Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On: 7 (B+)

Upped from honorable mention and purchased as part of the Original Album Series. Can't resist those things.

The B-52's - Cosmic Thing: 4 stars

Carlene Carter - I Fell in Love [honorable mention]

:-)

Schoolly D - Schoolly D: 7.5 (high B+)

Hard copies prohibitively expensive. Probably # [old-school] anyway.

The B-52's - With the Wild Crowd!: 3.5 stars

Today, I would probably not buy this (as a live album at B plus from a band that I have mixed devotion to) but since I did almost ten years ago (!), I will keep it.

The B-52's - Party Mix [honorable mention]

:-) [Good remixes, but I'm generally not into collecting those. Plus, this is only available on CD with a version of Mesopotamia that contains remixes of some or all of those songs too. This is available alone on original vinyl, but see the first sentence.]

The B-52's - Wild Planet: 4.5 stars

The B-52's - The B-52's: 4 stars

I know the critics will have us believe that the debut is better than the follow-up, but I disagree and always have.

The B-52's - Whammy!: 4 stars

So overlooked you can't even find a decent image online.

The B-52's - Funplex: 4 stars

Pet Shop Boys - Electric [liked]

:-)

Guelewars Band Of Banjul ‎– Tasito: 3.5 stars

Might be an A minus but not worrying about it because it is only ridiculously over-priced used old vinyl or new vinyl-only on this. How about a new CD?

Ouza et Teranga International Band - Wethe (Solitude) [honorable mention]

:-)

Various Artists - Flex Your Head

Upped from neutral. Normally, this would be # [hardcore; multi-artist comp], but I'm making an exception for a seminal DC hardcore comp on Dischord. Awaiting probable 7.5 (high B+) grade on final listen.

Phranc - Folksinger: 7 (B+)

# [folk] Digital only anyway, except for too-expensive used copies.

Basehead - Play with Toys [honorable mention]

:-)

Don Carlos - Day to Day Living [honorable mention]

:-)

Jenny Lewis - The Voyager: 4 stars

Doug Martsch - Now You Know [honorable mention]

:-)

Boz Scaggs - Boz Scaggs: 7 (B+)

Duane Allman on about half the tracks, but only really lets loose on “Loan Me a Dime.” No latter-day CD remasters, and original vinyl is too expensive. Made Rolling Stone top 500 list in 2012.

Roxy Music - Roxy Music: 3.5 stars

Agree with Xgau that side one is way better than side two, but I disagree that side one is A level. This album is barely a B plus in my view. Probably more or an honorable mention, but I'll give it a B plus in recognition of its impact.

Jackson Browne - Running on Empty: 3.5 stars

# [soft rock]

Supertramp - Breakfast in America: 7 (B+)

# [prog/pop] There are three songs on here -- "Logical Song," "Breakfast in America," and "Take the Long Way Home" -- which are very good, and one which is good -- "Goodbye Stranger" -- all of which barely squeak it into B+ territory.

Del the Funky Homosapien - Golden Era: 4 stars

Megan Thee Stallion - Suga: 3.5 stars

Appears to be digital only.

Oruj Guvenc & Tumata - Rivers of One [honorable mention]

:-)

Syran Mbenza - Sisika: 8 (A-)

Not available used at reasonable prices, which means that maybe I just think it's more of a 7 (B+). What a thrill to hear him in the Super Bowl halftime show (during a Shakira dance number especially).

Jean Papy (J.P.) Ramazani & Kass Kass - batch review

These are both B plus or maybe A minus, but I don't need to make the distinction because they are not available at reasonable prices. There's also an album named Kumbe Maria, which I can't locate but would definitely listen to if I could (Rigo Star on solo).

Lumingu Puati (Zorro) - Mosese: 3.5 stars

Not paying import prices for what is essentially an EP at B plus.

Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud: 3.5 stars

Not buying jazz at B plus. Not even Miles, at least from this era.

Various Artists - Repo Man Soundtrack: 7 (B+)

 # [soundtracks] Not available on CD anyway. Standout track: "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies.

Steve Reich - Radio Rewrite: 7 (B+)

# [neo-classical?] No reasonably priced copies anyway. Could very well be an A minus.

Young M.A - Herstory in the Making [honorable mention]

:-) [Docked a notch for way overstaying its welcome, with many similar sounding songs.]

Shakira live - batch review: 3.5 stars

All good, none great. I have all her major studio albums (other than the first two "underground" ones), and so won't be springing for these. See separate review for the famous MTV Unplugged.

Live & Off the Record
Oral Fixation Tour
Shakira in Concert: El Dorado World Tour
Live from Paris (this one may be more of a neutral)

Super Mama Djombo - Na Cambanca: 9.5 (high A)

This is superb. Was just reissued on vinyl/digital only. So stupid. If it weren't for that dumb-ass decision, I would definitely buy this. As it is, it is good enough to print out and put on the shelves.

Martin Creed - Thoughts Lined Up

:-|

Lee Ranaldo - From Here to Infinity [honorable mention]

:-)

Mannequin Pussy - Patience [honorable mention]

:-) [4 listens]

Gil Scott-Heron - We’re New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven [honorable mention]

:-)

Soukouss Vibration - Pot Pourri: 3.5 stars

Like the label (Afro-Rhythmes), guitar is fantastic (Diblo and Nene - not sure how I missed this in my Diblo total search), and songs are good. But it sounds like one big track (ie, it's a little samey) -- in fact I think it is, with manufactured pauses between tracks -- it's almost impossible to find, and it has drum programming and cheesy keyboards, so I'll skip this in physical despite the grade. Really 4 stars for the guitar though.

Cornershop - England is a Garden

:-|

Bad Bunny - YHLQMDLG

:-(

Lee Ranaldo and Raul Refree - Names of North End Women

:-|

Pet Shop Boys - Hotspot

:-|

Grimes - Miss Anthropocene [honorable mention]

:-) [At least one phenomenal track, too lazy to identify it - towards the end.]

Donita Sparks + The Stellar Moments - Transmiticate [honorable mention]

:-) [There are a couple very good songs on here, but mainly other plain ones. Almost convinced myself it was a B plus based on those very good ones.]

Fleshtones: Roman Gods: 3.5 stars

# [junk rock] Only could find 8 out of 11 tracks on YouTube, but that's enough to grade in a pinch.

Shakira - MTV Unplugged: 4 stars

All but one track is from Donde Estan Los Ladrones, so essentially a live remake of that. Plus one song form Pies Descalzso. Also, this is really a live show and has to be seen to be fully appreciated. For all those reasons, I am not shelving this live one. Plus, it only appears to be available at this time as a German import. Watched the DVD from Netflix and loved it. Maybe if they had ever put it on blu-ray.

The Folk Implosion - Dare To Be Surprised: 4 stars

Ismael Lo - Jammu Africa [honorable mention]

:-) [Pretty sure I had this at one point. Ass Malick Diouf [Gestu de Dakar] on guitar.]

Wire - Mind Hive [honorable mention]

:-)

of Montreal - UR Fun [honorable mention]

:-)

Steve Reich - Different Trains [Kronos Quartet] / Electric Counterpoint [Pat Metheny] [honorable mention]

:-) [On Pitchfork's best 200 albums of the 1980s list.]

Lil Wayne - Funeral: 7 (B+)

The Brains - The Brains: 3.5 stars

At this point, I probably would not have bought this on vinyl (never been re-issued since it came out in 1980), but I have a near mint vinyl copy and will keep it.