[StarQuality]

Hello people,

I think it's time for me to work through my CD collection. Basically, I listen to all kinds of music. I love music and I don't want to restrict myself to only one particular genre. For instance, when I was younger, I used to listen to a lot of rock music. Lately, however, I've been listening to mainly contemporary r&b. So I think there are CD's in my CD collection for every taste. So be prepared, you've been warned... I don't want some rock fanatics dissing r&b artists in this thread and other way round. I've always been open-minded when it comes to music.

Btw, I made a conscious choice not to include Finnish bands or artists in this thread, since they are not that popular outside Finland. But there are probably going to be a couple of exceptions. We'll see.

OK, let's get started!

[StarQuality]

AALIYAH - AGE AIN'T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER (1994)



Age Ain't Nothing But A Number (1994), Aaliyah's debut album, has a typical 90's sound and a summery feel. It is produced by R.Kelly and is perhaps for that very reason reminiscent of R.Kelly's own style. Aaliyah's style can be described as "street but sweet" on the album; indeed, the essential sound of the album consists of Aaliyah's soft vocals over rough, hip hop beats. Aaliyah's voice sounds surprisingly mature on the album considering that she was only 14 when she recorded it. In addition to the obvious hits, the album has some hidden gems on it. However, I wouldn't recommend this album to anyone but hardcore Aaliyah fans because it sounds a little bit dated - unless you're a big fan of the 90's music.

01. Intro 10/10
02. Throw Your Hands Up 8/10
03. Back & Forth 10/10
04. Age Ain't Nothing But A Number 9/10
05. Down With The Clique 8/10
06. At Your Best (You Are Love) 10/10
07. No One Knows How To Love Me Quite Like You Do 7/10
08. I'm So Into You 7/10
09. Street Thing 7/10
10. Young Nation 10/10
11. Old School 5/10
12. I'm Down 7/10
13. The Thing I Like 6/10
14. Back & Forth (Mr Lee & R.Kelly's Remix) 9/10

Overall Grade: 8/10

Favorite Track: Back & Forth, At Your Best (You Are Love), Young Nation
Least Favorite Track: Old School

[pepster]

Awesome start to your collection

Favorite songs from that album are Back & Forth and At Your Best (You Are Love) of course.

[StarQuality]

AALIYAH - ONE IN A MILLION (1996)



Aaliyah’s sophomore album, One In A Million (1996), is one of the first albums that introduced Timbaland’s hot beats to a wider audience. Perhaps for this very reason, the album sounded fresh and unique at the time of its release. There are seven Timbaland/Missy Elliot produced tracks on the album – Hot Like Fire, One In A Million, If Your Girl Only Knew, 4 Page Letter, Heartbroken, Never Comin’ Back, and Ladies In Da House. The other tracks are produced by a variety of producers; these names include for instance Rodney Jerkins (Everything’s Gonna Be Alright), Jermaine Dupri (I Gotcha Back), and Diane Warren (The One I Gave My Heart To). Overall, it’s a solid r&b album, and I would recommend this album for anyone interested in r&b, since it has become a true classic. This was the first album by Aaliyah that I ever listened to, and I instantly fell in love with it.

01. Beats 4 Da Streets (Intro) 9/10
02. Hot Like Fire 9/10
03. One In A Million 10/10
04. A Girl Like You 10/10
05. If Your Girl Only Knew 10/10
06. Choosey Lover (Old School/New School) 7/10
07. Got To Give It Up 8/10
08. 4 Page Letter 8/10
09. Everything's Gonna Be Alright 9/10
10. Giving You More 9/10
11. I Gotcha' Back 9/10
12. Never Givin' Up 10/10
13. Heartbroken 6/10
14. Never Comin' Back 8/10
15. Ladies In Da House 6/10
16. The One I Gave My Heart To 9/10
17. Came To Give Love (Outro) 8/10

Overall Grade: 8,5/10

Favorite Track: One In A Million, A Girl Like You, If Your Girl Only Knew, Never Givin' Up
Least Favorite Track: Heartbroken, Ladies In Da House

[Tiger]

AALIYAH - AGE AIN'T NOTHING BUT A NUMBER

4. Age Ain't Nothing But A Number 9/10
6. At Your Best (You Are Love) 10/10

Good start there! Woo for Age Ain't Nothing But A Number and At Your Best (You Are Love) although I'm not sure I know either...

