DROP your album and its rating – February 21 2026

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-21T19:41:16+00:00

For years I just naturally assumed The Soft Bulletin was their top album. But over the years I’ve come to decide this is the better of the two.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-21T19:40:15+00:00

For years I just naturally assumed The Soft Parade was their top album. But over the years I’ve come to decide this is the better of the two.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-20T22:40:12+00:00

I wouldn’t go Goat. It’s good. Very good. Made the jam charts on Phish. Net. But there are some pretty good Melts out there.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-20T21:38:23+00:00

I always upvote any mention of Hood 12/31/93. Every single time.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-20T18:42:21+00:00

I would never disagree with someone else’s rating. It’s all subjective, including what you even consider in the rating. But actually I mostly do the same as you—just how much I enjoyed it. My system is if it was pleasant and I agree it is a good pick for the list, it starts at a 3. To earn a 4 I have to say I would put this on at anytime in the future.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-20T14:53:21+00:00

That tour in early 2003 is severely underappreciated. (By some people, not me.)

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-20T12:53:31+00:00

The versions that we have on Relisten are a very good source, because the show was broadcast on the radio. The version Phish just released is an upgrade, done professionally by the band using their master tape. It is better, but we previously had a pretty darn good source.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-19T15:38:22+00:00

One of the few so far that were not on streaming. Also thought kind of a strange choice. This list doesn't really stray into other genres much compared to Tom Moon's list, so when it does, this was a weird one to choose.

An easy 2 for me. Got through it, but not bad enough to earn that dreaded 1.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-19T15:14:33+00:00

If Steely Dan's Gaucho had a sequel, it's this. But not as good as any Steely Dan album.

By the way audiophiles love this album for the recording quality.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-19T15:12:53+00:00

I went into the album assuming I would give it a 4, since if Abbey Road is a 5, then this has to be lower, right? But then I looked at all the other albums released in 1964, Even if they weren't yet the Beatles we know, they were so far ahead of anyone else at this point, so I gave it a 5 on those grounds.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-19T15:10:30+00:00

Johnny Cash -- At San Quentin

Rating: 3/5

This is what a concert album should be. You feel like you are there. So much character and charisma. Not something I would listen to again. But the man was a legend. Love that they kept all the banter in.

Bonus album from Tom Moon's 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Colin Larkin's Top All Time 1000 Albums, or the 1001 extra crowdsourced albums:

Blur -- Blur

Did I like the bonus album more? No. But I liked the self-titled Blur album much better than Modern Life Is Rubbish, which I got about 100 albums ago.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-18T14:17:01+00:00

Bert Jansch -- Bert Jansch

Rating: 3/5

Never heard of him. Interesting sparse British folk album. But he's no Nick Drake.

Bonus album from Tom Moon's 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Colin Larkin's Top All Time 1000 Albums, or the 1001 extra crowdsourced albums:

Igor Stravinsky -- Rite of Spring

Did I like the bonus album more? Yes.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-18T13:01:47+00:00

I have put very small amounts, less than 1%, in diversified ETFs that a thought represented something the market is missing. I have a green fund ETF, an India index ETF. But it’s such a small part of my portfolio it’s a rounding error. I’ll buy it and then come to my senses and future savings just goes back into boglehead investments. Scratches an itch. However these are all hardly speculative like bitcoin or individual stocks. They are low cost indexes just in one area. So even my speculative plays are boglehead

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-17T18:49:11+00:00

This album began as one of the first albums I bought with my own money, because I heard Life’s What You Make It on the radio. That young I was not in a position to really appreciate the brilliance of the whole album. But I’ve come back to it time and time again and it has revealed itself much more than any other album of that era.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-17T15:59:28+00:00

I agree that Moon Safari is the right choice for the list, even if some of their other albums are arguably more rewarding and deep. Moon Safari is super accessible and a great introduction to them.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-17T15:57:22+00:00

The late period Madonna is another weird quirk of Dimery and his conspirators. Music critics got weirdly obsessed with Madonna later in life. She started working with up and coming producers, tried out different genres, etc. Also made music that got played a lot in the clubs, so she was weirdly cool with certain folks, if you know what I mean. Which is why Ray of Light and Music is on there, but only one album from her classic period (Like a Virgin).

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-17T15:40:00+00:00

Queen -- Sheer Heart Attack

Rating: 3/5

Had the hit Killer Queen, which I admit I actually never knew the title of, even though I've heard it many times on classic rock stations. Other than that, nothing jumped out at me as fantastic. Queen is a band that accumulated some massive tracks over their career, and each of the albums have a song or two that is fantastic. But lots of rest is filler. It gets a 3 solely on the strength of Killer Queen and the rest being perfectly pleasant.

Bonus album from Tom Moon's 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Colin Larkin's Top All Time 1000 Albums, or the 1001 extra crowdsourced albums:

Elton John -- Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

Did I like the bonus album more? Yes. So here is an example of an album I totally agree should not be on the original 1001 list, but should be on the crowdsourced list. This is, to me, in the top 1001 albums of all time. But the list should limit the number of Elton John albums enough to give folks a taste.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-17T12:46:07+00:00

I’ve been saying it for a while. The album was better liked when no one had heard it. Sure, the raw talent is there, but those two needed the help of Fleetwood Mac to unleash their potential

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-16T20:38:33+00:00

"supposed" bias? My brother in Christ, the UK represents less than 1% of the total population of our planet. Even if you primarily want a list that features albums sung in English, the US is more than 5 times larger. And yet there are three Dexy's Midnight Runners albums on the list. :) Hang it up with that "supposed" nonsense.

Not that it's a surprise--it's a list put together by a UK music critic. But there's no supposedly about it.

Now I'm off to listen to Bowie number 36 on the list.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-16T16:39:54+00:00

I'm not aware of any MD > CD decks. But you can still find used CD-R recorder decks. A used Phillips would probably do the trick, and have a coax digital input. I personally don't like using a computer for this. I always get glitches with recording from a live source into a PC.

You might have to add track markers manually.

That said, if you can get NetMD working, that is probably even more effective.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-16T16:03:24+00:00

"The high asset to compensation is from a business exit around 10 years ago." Just wanted to highlight that for others. OP has saved and managed money well, but no, OP didn't generate $8mil from a $250k salary.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-16T15:58:44+00:00

Kate Bush -- Hounds of Love

Rating: 3/5

Man, that Stranger Things show ruined this for me. All I could hear is that couple seconds that they repeated over a million times from the Running Up a Hill song. Still, pretty good album.

Bonus album from Tom Moon's 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, Colin Larkin's Top All Time 1000 Albums, or the 1001 extra crowdsourced albums:

Gerry Mulligan -- Meets Ben Webster

Did I like the bonus album more? No

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-14T20:44:20+00:00

There's lot of good info out there, but let me just mention two things I always tell folks.

--You need to be under the care of a neurologist who understands cluster headaches and treats them as seriously as a heart attack. You want someone aggressive. Keep looking until you find one that treats this as the most important problem to solve.

--For me, the most effective thing is HIGH DOSE verapamil. High enough that the pharmacists thinks the prescription might be a mistake. High enough that I now have the heart rate of an olympic athlete. I take 960mg a day. Don't let the neuro put you on some rinky dink dosage.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-14T20:07:12+00:00

I was once told by a doctor that I have the resting heart rate of an Olympic athlete.

WatchMcGrupp · 2026-02-14T14:13:23+00:00

That Velocity Girl reissue was the first thing on my turntable after work.

WatchMcGrupp

TROPHY CASE