Chief Keef - Finally Rich [honorable mention]

:-| [4 or 5 listens. On RS top 200 rap albums, and Pfork top 200 albums of the 2010s.]

Horace Andy - Seek + You Will Find: 7.5 (high B+)

Used copies ridiculously overpriced.

Horace Andy - Sings for You and I: 7.5 (high B+)

# [best of]

Neil Young with Crazy Horse - Toast [honorable mention]

:-)

Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant: 7 (B+)

# [folk]

The Serpent Power - The Serpent Power [honorable mention]

:-) [A lot folkier and less psychedelic than some make it out to be]

Lowkey - Soundtrack to the Struggle 2: 7.5 (high B+)

Can't find anywhere.

Lowkey - Soundtrack to the Struggle: 7 (B+)

Can't find anywhere.

Various Artists - The Road to Jajouka: A Benefit Album: 8 (A-)

Upped a notch for being a benefit album. Selling at the label (Howe Records) for $23 shipped, but I found it on Billy Martin's label for a more reasonable $19.50 shipped.

Dr. Dre - 2001: 7.5 (B+)

I'm almost certainly overrating this. But it's been slowly becoming regarded as a classic, and I already have it, so I'll keep it. Last straw was that it was ranked 13 on RS list of best rap albums of all time.

Spiral Stairs [Scott Kannberg] - Medley Attack: 7.5 (high B+)

Vinyl, cassette (!), and digital only, otherwise I would buy. Almost dropped $25 for the vinyl because it's Spiral Stairs, but ended up passing on that.

Le Super Djata Band Du Mali – En Super Forme Vol. I: 8 (A-)

Vinyl/digital only.

Alice in Chains - Dirt: 7 (B+)

Upped from neutral, after listening to it several extra times after it kept popping up on various lists. Probably more of an honorable mention to me, but upped another notch for how many love it. 5 million people can't be terribly wrong.

Zani Diabate – Zani Diabate and the Super Djata Band: 8 (A-)

The Regrettes – Further Joy [honorable mention]

:-) [Five listens]

Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Paco de Lucía – Friday Night in San Francisco: 7.5 (high B+)

# [live]

Bad Brains - Black Dots

:-| [De-shelved. Why do people rate this so highly?]

Sangazuza - Izaura: 7 (B+)

See review for Quando Eu Parti.

Sangazuza – Quando Eu Parti: 8.5 (high A-)

Good luck finding the CD version from 2003, let alone the original vinyl. Learned about them on the Leve Leve comp. I may just buy that so that I have at least two of their songs. Both of their songs on that comp are from this album.

Circle Jerks - Group Sex: 7.5 (high B+)

Not available at anywhere near reasonable prices, no matter the version, release, etc. (actually, there is a CD version, on Frontier even, but it’s non-remastered, and, more importantly, it repeats the program! Come on! Stick by your original integrity, and just keep the 15 minute original for what it was. I'd pay for that.).

Sprints - A Modern Job [liked]

:-)

Chrome - Alien Soundtracks [honorable mention]

:-)

Garth Brooks - No Fences: 7 (B+)

# [country] [Bought it anyway because it's one of the top 10 best-selling albums of all-time in the U.S. Could be honorable mention. I would definitely listen to In Pieces too, but it's not on streaming services because of his greed.]

Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the blah, blah, blah

:-( [Pretentious/precious title says it all] [copy in the sell pile]

DeBarge - Time Will Reveal: The Complete Motown Albums: 7.5 (high B+)

This is such pure R&B, I would normally not collect it, but it was hard to pass up all 4 remastered albums (and a bonus disc I will never listen to again). Here are my grades:

The DeBarges: 7.5 (high B+)

All This Love:  7 (B+)

In a Special Way: 8.5 (high A-)

Rhythm of the Night: 7 (B+)

Clipse - Lord Willin' [honorable mention]

:-) [Number 12 (!) on Rolling Stone's list of top 200 rap albums. I might even buy it just for that reason, if it were available to buy. How could such an important album be so OOP? Or is it really not that important?]

Wire - Not About to Die [honorable mention]

:-)

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Killer Kuts: 7.5 (high B+)

I don’t buy best ofs at this level. Two other comps were interesting to me also: Best of Cold Chilin’ (but this is not on Cold Chillin’) and Street Stories (unavailable). Basically, their catalog is in total disrepair. I actually listened to this one only once since it’s really just a combination of selected songs from the first two albums.

The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar - Dancing Under the Moon: 7 (B+)

# [folkloric]

The North Sea Scrolls [Luke Haines] - The North Sea Scrolls

:-|

Merle Haggard - A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today: 7 (B+)

# [country]

Merle Haggard - Serving 190 Proof: 7 (B+)

# [country]

Homeboy Sandman - Chimera [EP]: 7.5 (high B+)

Vinyl only, so won't buy at B+.

Sage Francis - Sick of Waiting Tables [honorable mention]

:-)

Various Artists - Hata Unacheza: Sub​-​Saharan Acoustic Guitar & String Music, ca. 1960s: 8.5 (high A-)

Digital only.

Merle Haggard - The Way It Was in '51 [placeholder]

[Can't seem to find this to listen to, but it's Hag doing covers of Hank and Lefty, so I can do without. Like to hear it though, given the Christgau A-. Hull's at B+ though. I did piece together a single listen on Youtube, since all these songs are on others of his albums. Sounded nice.]

Merle Haggard - The Best of the Capitol Years [placeholder]

Hull gives this a full A, but then mentions that it's all on Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard (I did not double-check him on that), so I bought that instead. This is digital only.

Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City [honorable mention]

:-)

The Firm - The Firm

:-(

Redd Kross - Teen Babes from Monsanto [EP] [honorable mention]

:-) [Covers] [4 listens]

Salt-N-Pepa - Very Necessary [honorable mention]

:-)

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Madonna [honorable mention]

:-)

My Idea - That's My Idea [EP]: 9.5 (high A)

Definitely one of the best EPs I've ever heard. I've played this one to death. Had a physical printed up by Kunaki (great deal btw - around $7 shipped).

The Archers of Loaf - What Did You Expect: Live at Cat's Cradle [DVD]

Got this concert DVD free with The Curse of the Loaf vinyl. Definitely worth watching for any kind of fan.