Beaucoup Fish by Underworld

Beaucoup Fish by Underworld
Standout track: Cups
Personal Preference: 5 of 5
Blink: techno

I was familiar with the track "Kittens" from "Human Traffic". I have to say, I really liked this album. I used it as background while working on a paper and it was perfect for thinking. It's techno, but it's very musically interesting as the tracks are dynamic. The album is also very well assembled.

On that note, just watch Human Traffic... the UK version.

Bad Brains by Bad Brains

Bad Brains by Bad Brains
Standout track: Big Takeover
Personal Preference: 4 of 5
Blink: punk reggae

It's not often that you find a cassette rip on an iPod. This seems to be side-A of a tape. This is a fine example of hardcore, and definitely has that early 80's punk feel. It feels less of Sex Pistols or Ramones than that of Death, but it's definitely its own beast. If you have any interest in punk/hardcore, pick this up somewhere.

Astro Coast by Surfer Blood

Astro Coast by Surfer Blood
Standout track: Take It Easy
Personal Preference: 4 of 5
Blink: rock

Rock with nice riffs. The album is complete with solid guitar work and interesting assembly and quality production. There are so many good things about this album, but there are a few downers: Twin Peaks for one. You feel like you are being beaten by every instrument playing the same music. Still, I would definitely recommend this to rock fans.

Arular by M.I.A.

Arular by M.I.A.
Standout track: Amazon
Personal Preference: 4 of 5
Blink: rap

I have heard my share of rap, and what stands out more than anything is the quality of production. This is rap that is really at the roots of beat and bass, which is unlike the American flavors that rely heavily on samples for the tracks. It definitely thrives on raw beats.

Aria 2: New Horizon by Paul Schwartz

Aria 2: New Horizon by Paul Schwartz
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 3 of 5
Blink: neo-classical

Classical music with a modern edge, combined with vocals. It would be excellent music for a waiting room as it is not offensive in any way, and much better than smooth jazz. Nothing on the album was exciting, but that is probably not the point. The melodic flows of vocals with violin and piano is a bit like floating through a track where you do not know when it is going to end.

Are You Passionate? by Neil Young

Are You Passionate? by Neil Young
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 2 of 5
Blink: soul rock

This is one of those albums that was difficult for me to finish. The album feels rushed, where everything sounds about the same. The tracks are also assembled in an odd why where the "weight" of different sections seems to have markedly different volumes as if Neil is fighting to yell over a keyboard. Some of the musical sections would be quite good if you removed Neil.

The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae

The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monae
Standout track: Say You'll Go
Personal Preference: 5 of 5
Blink: R&B rock

An exceptional album with very high production quality. Janelle Monae has an amazing voice that is accented by pieces that would be substantial without her: both the musical production and the vocals are top notch.

Arabic Groove by Various

Arabic Groove by Various
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 3 of 5
Blink: Arabic rock

The problem with compilations is that the style is all over the place. One of the nicer points of the compilation is that one is introduced to various styles of Arabic music.

Apple Venus Volume 1 by XTC

Apple Venus Volume 1 by XTC
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 3 of 5
Blink: rock

It feels a lot like an album that would have been made by Paul McCartney with nice acoustics. The song "I'd like that" has the feel of something off of Sgt. Pepper's. I'm sure that XTC is English. The tracks are assembled of acoustic guitars with accompaniment of piano, keyboard etc. No single track jumped out at me, but if you are a Beatles fan, I think you'd like this.

Apocalpyso by The Presets

Apocalpyso by The Presets
Standout track: Yippyo-Ay
Personal Preference: 5 of 5
Blink: Electronica

Music needs to match your mood. I happened to be listening to this while doing layout for my next IC, and I found it to be a nice accompaniment. The tracks are simple electronica but enjoyable with nice overlays of audio and effects.

All is Dream by Mercury Rev

All is Dream by Mercury Rev
Standout track: Nite and Fog
Personal Preference: 4 of 5
Blink: rock

I was very happy with this album as a whole. It's definitely has a rock feel to it, but that's only because of the drums play a prominent part. The drummer is only "directing traffic", and probably could have done some more to add to the songs. The score is quite nice overall.

Alexei and the Spring by Ryuichi Sakamoto

Alexei and the Spring by Ryuichi Sakamoto
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 2 of 5
Blink: Indio-classical

I am familiar with Sakamoto's 1995 album, which this does not even touch. The majority of the album is just a series of chromatic-scale-feeling sections of water drops or xylophone. I would guess that this is a score to a movie as all of the tracks have the feeling of background music. Nothing on the album grabbed me or moved me.

Aion by Dead Can Dance

Aion by Dead Can Dance
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 3 of 5
Blink: Druid Rock

If druids could have a rock group, this would be it. It's Gaelic-feeling music with a electric riffs that mimic the behavior of the tin whistle without the edge. All-in-all, it's fairly pleasant, but it's also repetitive. Melodic chanting is a fine thing if there's some variation in the background melody. You get the feeling that you could start at any point in this album and end up in the same place.

Ágætis byrjun by Sigur Rós

Ágætis byrjun by Sigur Rós
Standout track: Viðrar vel til loftárása
Personal Preference: 5 of 5
Blink: Ambient Dreampop

Classical music presented with a minimalist electric droning and falsetto vocals. The album has excellent assembly and production quality.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 3 of 5
Blink: Disco

This is a compilation soundtrack for a movie, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Fun listen, but disco doesn't have much staying power for me.

Adventures in Lo-Fi by King Britt

Adventures in Lo-Fi by King Britt
Standout track:
Personal Preference: 1 of 5
Blink: Electronic Rap

This is a mixture of electronica and rap. This is one of those albums where someone is trying to deliver a message that is not moving to me, but most importantly, the message is delivered with lackluster musical medium. The tracks have some very jarring transitions, best described as a glottal stops, but that is obviously the signature of King Britt. I think you can summarize this album as a rap concept album.

Advance by Shur-I-Kan

Advance by Shur-I-Kan
Standout track: Cookies
Personal Preference: 4 of 5
Blink: Electronic Jazz

Electro-jazz, would be the best description that I can think of. The tracks are flowing electronic waves with a nice beat. The tracks are involved but not to the point where you couldn't use this as background music. The real short coming of this album is that many of the tracks have the same feel to them, but this fact does not significantly diminish the quality of the complete album.

Actual Sounds & Voices by Meat Beat Manifesto

Actual Sounds & Voices by Meat Beat Manifesto
Standout track: Prime Audio Soup
Personal Preference: 4 of 5
Blink: Electronica

A pleasant mixture of electronica and rock, which is very reminiscent of "The Chemical Brothers". The segues between songs are clips from 1950s sci-fi or science where we are asked: "What is the difference between a swish and whistler"?

Acadie by Daniel Lanois

Acadie by Daniel Lanois
Standout track: Under A Stormy Sky
Personal Preference: 3 of 5
Blink: folk rock

This is a pleasant mix of rock and folk, combined with a pleasant mix of English and French. I found some of the tracks to be uninspired; however, the production quality of the album is high. One can tell that the order of the tracks was carefully considered.

I have someone else's iPod.

What do you do when you have some one else's iPod? You listen to every album from A to Z! The iPod is a 80GiB device that has "Ironport 2007" inscribed on the back, and with that... I start listening.