Rate the last album you listened to

[HausOfAntonio 7,821]

Here's my ranking for all the albums I heard this year (not necessarily 2012):

1) Halcyon - Ellie Goulding

2) Electra Heart - Marina & The Diamonds

3) Unapologetic - Rihanna

4) Light + Bright Lights - Ellie Goulding

5) Confessions On A Dance Floor - Madonna

6) Born To Die - Lana Del Rey

7) MDNA - Madonna

8) Ray Of Light - Madonna

9) Red - Taylor Swift

10) Clarity - Zedd

11) Push And Shove - No Doubt

12) Love Angel Music Baby - Gwen Stefani

13) Paradise - Lana Del Rey

14) Fantasea - Azealia Banks

15) Lotus - Christina Aguilera

16) The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani

[StrawberryBlond 13,284]

2/10.

Quite simply, one of the blandest pop albums in history. I was hoping that her last two years was going to inspire Christina to create someting along the lines of Stripped. In fact, that's what this album was touted as: a Stripped sequel. Well, that was nothing but a pile of baloney to get people to buy it. Every song is blander than the last and all the songs sound so dated and cheesy. There are many ballads about Christina's personal struggles but none strike me as the deep confessionals of her earlier work. It's just like she leafed through a book of cliches under the topic "struggling" and ticked them all off, one by one. It all sounds like the careful, calculated effort of her label to get back mainstream appeal. Then we get the awful, childish atrocities that are Circles and Shut Up as Christina mouths off her haters in the most off-putting way possible. Yeah, honey, this attitude problem of yours is part of the reason why you have haters. I was never taken with the mediocre lead single, Your Body and when it ends up being one of only two good songs the album has to offer, I knew it was bad. The other good song is Just A Fool. A duet with Blake Shelton is definitely insinscere as Christina couldn't be further from country but it actually is a very good song, though why it was the final song after Best Of Me being the farewell of the album baffles me. Or maybe it's an ironic ending because the listeners are fools to have listened to this album all the way through.

It is also worth noting that Christina didn't write some of the songs here, which is a big step back for her artistically. It shocks me that a lot of her fans are actually saying this album is fantastic because it cannot hold a candle to Stripped, Back To Basics or even Bionic (yes, Bionic wasn't actually that bad). It's even better than her generic debut. That's how bad this album is. Somewhere along the line, Christina lost her way and I doubt she'll ever get it back. I refuse to believe that she is happy with this. I have visions of her bawling her eyes out every night over how she let herself sink to this level.

What with the single's performance and her album sales, this album has been a first rate flop and deservedly so. For anyone who said that her career was over after Bionic, this album confirms it. For fans in denial, it's time to wake up. I have officially lost patience with Christina and consider myself an ex-fan. As I've said before, if Bionic killed her career, Lotus buried it.

[n0ne 13,105]

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded: The Re-Up = 6.5/10

I didn't download any of the songs b/c I'm not a hardcore fan of rap but overall it was pretty solid and catchy.

Soul Punk - Patrick Stump = 4/10

Love his voice, just don't like the direction he went with the album. Fall Out Boy is one of my fav bands and he is magical with them, I hope they break their hiatus soon.

The World from the Side of the Moon - Phillip Phillips = 8/10

Not particularly the type of artist I would listen to but I love "Home" and decided to give him a chance and I am glad I did. He has a great voice and is a good lyricist/songwriter. He's also really cute and I hoping he doesn't suffer Idol winner curse.

[Arne 2]

I'm gonna give UNAPOLOGETIC 6.5/10

The lead single 'Diamonds' is BY FAR the best song of the album. Highlights: Half Of Me, Phresh Out The Runway, Nobody's Business(feat. Chris Brown), Jump and Right Now (feat. David Guetta)

Red by Taylor Swift really surprised me in a good way: 8.5/10.

