ambient.
- p-love. hey mama. rhythm & blues, acid jazz, house, synthpop.
- pole. 1. minimal techno, glitch, dub.
- pole. 2. minimal techno, glitch, dub.
- pole. 3. minimal techno, glitch, dub.
- portishead. portishead. trip hop.
- portishead. roseland nyc live. trip hop.
- prefuse 73. extinguished outtakes. instrumental hip hop, glitch, downtempo.
- prefuse 73. one word extinguisher. instrumental hip hop, glitch, downtempo.
- prodigy. experience. big beat, breaks, jungle, house.
- prodigy. the dirtchamber sessions vol. 1. big beat, breaks, funk, hip hop.
- radiohead. amnesiac. rock.
- radiohead. pinkpop ep. rock.
- rae & christian. sleepwalking. downtempo, soul, hip hop.
- reinhold heil. run lola run soundtrack. soundtrack, techno.
- r.e.m. eponymous. rock.
- r.e.m. new adventures in hi-fi. rock.
- r.e.m. up. rock.
- richie hawtin. de9 | closer to the edit. minimal techno.
- r.l. burnside. wish i was in heaven sitting down. blues.
- roots manuva. brand new second hand. hip hop.
- st. germain. boulevard. house, acid jazz.
- st. germain. tourist. house, acid jazz.
- salaryman. salaryman. experimental, ambient.
- sarah mclachlan. remixed. pop, pop-rock, folk.
- sarah mclachlan. solace. pop, pop-rock, folk.
- sasha. airdrawndagger. trance.
- sasha & john digweed. northern exposure – expeditions. trance.
- sergei rachmaninov. piano concerto no. 2 and 3 – phillippe entremont and andre watts. romantic, 20th century.
- shadows. greatest hits. pop.
- sigur rós. untitled (vaka) ep. postrock, rock.
- skalpel. skalpel. acid jazz.
- smashing pumpkins. adore. rock.
- spring heel jack. busy curious thirsty. drum & bass.
- squarepusher. music is rotted one note. jazz.
- squarepusher. port rhombus ep. drum & bass, experimental.
- squarepusher. untitled ep. drum & bass, experimental.
- squarepusher. venus no. 17 ep. drum & bass, experimental.
- state of bengal. visual audio. drum & bass, bhangra.
- tan dun. crouching tiger, hidden dragon soundtrack. soundtrack, orchestral.
- tea party. transmission. rock.
- terje rypdal. skywards. jazz.
- thelonious monk. the best of thelonious monk. jazz.
- thievery corporation. sounds from the thievery hi-fi. downtempo, dub, jazz.
- thievery corporation. the richest man in babylon. downtempo, dub, jazz.
- tori amos. little earthquakes. pop, pop-rock.
- tori amos. to venus and back. pop, pop-rock.
- tosca. suzuki in dub. downtempo, dub.
- tracy chapman. tracy chapman. folk, pop, rhythm & blues.
- tragically hip. day for night. rock.
- tragically hip. fully completely. rock.
- u2. pop. pop-rock, rock.
- u2. zooropa. pop-rock, rock.
- u.n.k.l.e. psyence fiction. hip hop, rock.
- vangelis. blade runner soundtrack. ambient, soundtrack.
- various artists. animatrix soundtrack. downtempo, trance, drum & bass, soundtrack.
- various artists. compost – the future sound of jazz 1. acid jazz.
- various artists. compost – the future sound of jazz 2. acid jazz.
- various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 7. acid jazz.
- various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 8. acid jazz.
- various artists. compost – future sounds of jazz 9. acid jazz.
- various artists. deep concentration 1. downtempo, trip hop, hip hop.
- various artists. desert sessions vol. 9 & 10. rock.
- various artists. du maurier jazz, vancouver 2002. jazz, latin.
- various artists. garage anthems. garage.
- various artists. global underground – departures sampler. trance.
- various artists. hed kandi – winter chill 1. downtempo.
- various artists. human traffic soundtrack. breaks, hip hop, drum & bass, downtempo, house, trance, soundtrack.
- various artists. jackie brown soundtrack. soul, rhythm & blues, hip hop, western, soundtrack.
- various artists. lost in space 3. drum & bass.
- various artists. nettwerk – plastic 3. trance.
- various artists. nutone – delicious tunes. downtempo.
- various artists. pi soundtrack. soundtrack, techno, industrial, ambient, experimental, downtempo.
- various artists. rebirth of cool 3. hip hop, acid jazz.
- various artists. rebirth of cool 5. downtempo, acid jazz, hip hop.
- various artists. rebirth of cool 6. downtempo, acid jazz, drum & bass, funk.
- various artists. the freestyle files 2: germany vs. england. downtempo.
- various artists. trainspotting soundtrack. rock, downtempo, techno, ambient, soundtrack.
- various artists. verve – the jazz masters: 27 classic performances. jazz.
- various artists. verve – verve remixed. acid jazz.
- various artists. verve – verve remixed 2. acid jazz.
- various artists. verve – verve remixed 3. acid jazz.
- various artists. verve – verve unmixed. jazz.
- various artists. verve – verve unmixed 2. jazz.
- various artists. verve – verve unmixed 3. jazz.
- various artists. way out north. house.
- we are wolves. non-stop je te plie en deux. rock, français.
- wild strawberries. quiver. pop.
- yann tiersen. le fabuleux destin d’amélie poulain soundtrack. soundtrack, français.