Explore every episode of the podcast The Great Albums

Bill and Brian welcome author Rich Tupica to the podcast to discuss Chris Bell's I Am the Cosmos! Rich literally wrote the book on Chris Bell (There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star), so listen in to his unique insights to a special album.

In this mail bag episode, Bill and Brian read some emails and messages from listeners. We talk about why we aren't on Spotify, what's the Millennial "Smells Like Teen Spirit," great pickle ball movies, get some input from European listeners on what the Are You Experienced track list is over there, and much more!

Bill and Brian get into all the things that make the Go-Go's Beauty & the Beat (1981, I.R.S. Records) a great album! Jane Wiedlin and Charlotte Caffey's songwriting, the band's punk rock attitude, what's the problem with Robert Christgau, and much more as we make our way through this album track by track!

Bill and Brian welcome Ryan Hanratty and Bill Greenwood. Ryan and Bill have been handling all the cool social media content everyone's been seeing recently. Ryan edits videos that make us look funny and Bill has been getting our names out in the press. Find out what music they love, the first albums they bought, and what was the best sandwich to get at the Rider University diner. Full episode at patreon.com/thegreatalbums

Bill and Brian talk about what makes Are You Experienced by the Jimi Hendrix Experience great! We examine how the power trio's debut expanded the possibilities of rock guitar, pairing blues and rock & roll foundations with psychedelic experimentation, unusual effects, and a wide emotional range. Working through the original 11-track U.S. edition, we dig into Hendrix's virtuosity and songwriting talent, Mitch Mitchell's kinetic drumming, the album's idiosyncratic production and stereo mix, and the way the album moves between enduring songs like "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," "The Wind Cries Mary," "Fire," and "Foxey Lady."

Bill and Brian are very lucky to be joined by, not one, but TWO very special guests to discuss what we love about the Promise Ring's Very Emergency (1999, Jade Tree). First up is long time friend of the podcast Jim Hanke from the spectacular Vinyl Emergency podcast. Jim shares his experiences discovering the band while coming up in Milwaukee (Algonquin for "the good land") and loving the band all through its evolution from emo to power pop and beyond. Then, Jim got us hooked up with the Promise Ring's very own Dan Didier. Dan joins us to share stories about recording the album with J. Robbins in Washington, DC. Check it all out!

Did you know the Great Albums has a Patreon with exclusive bonus content? Here's a sample of our first bonus episode in which Bill, Brian, and our good buddy Bill Greenwood discuss Jimmy Eat World's Stay on My Side Tonight (2005, Interscope), a companion EP to the previous year's Futures. You get a nice little taste of what we do, but to check out the full track-by-track review go to patreon.com/thegreatalbums and sign up for the Exclusive Content membership!

Bill and Brian dive into what they love about the Beth's debut album Future Me Hates Me (2018, Carpark) with a track-by-track review, awarding the album with the kudos we believe it justly deserves, and really just gushing about how absolutely great it is!

Bill and Brian discuss Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut (XL, 2008). We talk about what makes this album great, hand out some "awards," revisit what critics said, and do so much more as we share our first track-by-track review in 7 years!

You heard it here first! Bill and Brian will be returning with all new episodes, a fresh format, and the same great taste on June 1st. Listen in for all the details!

Bill and Brian give thanks, list our top 10 episodes, and read a bunch of emails in the midst of our indefinite hiatus.

In our final episode that'll be part of a regular release schedule, we take a look back at the first album we ever discussed, the Replacements' Let It Be (1984, Twin/Tone). Bill and Brian use the skills they've honed during their years of podcasting experience to see what a conversation revisiting the first album would sound like. Enjoy!

It's finally happening! As we reach the penultimate episode to be part of our weekly releases, Bill and Brian take the time to talk about what's great about Radiohead's OK Computer (1997, Parlophone/Capitol). Bill spends a little time talking about what happens when fans say things like they can't get into an artist or album and how it can be perceived. Then we get to the track by track review, focusing on what we enjoy in the tunes!

Author and educator Doug Robertson, AKA the Weird Teacher, joins Bill and Brian to discuss Nick Cave and the Bad Seed's Let Love In (1994, Mute Records).

Musician Sean Barna drops by to discuss the Hold Steady's sophomore effort Separation Sunday (2005, Frenchkiss).

Musician Scott Sylvester (Meeko Brando) hangs out with Bill and Brian while we discuss Sonic Youth's Murray St. (2002, DGC Records).

Writer, blogger, and vlogger Maureen Zahn joins Bill and Brian to discuss the Police's Synchronicity (1983, A&M). *There's a part in the show where we reference Synchronicity and Thriller being out in the same year. Thriller was actually released in November 1982 with this following in June 1983. However, it's worth noting that in that time period they were both eligible for the same Grammy awards ceremony in 1984.

Podcaster Rachel from We Are Weezer joins us from across the country to talk about one of her top 3 bands of all time, Garbage, and their debut self titled album (1995, Almo).

