Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I'm always open to new music recommendations. This book is nicely set out into sections, and the author includes similar sounds should you find that you really like one of their recommendations. I appreciated that the author did not include music made before a certain time period, as some of these books can be very repetitive.

Idiosyncratic, anglo-focused, but still really interesting selection of albums with a wide lens but also a clear focus on indie and rock the 80s, 80s, and Noughtys. The selections are organized by theme, and there were enough albums in here that I loved to make me really interested in the albums I'd never heard of. Might actually work better as an in depth podcast, but I read it with headphones in and spotify on, sampling as I went. Enjoyable.

One of things I love about music is that it spawns so many lists, best album, best single, best drummer etc. etc. But what makes it more enjoyable is seeing someone else's list, be it friend or book or article, and arguing with it, ripping it to shreds and replacing it with your own. And although I did some ripping there were some that would probably be on my own list. Not many but some. Enjoyable.

An interesting book. Obviously written with the author in mind (their choices). As an individual you may not agree with their choices but as you read you can understand why they made them.

I thought I loved great music but this was pretty ho-hum for me. I was hoping to discover some new artists but the ones recommended just didn't do much for me. It is definitely slanted towards punk, rap, R&B and some rock and pop. Johnny Cash is the only country artist and it's his last album where he covered songs like Hurt (I agree it's an awesome album). There are no folk albums featured, not even by greats like Jason Isbell. Other greats are left out like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, the Violent Femmes, the Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Joe Cocker, Mary J. Blige, Willie Nelson, Simon and Garfunkle, Adele, U2, Tom Petty, the Beatles.... Kanye makes the cut but B.B. King doesn't. I like Lizzo, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Blondie well enough, but I'm not sure I'd put them higher than many who were left out. The albums are mostly from the last 20 years, some going back to the 80's, but nothing before that. There was no great music in the 60's? Huh. There were so many barely known bands and singers that it could be argued that this was one of those compilations of great music most people don't know about, but then why include so many like Madonna, Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Eminem?

I dutifully pulled up youtube and played songs from over half of the albums listed, and I didn't really enjoy any of them that I didn't already know. Sorry, this just didn't do it for me.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

A fun, informative read, shedding light on some overlooked great music. Quick, easy to read yet well written.

As a woman working in the music industry, for me this is everything that's wrong with it in book format. Some guy telling you he's going to wow you with some great records to listen to, that aren't at all predictable, and then giving you the most obvious list imaginable. It's almost formulaic in its construction - a few classics, a few curveballs, a few recent titles that likely won't age well but are zeitgeist-y, a few diversity picks, a few random genres (just don't push it out too far)....
Additionally, it's all delivered in a weird factual tone, completely lacking in any passion or enthusiasm for the music involved. I'd have given this more stars if the author actually demonstrated any kind of excitement for his subject matter, but instead it's all delivered in a po-faced epic mansplaining sermon.
I love great music. I don't love this book.

I waffled between three and four on this one and settled on 3.5. Goodreads doesn't allow half stars so I'm rounding down.

This is a coffee table style book presenting 100 albums from from the past four decades that the author believes to have been significantly influential. The inherent problem in books like this will always be the intensity of personal taste when it comes to music, which means that none of them will ever hit the mark 100% for everyone. That being said, this is a good "beginners" selection of some momentous albums in the decades since the 80s, from Prince to Arcade Fire, Beastie Boys to MIA.

Having stated the above disclaimer, of course the main issue I had with this selection was that there wasn't much new for me to glean from it as someone with more than an amateur knowledge of the topic. While the blurb stated that Robin Murray chose to stay away from the traditional "best album of all time" heavy hitters like the Beatles and Clash, the list is still fairly safe insofar as many of the albums and bands will be instantly recognizable to fans of the album as a format. Radiohead's Kid A is on almost every best album of all time list I've ever seen, and despite claiming to stay away from bands like the Clash, there's literally a Clash album included in here. Granted, it's Sandinista, but still!

But hey, Kraftwerk's on here and the author spends a decent amount of time referencing the influence Krautrock's had on modern music so I can't complain too much. Also, the "listen to these if you like this" blurbs for each album is a great way to find some newer, maybe lesser known artists.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Press.**

Listen to This If You Love Great Music is an interesting and accessible examination of 100 iconic albums presented and curated by Robin Murray. Due out 6th April 2021 from Quarto on their Ivy Press imprint, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

I've reviewed a couple other books with the same format from this publisher (great art and great photography). This one does follow the same general layout: artists, album name, the date, and a description and commentary. Additionally, each of the entries contains further resources for a deeper look at allied artists' works, and further links to explore for similar relevant photographs or videos.

I'm not sure if music is just -so- much more polarizing or if I have weird taste in music (or both, probably both), but very very few of these really added anything to the conversation for me personally. I think for many readers who are more enamored of the new/alternative/post-punk landscape, this book will have a lot more relevance.

It's well written, thoughtful, and well defended by the author, who is quite clearly expert in his field. Three stars for me (who, when the phrase "great music" is uttered assumes the discussion will cover music written by composers dead for a few centuries), likely four+ for the intended audience.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This is a great collection of albums, crossing musical genres. The format is accessible and attractive, and there’s plenty of extra info including similar sounds, representative tracks, and videos to watch. I recommend to anyone interested in widening their music base.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for honest feedback.

Like most people, I love music. And like most people, I have opinions on music. It seems like music is one of those things that invites strong opinions, especially when it involves “top artists” or “top bands of the ____” lists. I know I’ve personally scoffed at a list or two, or the inclusion of one artist over my preferred choice. It’s the nature of lists, the nature of opinions.

