Jerry Lee Lewis – Live at the Star-Club, Hamburg
If someone wanted to understand why Jerry Lee Lewis earned the nickname “The Killer,” there may be no better place to start than Live…
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Latest Reviews
The Beatles – With The Beatles
Success can be a difficult thing to follow, but The Beatles barely paused long enough to acknowledge it. Just eight months after releasing their…
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James Brown – ‘Live’ at the Apollo
Some live albums capture a great performance. Others redefine what a live album can be. James Brown’s Live at the Apollo belongs firmly in…
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Jimmy Smith – Back at the Chicken Shack
By the dawn of the 1960s, Jimmy Smith had already accomplished something extraordinary. In just a few years, he had transformed the Hammond B-3…
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Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
Few albums have altered the course of popular music as profoundly as The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Released in 1963, it transformed a relatively unknown…
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Booker T. & The M.G.’s – Green Onions
Sometimes a single song is so iconic that it overshadows the album it came from. That’s certainly true of Green Onions. The title track…
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Stan Getz & Charlie Byrd – Jazz Samba
Some albums don’t simply become successful—they change the direction of music. Jazz Samba, released in 1962, is one of those rare records. Long before…
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Olivia Rodrigo – You Seem Seem Pretty Sad Got a Girl So In Love
With SOUR and GUTS, Olivia Rodrigo established herself as one of the defining songwriters of her generation, pairing brutally honest lyrics with explosive pop-rock…
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Sabrina Carpenter – Man’s Best Friend
Following the breakthrough success of Emails I Can’t Send and the global pop phenomenon Short n’ Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter entered one of the most…
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Charli XCX – Brat
Few artists have spent the past decade pushing pop music forward as relentlessly as Charli XCX. While many know her from massive hits like…
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Sincere Engineer – Cheap Grills
Some albums announce themselves with grand artistic statements or elaborate concepts. Others earn their place through honesty. Cheap Grills, the third full-length album from…
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Taylor Swift – Midnights
By the time Midnights arrived in October 2022, Taylor Swift had already accomplished something few artists ever achieve. She had successfully reinvented herself multiple…
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Tyler the Creator – Call Me If You Get Lost
By the time Call Me If You Get Lost arrived in 2021, Tyler, the Creator had already completed one of the most remarkable artistic…
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Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Timing has a way of reshaping how albums are remembered. When Dua Lipa released Future Nostalgia on March 27, 2020, much of the world…
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Ariana Grande – Thank U, Next
Few pop albums arrive under more extraordinary circumstances than Ariana Grande’s thank u, next. Released on February 8, 2019, less than six months after…
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Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour
Before Golden Hour, Kacey Musgraves had already established herself as one of country music’s most gifted songwriters. Her first two albums, Same Trailer Different…
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Lorde – Melodrama
When Lorde released her debut album, Pure Heroine, in 2013, she seemed almost impossibly self-assured. At just 16 years old, she dismantled pop clichés…
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David Bowie – Blackstar
Released on January 8, 2016—David Bowie’s 69th birthday—Blackstar initially seemed like another bold reinvention from an artist who had spent five decades staying one…
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Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
Released on March 15, 2015, To Pimp a Butterfly arrived with enormous expectations. Kendrick Lamar had already established himself as one of hip-hop’s brightest…
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Taylor Swift – 1989
By 2014, Taylor Swift had already become one of the biggest names in country-pop, earning critical acclaim and commercial success through deeply personal songwriting…
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Beyonce – BEYONCE
By 2013, Beyoncé had already achieved almost everything a pop superstar could hope for. She had dominated the charts as a member of Destiny’s…
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Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE
Some albums announce the arrival of a major talent. Others redefine the possibilities of an entire genre. Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE accomplished both. Released…
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Adele – 21
Heartbreak has inspired countless great albums, but few have captured its emotional highs and devastating lows as completely as Adele’s 21. Released in 2011,…
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The Black Keys – Brothers
For nearly a decade, The Black Keys had built a loyal following through relentless touring and a series of gritty, blues-infused garage rock albums.…
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Reinvention is one of the hardest things for a successful band to pull off. After earning acclaim with the garage-punk fury of Fever to…
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MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
Every so often, an album emerges that captures the mood of an entire generation while sounding unlike anything else on the radio. Released in…
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LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
Dance music and indie rock had crossed paths before, but few artists merged the two with the wit, intelligence, and emotional depth of James…
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