Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner [honorable mention]

:-)

Operation Ivy - Operation Ivy: liked

This is the 27-song compilation, with the entirety of Energy plus the Hectic EP, plus two other tracks from I know not what.

Kendrick Lamar - Section.80: 7 (B+)

Might be my favorite of his albums. Unavailable on CD.

Dan Ex Machina - All Is Ours, Nothing Is Theirs: 8 (A-)

Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered.

:-| [Would be a downface, except that there are one or two great tracks, which brings it up to neutral.]

Allen Ravenstine - Nautilus: 7 (B+)

# [experimental] Unavailable on CD anyway.

Various - Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical: 7.5 (high B+)

# [multi-artist comp]

Mutabaruka - Any Which Way . . . Freedom: 7.5 (high B+)

Not available anywhere for anything approaching a reasonable price.

Various - I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground & Nico: 8 (A-)

Upped from 7 (B+) on a fourth play.

Eric Church - Chief: 7 (B+)

# [country]

Justin Hines [a/k/a Hinds] and the Dominoes - Travel with Love [honorable mention]

:-)

Pearl Jam - No Code: liked

:-)

Pearl Jam - Merkin Ball [EP]: liked

Contains two songs "I Got Id" and "Long Road." The first is very strong but is on Essential. The second is mediocre and doesn't appear to have Neil, although maybe I just did not pay enough attention.

Pussy Galore - Dial 'M' for Motherfucker: liked

:-)

Iron Maiden - Powerslave

:-|

The Smiths - The Peel Sessions [placeholder]

[3 out of 4 songs are on Hatful of Hollow. "Miserable Lie" is the only unique song, which isn't that good.]

The Smiths - The Sound of the Smiths [Deluxe]: 8.5 (high A-)

This is the 2-CD version. (The single CD version has pink lettering.) The first disc has all of Singles, plus some extra tracks. The second disc has some rarities etc. I'm kind of a Smiths completist. This and Singles are the best standard "best ofs" -- not counting the classics Hatful of Hollow and Louder Than Bombs -- so I wanted to add this. The other standard best ofs -- Best... I, ...Best II, and The Very Best of the Smiths -- no one likes and I'm skipping.

Afghan Whigs - Big Top Halloween [honorable mention]

:-) [Completely unavailable even if I wanted it. Only a thousand or something were printed.]

Bopol Mansiamina - Bolonga Ngaite: 7 (B+)

Same cover as a self-titled album on Celluloid. Tracks here are: "Bolonga Ngaite," "Bonjuor Le Soleil," "Choisi," "Controleur," "Kazi," and "Manuela." See my separate review of that Celluloid release. This one is streaming only.

MC5 - batch review

I long ago shelved their three regular releases -- Kick Out the Jams, Back in the USA, and High Time -- and will grade them (from 7 (B+) up) if and when I have the urge to replay them. See also my review of Babes in Arms. I also listened once to the well-regarded compilation The Big Bang: The Best of the MC5. All songs on that are from the three regular releases, except a live one and three singles. I did listen to those four tracks three times each to be sure I didn't want to get the comp. I didn't.

Mutabaruka - Check It! [honorable mention]

:-)

Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden [honorable mention]

:-)

Pearl Jam - Vitalogy: liked

:-)

The Police - batch review

Here are reference grades (Christgau, Hull, Rolling Stone, Spin):

Outlandos d'Amour [A&M, 1978] B+/B+/4*/7 [7.5+7.5+8+7 = 30/4 =7.5] #1 

Regatta de Blanc [A&M, 1979] B-/B+/4*/7 [5.5+7.5+8+7 = 28/4 = 7] #4

Zenyatta Mondatta [A&M, 1980] B/A-/4.5*/4 [6+8+9+4 = 27/4 = 6.75] #5

Ghost in the Machine [A&M, 1981] B+/A-/4*/5 [7.5+8+8+5 = 28.5/4 - 7.125] #3

Synchronicity [A&M, 1983] B+/A-/4*/6 [7.5+8+8+6 = 29.5 = 7.375] #2

My brother was really into this band when we shared a room, so I have heard all of these albums quite a few times. Every one of them sounded familiar on a first play in 2022, but I played them two more times each anyway. At this point, I would grade them all "liked" or 7 (B+), except for Zenyatta Mondatta, which I would grade 7.5 (high B+). Ghost in the Machine is probably more definitely a 7 (B+) than the others. I cannot really make these distinctions easily. #indiepop

I could get the comp Every Breath You Take, but I know all the songs on it well and wouldn't give it more than a 7.5 (high B+), and it's #bestof. Finally, I toyed with getting the box set of all five for ~$35, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on them, even at that price.

Bim Sherman - Danger: liked

Could be a 7 (B+), but it was never reissued on CD, and the vinyl is ridiculously expensive, so I'm not going to bother making the distinction. Soul Syndicate backs.