So of course I wanted to see what this book had to say. The title itself tempted me; of course I love great music. So what should I be listening to?

This collection showcases the author’s selections from a post-punk era, with most the late 80s/90s into modern day. Separated into themes, you get the selected artist along with suggested top 3 songs and extra listening/watching/reading if you’re interested after reading the blurb. Each page looks like one of those “top x” lists which features a full color picture, the artist, and a short quip about them.

Some of the artists I was like “really?” But most of them (like, 9:10) made sense. There was a variety of genres included, but most are UK/US based artists. The added context provided by the blurb helps anyone who hasn’t heard of the artist understand why they’re included in the thematic chapters.

Closing thoughts: I think this book would be a cool gift for someone who is a total music geek. They probably wouldve heard of everyone in this book, but the layout and the style of the book characterizes this collection as something you could display as a coffee table style read or a convo (or debate) starter. Cool idea.

Robin Murray is the editor of clashmusic.com, and in this book he shares his opinions about the best 100 albums from the last four decades. This is a very UK heavy list, but there are some entries from the US and a few from other countries. The majority of the albums listed are not that well-known, so there were quite a few that were from artists that I have never heard of. But of course that’s the point of this book, to get you to expand your music library. I will admit to having a few objections to some of the entries, most notably the strong implication that The Stone Roses were the band that put Manchester on the map (I think Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths, Factory Records, and The Hacienda might have something to say about that). But again this is one man’s opinion, so you have to take all this with a grain of salt. And I did get a few ideas for new bands to check out. Overall this was an entertaining read, and I’d recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Ivy Press for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Listen To This If You Love Great Music is an interesting read and a perfect coffee table book. The book features 100 albums from the last 40 years. Some you will remember fondly, some not so much and in my case some I had not even heard of. In each case the writer offers his insight into the album, offering a different perspective to maybe some of your favourite albums of all time.

I love reading on my kindle but this really is a case of when a book works better, full of pictures and more a book to flick through rather than reading in page order. Interesting to flick through but too varied for an in-depth read in my case. Personally I would have preferred the albums to be more mainstream and closer to my individual taste to get more out of the book. I would certainly pick this up while in a waiting room but not for a good solid read.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Ivy Press for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a music obsessive, the premise of this book is brilliant and I expected to fall squarely within the target audience. I really liked the themes the author used to categorise the albums. I also liked the inclusion of other albums to try if you enjoy a particular featured album, and actually found some new music through this.

However I am surprised that the focus of the book was so heavily set on modern albums rather than some of the earlier classics. The book is described as covering albums from the last 40 plus years, but I found very few albums from the early 1980s and the majority seemed to be from the last 20 years. Also I appreciate that the description notes the usual classics are not included, but I did expect more popular bands and acts to be included! Maybe my musical taste is just too old and too mainstream!

With thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Ivy Press for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always open to this kind of "100 albums to listen to while you still can" book. Starting after punk, it's cleverly structured into 10 albums in each of 10 sections which range from right first time (debut albums) and one-off wonders to music to fall asleep to (ambientish, rather than dull) and going out with a bang. You can take issue with some of the choices of course (Oasis) and the 1980s seem under-represented (The Fall?) but there are plenty of good calls, links and suggestions. There's the odd mistake (The Model was a hit in 1982) and some repetitious use of hyperbole (Debbie Harry "had already lived a hundred lives or more" on p 53; Sharon Jones "had lived a thousand lives" on p. 58) and it can be a bit hipper than thou, but on balance there's a lot to enjoy here.

An interesting addition to the music recommendation books, with the twist that all the music comes from 1980 onward. Although as usual, music is a personal thing and I'm not sure I would agree with some of the author's selections as "must listens". On the other hand, it's a fun read with great pictures, and I really appreciated the time frame of his choices, since that was the time I really started finding new music on my own. This book is definitely not the definitive best of list, but it's a good place to start finding some great music. (Bonus points for the "Like this? Try these!" section included for each entry... I found some good albums I'd missed in there.)

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Press for the opportunity to read Listen to This If You Love Great Music in return for my honest opinions.

Very interesting concept, from punk era onwards the author selected 100 tracks and explains why. Explore the genre, band, lyrics and see links to similar music. This was my era and found quite a few bands I never heard of but will go back through book and play the music. Thank you #netgalley

I enjoyed the structure and information in this quick read. While I don’t especially agree with the music and album selection, I liked reading about details I didn’t know previously.

One more entrant for the shelf set aside for those 'x amount of records you must love before you die' books, and one of the weaker ones possible, musically. Writing-wise, our journalist friend can guide us through his one-page introductions to his selection of albums, with the usual box-out of factoids, further watching, and three selections from other performers a lover of the album would like. But his taste so rarely collided with mine, even if he did get to start the whole shebang off with 'The Stone Roses'. You will never see more than a dozen of these discs on my shelves, and there are copious reasons why. Cassie? Songwriting-wise, I've known more dynamics in a pot of yoghurt. Plain yoghurt. Young Marble Giants? Ineptness Abounds, more like. Lizzo? Lizzo?????????

If you're coming here for appraisals of known indisputable classics (your "Graceland", your insert-favourite-here), you come in vain. If you're coming here for the records that are one person and one person alone's Desert Island Discs (Rob Dougan counts for me and no mistake), you come in vain. No, what you get is a look back over the last forty years at things that were trendy at one time. Many journalists could have flicked back through their archive and found their more noted, meaningful platters and told us they matter, and in being so broad as regards genres, and so notably smaller than similar books elsewhere, this instance of that happening did not exactly convince. Too much here will never be in the canon of must-owns. And including a set that's a compilation and not a studio album is a cheat.