🎙️ Introduction
Alright, before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, this is a fun midweek piece — not serious journalism. Every album listed has real worth. I promise.
So if OK Computer is your emotional support record, please don’t start writing angry haiku’s because I’ve gently poked it.
Let’s be honest, pop-kids — we’ve all done it.
You’ve nodded along while someone raves about a “canonical masterpiece”, pretended you played it recently (or ever), and even muttered:
“Oh yeah… that album’s incredible.”
When what you really meant was:
“I tried it once in 2004 and got bored halfway through track three.”
Some albums aren’t just critically acclaimed — they’re homework. And nobody likes homework.
So, for your Reading Pleasure™ at The Listening Log, here are the albums people claim to love… but rarely play outside of documentaries, break-ups, or moments of crushing guilt.
🎧 1. Pink Floyd – The Wall (1979)
Ah yes, the ultimate “I swear I totally love this” album.
Personally, I find it a slog. There’s a lot of indulgence, and Roger Waters’ ego is practically a fourth member.
It was the moment Pink Floyd albums started evolving into glorified solo efforts.
Everyone remembers the big songs — Another Brick in the Wall, Comfortably Numb, and that bit where Roger screams like he’s stepped on Lego.
But ask someone to hum anything from side four and watch panic wash across their face.
A Momentary Lapse of Reason is actually easier to listen to — and after a few shandies, I might even argue it’s the better album.
Dark Side Of The Moon, Animals and Wish You Were Here can effortlessly be listened to from start to finish.
But The Wall…. well….
Don’t lie: you’ve only listened to The Wall in full twice — once at 14, and once to prove a point to a mate who prefers Animals.
🎧 2. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk (1979)
Every critic: “A misunderstood masterpiece.”
Translation: “Good luck making it to the end.”
Lindsey Buckingham went rogue while the rest of the band were busy… behaving like Fleetwood Mac.
It is brilliant — if you’ve got a free afternoon, a strong tea, and the patience of a Buddhist monk.
Many insist it’s their favorite Mac album. Half of them haven’t pressed play since 1998.
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it in full. I’m more of a Dreams or Big Love chap. But the title track and The Ledge? Absolute belters.
🎧 3. The Clash – Sandinista! (1980)
A triple album. Yes — three discs. Because apparently London Calling wasn’t ambitious enough.
Six sides. Thirty-six tracks. A reggae choir. Dub experiments. A kid singing. At least two songs that sound like they were recorded in a garage toilet.
I played this a lot when I first discovered The Clash (thanks to the misunderstood Cut the Crap) — but never all at once.
There are underrated gems: Police On My Back, One More Time/One More Dub, Hitsville UK (which I once covered badly, fact fans!).
But every fan who claims they “love every minute” is lying. Everyone has a “good bits only” shortlist.
Let he who has listened to Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice) more than twice cast the first stone.
🎧 4. Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
Brilliant. Groundbreaking. A masterpiece.
Radiohead’s party centrepiece.
Nobody is disputing that… but it’s also…
ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTING!
Yes, the final three tracks are transcendent. But there are more fillers than anyone likes to admit.
Fitter Happier was quirky once — now it feels like a GCSE drama project gone wonky.
No one wakes up thinking:
“You know what I fancy today? Crushing existential dread before breakfast.”
People who say they “play it weekly” mean they own the vinyl and display it proudly. Untouched. Mint condition.
Filed between Kid A and Pitchfork-approved décor.
🎧 5. Bruce Springsteen – The River (1980)
Another double album. Of course.
Bruce fans claim they love it — but what they love is about 40 minutes of it. The rest is “time to make a sandwich”.
There are two types of Springsteen fans:
- Those who genuinely love every track
- Those who pretend to
There is no third group.
Still, if you need a shelf putting up, Bruce is your man when he’s not writing songs about work.
🎧 6. Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)
A masterpiece? Yes.
Do people listen to it all the way through? Absolutely not.
This is the moment Bob Dylan started tinkering with electric guitars and lengthy albums. A pattern he would follow throughout his career.
Long. Rambling. Like someone trying to finish before the studio time runs out.
Nobody has ever said:
“Let’s enjoy Visions of Johanna AND Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands back-to-back.”
This was my first Dylan album. I rarely made it past Rainy Day Women, I Want You, and Just Like a Woman.
Probably overdue a revisit — ideally during a very long dog walk.
Just to confirm what I’ve already written.
🎧 7. The Beatles – The White Album (1968)
Genius. Iconic. Diverse.
But let’s be honest:
Everyone skips Revolution 9.
Skipping it is a universal human reflex — like blinking.
The Beatles are almost universally fantastic in everything they do (although that is getting slowly tarnished with average ‘new’ songs and pointless Anthology entries) but Revolution 9 is crap.
There I’ve said it and I feel much better now!
It’s the ultimate slab of self-indulgence — and that’s coming from someone who loves making sound collages.
And don’t even get me started on the unreleased Carnival of Light, supposedly McCartney’s answer to Lennon’s chaos. Imagine a reply no one asked for.
🎧 8. U2 – Achtung Baby (1991)
U2 fans bow before it. Everyone else nods politely.
I’ll die on the hill that The Fly has one of the greatest guitar solos ever recorded. But as a full album? Vastly overrated.
Like Radiohead, U2 fluctuate between genius and “hmm”.
I’m more of an Unforgettable Fire chap myself.
And seriously — is anyone choosing to play Acrobat on a Wednesday morning?
🎧 9. Kate Bush – The Dreaming (1982)
Bold. Innovative. Utterly bonkers.
Critics adore it.
Is it really as good as they say????
And dissing The Bush even in jest will have me up in front of the music police judges. Penalty: Listen to nothing but Taylor Swift for a week.
But let’s be honest: most people who rave about The Dreaming have only heard Hounds of Love and want to look cultured at gatherings.
I’ve tried — genuinely — but it’s not Bush at her best. Still, a weaker Kate Bush album is better than many artists’ best work.
But this isn’t kitchen-cleaning music. It’s an album you study.
🎧 10. The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
Another double album. Another “masterpiece”.
Another collection where most people only listen to disc one.
Back in ’95, I listened to the whole lot a lot — mostly because I couldn’t be bothered skipping tracks after a few beers.
Following up Siamese Dream was always going to a tall order for The Smashing Pumpkins so they went for quantity (there’s zillions of B-Sides to the singles milling about as well!).
There’s brilliance here… Jellybelly for noise, Stumbleine for acoustics, buried under 28 songs and Billy Corgan’s heroic attempt to create an album longer than the M6 motorway.
And 1979 will always liven up a party.
Still, sprawling as it is, it has its charm.
🎤 Final Thoughts (aka The Confession Booth)
We live in the age of musical virtue signalling — people love being seen loving the “right” albums.
But here at The Listening Log, we tell the truth:
Some classics are classics because they’re genuinely extraordinary.
Some are classics because nobody wants to admit they’re hard work.
And some — like Sandinista! — are classics because someone forgot to turn the tape machine off.
Now it’s over to you.
Which albums do you pretend to love?
Which “masterpieces” do you quietly hide behind the sofa?
The comment section awaits your sins.
The Listening Log 
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