8/10

The Urban vibe of the album fits Rihanna's voice perfectly. It's a solid and cohesive album overall and I actually prefer it over Loud and Talk That Talk. My biggest critique of the album (and a lot of Rihanna's albums) is that, while none of the songs are bad, a lot of them don't have much replay value. Standouts: Phresh Off the Runway, Diamonds, Jump, Right Now, Lost in Paradise, Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary.

Totally agree.

Edited November 22, 2012 by Arne

[Necca 166]

Pitbull - Global Warming

5/10

[Arturo 40,746]

*

*Unapologetic - Rihanna

*8/10

Ah Rihanna's 7th release in 7 years! The album opens with a track that exemplifies Rihanna's cocky and ratchet attitude. The 2nd track and lead single "Diamonds" is one of the highlights of the album. The replay value of this song is incredible (I wish I could say that about the rest of the songs). "Numb" featuring an odd rap by Eminem is a repetitive track with eerie-desert like production. It's one of the underwhelming moments of the album along with "Pour It Up". Saying the 5th track, "Loveeeeeee Song" is underwhelming is an exaggeration. It's undoubtedly the worst track on the album. The track will make you want to gag while Future is doing the same. Two dance tracks follow, "Jump" and "Right Now", 2 of the most single worthy tracks on the album. Slower songs like "What Now" and "Stay" display Rihanna's strong vocal power, although she is overshadowed by Mikky Ekko in "Stay". "Nobody's Business" by Chris Brown, another single worthy track, samples a "The Way You Make Me Feel" by MJ. "Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary" is one of Rihanna's most personal songs. Only complaint is the fact that LWT is a little over 2 minutes long. It should have been a full song. "Get It Over With" is a bit of a filler but it's not bad. "No Love Allowed" is the "Man Down" of the album but it's no match for its big sister. The album ends on a high note with "Lost in Paradise". The production is everything. Overall, Ri made a pretty solid album, outshining her previous album Talk That Talk.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Arturo

[JudasInTheDark 3]

*

* 1991 EP - Azealia Banks

Although this is definitley not my typical taste, I have coming to truly love this EP. The tightness of the 4 songs seems perfect, and is just enough to satisfy me. I'm not gonna lie, the reason I keep coming back to this is for the instrumentals. They are so 90s house-inspired, and sound extremely fresh compared to anything released recently. It's almost like listening to a mixture of old school and something from 20 years in the future. Her rapping is very on point and she contains a great flow throughout. I also enjoy the few parts where she does some actual singing as well. Here's my order of favorites:

1. Van Vogue

2. 1991

3. 212

4. Liquorice

Overall I give this EP a 9/10. It's lyrics are sometimes a little too raunchy and distract from the overall song, and I don't ever listen to Azealia's random talking at the end of Van Vogue. The song itself is still the best though. Great release and something unique and fresh.

[Burning Desire 2]

Lana Del Rey - Paradise

Definitely concludes the dark side of her first album "Born To Die", wonderful songs.

This album has 9 songs: Ride, American, Cola, Body Electric, Blue Velvet, Gods & Monsters, Yayo, Bel Air, Burning Desire.

It opens with Ride which i think really gives the "paradise" feeling. Most of the songs are quiet and the album barely have hits, only Ride and American, if you ask me.

My favorites:

American

Blue Velvet

Yayo

Gods & Monsters

Bel Air

10/10

Hope this album will help her get more famous.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Electra Heart

[PopBitch 1,218]

Rhianna - Unapologetic 9 out of 10

I can't get enough of this album. Highlights for me are Stay, Without Tragedy/Mother Mary, Diamonds, What Now, Nobody's Business, Lost in Paradise, Jump, No Love Allowed.

Edited November 23, 2012 by PopBitch

[Quran 179]

Unapologetic

4/10

[GagaObsession 1]

Rihanna - 'Unapologetic'

9/10

I already wrote a mini review for this album in the 'Rihanna' thread but to sum my feelings up for this album, I am loving the sound and the feel of the old Rihanna coming back to us.

The only bad things in my eyes about this album is that dubstep feel she is trying to go for that in my opinion just doesn't suit her.