AALIYAH - ONE IN A MILLION

3. One In A Million 10/10
5. If Your Girl Only Knew 10/10
16. The One I Gave My Heart To 9/10

Can't say I'm too familiar with her songs but still woo for One In A Million, If Your Girl Only Knew and maybe The One I Gave My Heart To although again not sure I know it

[StarQuality]

AALIYAH - AALIYAH (2001)



Aaliyah's Aaliyah (2001) still sounds fresh today, IMO. Probably because it introduces a great variety of styles; the album consists of rock inspired r&b tracks (I Can Be, What If), latin inspired beats (Read Between The Lines), and it also has some oriental influences on it (We Need A Resolution, More Than A Woman). Timbaland has produced only four tracks on this album (We Need A Resolution, More Than A Woman, I Care 4 U, Try Again). The other producers worth mentioning are Rapture and E.Seats (Keybeats Inc.)(Loose Rap, Rock The Boat, Extra Smooth, U Got Nerve, It's Whatever, Those Were The Days). This is my absolute favorite album by Aaliyah, and I never get tired of listening to this. I recommend this album to everyone. The album has meaningful lyrics, hot beats, and great vocals. What more could you wish for?

01. We Need A Resolution 10/10
02. Loose Rap 9/10
03. Rock The Boat 9/10
04. More Than A Woman 9/10
05. Never No More 8/10
06. I Care 4 U 9/10
07. Extra Smooth 7/10
08. Read Between The Lines 9/10
09. U Got Nerve 7/10
10. I Refuse 9/10
11. It's Whatever 8/10
12. I Can Be 10/10
13. Those Were The Days 9/10
14. What If 10/10
15. Try Again 10/10

Overall Grade: 9/10

Favorite Track: We Need A Resolution, I Can Be, What If, Try Again
Least Favorite Track: Extra Smooth, U Got Nerve

[pepster]

Woo more Aaliyah

From One In A Million I like

One In A Million
If Your Girl Only Knew
4 Page Letter
The One I Gave My Heart

From Aaliyah I like

We Need A Resolution
Rock The Boat
More Than A Woman
I Care 4
Try Again

[Tiger]

AALIYAH - AALIYAH

1. We Need A Resolution 10/10
3. Rock The Boat 9/10
4. More Than A Woman 9/10
6. I Care 4 U 9/10
15. Try Again 10/10

Oooh I realised I like quite a bit from this album including my favourite song of hers, We Need A Resolution - so of course woo for that, and also Rock The Boat, More Than A Woman, I Care 4 U (Not sure I know it, but I think I do) and Try Again

[StarQuality]

AALIYAH - I CARE 4 U (2003)



Aaliyah's posthumously released greatest hits compilation, I Care 4 U (2003), has 8 major hits and 6 previously unreleased tracks - Don't Know What To Tell Ya, All I Need, Miss You, Don't Worry, Come Over, and Erica Kane. This album is essential for every Aaliyah fan, since it contains previously unreleased material. However, this album is not a great greatest hits compilation for people who are not already familiar with Aaliyah's music; too many essential tracks are not included in the tracklist (like If Your Girl Only Knew, or The One I Gave My Heart To).