We're back from a month long break from the podcast with a Liner Notes episode. Bill and Brian discuss what they've been up to in their time off - check out Brian's new band the Extensions, and check out Bill's band Fake Pockets' entry into the Tiny Desk contest! Also, we've got a special announcement regarding the future of the podcast. Jump to 32:25 if you want to just get the bad news out of the way...

On another exciting episode of the Great Albums...Bill and Brian are joined by Matt Warren, Digital Content Manager for filmindependent.org, to discuss the Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002, Warner Bros.).

Bill and Brian are joined by musician Savannah Pope (savannahpopemusic.com) to discuss Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967, Atlantic).

Bill and Brian are joined by musician Nikki Karwacki (Finding Feebas, Triage, Batting a Thousand) to discuss Superchunk's unique brand of punk/power pop/alternative music on the album Here's Where the Strings Come In (1995, Merge).

Bill and Brian go sans guest this episode in order to dive into one of Bill's favorites from his formative years, Foo Fighters' There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999, Roswell, RCA).

Podcaster and musician David Rosen (piecingpod.com and bydavidrosen.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Tenacious D's self titled debut (2001, Epic).

Podcaster James Anderson (Unabashedly Obsessed, Kids on Bikes) steps into Brian's large shoes to cohost and help Bill discuss the Barenaked Ladies' Maroon (2000, Reprise).

Bill and Brian are joined by radio-film-book-trivia guy (really unsure how else to define him!) Vincent Onorati to discuss Depeche Mode's Violator (1990, Mute). Vinny discusses finding his people when he discovered new wave radio and Depeche Mode's output. Then he explains how he got to experience the band's breakout success while interning at his favorite radio station. Then we get into a bunch of detail about loving this album with the track by track review!

Bill and Brian don't spend much time discussing albums on this week's episode. Instead, we talk about our top favorite theme songs from TV shows!

Podcaster and journalist Cassidy Robinson (Jabber and the Drone) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Sunny Day Real Estate's debut album Diary (1994, Sub Pop). Cassidy talks about his journey of first discovering the mainstream emo of the early 2000s, not enjoying it much, then finding his way back to the genre's hardcore roots, and discovering this Sunny Day Real Estate thanks to the recommendation of a record store clerk. Plus we talk about much more as we make our way through album track by track!

Bill and Brian are joined by writer-director-producer-manager KL Martin (kaleidosightfilms.com and 3143mgmt.com) to discuss Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt (1996, Roc-A-Fella). KL talks about "stealing" this album from his cousin and being fascinated by the world it depicted. We discuss how Jay-Z fits into the 90s rap world with the Notorious BIG, Tupac, and the East Coast/West Coast dichotomy. Then we get into a whole bunch of stuff about each song!

Bill and Brian are joined by musician Justin Pope to discuss Belle and Sebastian's sophomore album If You're Feeling Sinister (1996, Jeepster). Justin tells an appropriately "twee" story about hearing Belle and Sebastian on late night radio, being unable to find the band that sang the "beautiful" tune, and then finally discovering band when his crush made him a mixtape filled with Belle and Sebastian songs. Then Bill, Brian, and Justin get into the band's sound and what "twee" means, how they evolved to the point to be sharing a stage with the bombastic New Pornographers, Douglas Coupland, Stuart Murdoch vs. Morrissey, and more as we make our through the album track by track!

Bill and Brian are joined by thegreatalbums.com blogger Jeff Fiedler to discuss his favorite albums of 2018! It's all new, all different this week, so check out where Jeff ranked albums by: Leon Bridges, Gorillaz, Albert Hammond Jr., Lake Street Dive, Paul McCartney, Kacey Musgraves, Panic! At the Disco, Natalie Press, Charlie Puth, and Richard Thompson! Check out this week's sponsor: Robinhood!

Brian tells Bill about his favorite albums of 2018! Learn a little about Brian's process and the trends he saw happening in music this year before we dive into a discussion on 10 albums from artists like: Caroline Rose, The Carters, Father John Misty, Kamasi Washington, Mitski, Pusha T, Serpentwithfeet, Soccer Mommy, Superchunk, and U.S. Girls (alphabetized to mask Brian's actual order, listen to find out who's #1!). Check out this week's sponsor: Skylight Frame! Use the code ALBUMS!

Bill and Brian open up the email inbox, check the tweets, and have some discussions about Rolling Stone, Weezer, Batman, Spiderman, and Stan Lee. Also, Bill takes a little time to update everyone on his recent health issues (it's looking pretty okay, now). Check out this week's sponsor: Skylight Frame! Use promo code ALBUMS! Also, if you're enjoying the tunes in this week's episode, that's courtesy of the Paper Jets' new album. Check it out at thepaperjets.com!

Musician Mick Chorba (thesuccessfulfailures.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss the iconic White Album (Apple, 1968) by the Beatles. It's our first episode dedicated to a single Beatles album! Yeah, it's taken us awhile to get there, but we did.

Massive Album November week 3 has arrived! Bill and Brian sit down with thegreatalbums.com blogger and Aqualung Records head, Jeff Fiedler, to discuss Supertramp's Breakfast in America (1979, A&M).