All in all, absolutely amazing lyrics, great collaborations and plenty of ghetto fabulousness.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Gaga_Obsession

[Zhile_Gaga 6]

Unapologetic - Rihanna... I'll give it 7/10, cause it has great songs, nice beats, lyrics, but something is still missing comparing to her best ''Rated R'' ;)

[StrawberryBlond 13,284]

1/10.

I've never been the biggest Rihanna fan, as most people will know. But she's got a lot of decent singles and her albums aren't half bad and Rated R was definitely her best. Saying that, she really messed up with Talk That Talk, which was her worst album to date, her only album that was less than an "ok" rating for me. But what with the album's underperformance due to lack of mainstream appeal, I consoled myself with the thought that lessons would be learned from that album and nothing, nothing could be worse than Talk That Talk, as it was a kind of bad that would be difficult to top. With the release of lead single, Diamonds, I was really impressed with the quality of it and thought that this might actually be one of her best bodies of work. Boy, was I in for a shock.

This album is awful, strange (and not in a good way) and even goes as far as to capitalise on Rihanna's domestic violence case. It's by far Rihanna's most urban album, but it sounds like she was trying to hard to be gangsta and edgy and it just comes across as insincere. There are weird sounds throughout the album, especially on the opening to Loveeeeeee Song (the guy in this song can't sing to save his life either). The best song is Diamonds (the only amazing song) and Stay is a decent ballad that's a very different direction for Rihanna and Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary, while unnecessarily long, eventually gets somewhere, even if it's nowhere outstanding. No Love Allowed had a killer beat and could have been amazing, but was ruined by sub-par lyrics and no climax. The rest of the album is just throwaway rubbish, with one star ratings for almost every song. There's a weird almost avant garde feel about the album, something that I'm surprised many reviewers haven't picked up on. Like Rihanna was trying to be all arty and experiemental. But she fails miserably. Rihanna is a pop star and she should embrace it. She's never been much of an artist and shouldn't try to be, unless something big happens in her life that forces her to be creative in a very positive way (Rated R).

Rihanna is in desperate need of a break. Release a greatest hits and take a back seat for a while. These rigid annual releases are sucking every bit of creativity out of her and her team. I am stunned that Def Jam allowed her to make and release this as it is not public friendly at all and could be her biggest flop, with the David Guetta song being the only other viable single choice. Maybe they're trying to prove she can take risks or something? But what really surprises me is her fans saying how great this is. Considering that her most experimental album, Rated R, was one of her biggest flops, I'm surprised that they're taking to this album which is even more experimental and not in a good way and only has one danceable song on it, and Rihanna fans tend to love her danceable songs above all else. The whole response to it has been baffling to me. If any other artist released this, their career would be deemed over.

[The Stranger 4]

Bjork - Volta

7.5/10

Volta, Bjork's 6th studio album released in 2007 is the first album to stray from her Unusual and experimental sound. In an interview, Bjork exclaimed that Volta would be very upbeat and fun because she made a couple very serious records in a row, but this album does not feel very fun at all. It starts off with a very brass, exciting song Earth Intruders that screams and grows and growls throughout. Then as the album progresses, the songs to me at first seem to get slower and slower musically. It goes into the first half of the album with the very monotone The Dull Flame Of Desire that has so much passion and love throughout as she talks to her supposed lover and and the lovers sweet, s-xy and smooth voice chants the chorus. This album has not turned out to be what Bjork as said a "Fun" record by any means in the music way, but by far this is her most bright, colorful and fresh record yet full of brass, bells and drums.

Highlights:

Wanderlust

The Dull Flame Of Desire

Pneuomnia

Hope

Edited November 28, 2012 by Kin

[7Days 7]

Warrior by Ke$ha

Rating: 9/10

One of the best albums this year ...Don't like that Dr. Luke produced almost the whole album but he did a pretty good job.

Best songs: Out Alive, Love Into The Light, Supernatural, Warrior, Die Young, All That Matters (The Beautiful Life), Crazy Kids and C'Mon.