Massive Album November reaches week 2, and Bill and Brian welcome Telegraph Hill Records' Kristen Costa (telegraphhillreccords.com) to discuss No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom (1995, Trauma/Interscope).

Massive Album November week 1 is here! And Bill and Brian dive into Sheryl Crow's huge debut Tuesday Night Music Club (1993, A&M) with podcaster James Kittle. *At one point in the podcast, we debate the sales for this album because we came across a few different numbers in different places. Per RIAA.org, Tuesday Night Music Club is certified 7x platinum on 7 million units shipped in the US. Check out this week's sponsor: Audible!

Bill and Brian hang out with singer/songwriter Renee Maskin (lowlightnj.com) and discuss Father John Misty's I Love You, Honeybear (2015, Sub Pop). Check out this week's sponsor: ZipRecruiter!

Bill and Brian are joined by podcaster and author Brian Wagner (businesslifelessons.com and storybookempire.com)to discuss a-ha's debut album Hunting High and Low (1985, Warner Bros.). Brian helps us explain how a-ha is so much more than just an 80s one hit wonder (especially to the rest of the world). Then we get into Morten Harket's awesome voice, how Pal Waaktaar was the driving force behind the band's songwriting, Mags Furuholmen's distinctive keys, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bill and Brian discuss the almost lost masterpiece from Ryan Adams, Love Is Hell (2004, Lost Highway). Without a guest, we explore our own origin stories of listening to Ryan Adams before getting into the allure of a tortured artist, Ryan Adams' signature reverb/echo, which songs Ricky Fataar may or may not play on, the significance of the Hotel Chelsea, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bill and Brian hang out with musician Nick Palmer (normally, we'd link to the band's website here, but Brian and I were discussing how awesome "Generation Gap" by WAX WAV is, so click this link and go watch the kickass video for it: https://youtu.be/kWNgGz9FPic) and discuss Fugazi's Repeater (1990, Dischord). All the prerequisite talk about punk and what it means to punk happens, but we also discuss Ian MacKaye and Guy Piccioto's politically/emotionally charged lyrics that are still relevant today and the awesome musicianship of the rhythm section, Joe Lally and Brendan Canty. This and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bill and Brian couldn't pick just a single album from Harvey Danger. With 3 excellently crafted LPs, we had no idea where to start, so we decided to discuss all 3 at the same time! Bill and Brian each pick a favorite song from Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone (1997, Arena Rock/London/Slash) King James Version (2000, London/Sire), and Little by Little... (2005, Phonographic/Kill Rock Stars) and talk about what makes each song great! And check out this week's sponsors: ZipRecruiter and Audible!

Bill and Brian list their top 5 albums they enjoy listening to while avoiding looking at the cover. This week's sponsor: ZipRecruiter!

Singer-songwriter and piano rocker Matt Cook (mattcookmusic.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Sufjan Stevens' The Age of Adz (2010, Asthmatic Kitty). Matt shares his story about discovering this album as he recovered from a coma (yes, seriously, it's a wild story!) and how he was won over despite not enjoying it at first. We get into Royal Robertson's influence on the album, whether or not to tag Sufjan with the 'genius' label, reevaluating our lives when faced with our own mortality, just what synth makes those sounds, and more as we make our way through the album track by track!

Bill and Brian get into the indie-pop bliss that is Nada Surf's The Weight Is a Gift (2005, Barsuk)! Bill talks about this album accompanying him on long drives home in NJ, and Brian breaks down his new knowledge about guitar effect pedals. And of course we have a track by track review, discussing this work by Matthew Caws, Daniel Lorca, Ira Elliot, Louie Lino, and Chris Walla.

Musician Tyler Plazio (tylerplazio.com) joins Bill and Brian to discuss Blink-182's seminal pop-punk album Enema of the State (1999, MCA). Check out this week's sponsor, forhims.com!

Musician and podcaster Chris Tull (Weekend Quality) joins Bill and Brian for one final episode in the old studio to discuss XTC's landmark album, Skylarking. We talk about the contentious relationship between main songwriter Andy Partridge and producer Todd Rundgren, the album's overarching theme of birth, life, and death, Colin Moulding's generous songwriting contributions, and Dave Gregory's idiosyncratic guitar-playing all while going through the album track-by-track. This episode sponsored by Songfinch and Zip Recruiter.

In a special summer episode, Bill and Brian call each other up to discuss the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy.

While Bill is vacationing with his wife and celebrating their wedding anniversary, Brian has decided to gaze shoe-ward with longtime friend Dan Drago of the 25 O'Clock Podcast, and producer, engineer, studio owner Alex Santilli of Spice House Sound. Together, we unpack My Bloody Valentine's 1991 opus Loveless. Alex offers insight into how an album that is technically incorrect can still sound wonderful, while Dan makes us believe that soulmates may actually exist! This weeks sponsor: ForHims

Musician, producer, author, podcaster (what doesn't this guy excel at?) Jesse Cannon lends his experience and knowledge to Bill and Brian to help us discuss Refused's (apparent at the time) swan song The Shape of Punk to Come (1998, Burning Heart/Epitaph). Check out all things Jesse Cannon at jessecannon.com!