01. Back & Forth 10/10
02. Are You That Somebody 10/10
03. One In A Million 10/10
04. I Care 4 U 9/10
05. More Than A Woman 9/10
06. Don't Know What To Tell Ya 9/10
07. Try Again 10/10
08. All I Need 8/10
09. Miss You 10/10
10. Don't Worry 8/10
11. Come Over 9/10
12. Erica Kane 6/10
13. At Your Best (You Are Love) 10/10
14. Got To Give It Up (Remix) 7/10
15. We Need A Resolution 10/10
16. Rock The Boat 9/10

Overall Grade: 9/10

Favorite Track (not included on previous albums): Are You That Somebody, Miss You
Least Favorite Track (not included on previous albums): Erica Kane

[jszmiles]

yeah great artist. I will put "Rock The Boat" as my fav. and "Erica Kane" isnt worst song IMO...

[Jon]

You are an Aaliyah fan.

[StarQuality]

[Dalmatin]

alphabetically I would say Aerosmith

[Tiger]

AALIYAH - I CARE 4 U

2. Are You That Somebody 10/10
3. One In A Million 10/10
4. I Care 4 U 9/10
5. More Than A Woman 9/10
6. Don't Know What To Tell Ya 9/10
7. Try Again 10/10
9. Miss You 10/10
12. Erica Kane 6/10
13. At Your Best (You Are Love)10/10
14. Got To Give It Up (Remix) 7/10
15. We Need A Resolution 10/10
16. Rock The Boat 9/10

Well I like more songs than I thought Woo for Are You That Somebody, One In A Million, I Care 4 U, More Than A Woman, Try Again, Miss You, We Need A Resolution and Rock The Boat.

Woo also for Got To Give It Up (not sure I know it or the remix version), At Your Best (You Are Love), Erica Kane and Don't Know What To Tell Ya which I'm not 100% sure I know...

[BanZai]

I got all 4 cd's you mentioned, and I think they're all GREAT. "Aaliyah" must be my favourite. The album is so fresh. And not dated at all.

Aaliyah is still the best female R&B singer for me.
I love her

[potojr]

[StarQuality]

[matthew_dixon]

unless you're an AC/DC fan of course.

Can't be Brit-rockers A though, as they're just about the only act that would come BEFORE Aaliyah in the alphabet

[Dalmatin]

[StarQuality]

[StarQuality]

[StarQuality]

[StarQuality]

OK, here is one more Aaliyah album, I'll reveal the band after this review.

AALIYAH - ULTIMATE AALIYAH (2005)



Aaliyah's latest greatest hits compilation, Ultimate Aaliyah (2005), is a three-disc box set. Disc 1 features her 16 greatest hits, disc 2 some rare tracks, and disc 3 is a dvd - a 60 minute documentary about her career. This compilation is, in my opinion, her best greatest hits compilation, since it has all of her major hits on one CD. The songs on disc 2, however, are not that rare, since I had them all before I bought the box set. I would definitely recommend this box set for everybody who hasn't heard Aaliyah's music before. However, this box set doesn't offer anything new to the fans except, perhaps, the DVD and great album cover artwork.

CD 1 GREATEST HITS

01. One In A Million 10/10
02. If Your Girl Only Knew 10/10
03. Hot Like Fire 9/10
04. The One I Gave My Heart To 9/10
05. Got To Give It Up 8/10
06. 4 Page Letter 8/10
07. We Need A Resolution 10/10
08. Rock The Boat 9/10
09. More Than A Woman 9/10
10. I Care 4 U 9/10
11. Try Again 10/10
12. Back & Forth 10/10
13. Are You That Somebody 10/10
14. Don't Know What To Tell Ya 9/10
15. Miss you 10/10
16. At Your Best (You Are Love) 10/10

CD 2 ARE YOU FEELIN' ME

01. Are You Feelin' Me 9/10
02. Messed Up 10/10
03. Come Back In One Piece (feat. DMX) 8/10
04. I Don't Wanna 10/10
05. Man Undercover (Aaliyah/Timbaland) 7/10
06. John Blaze (Aaliyah/Missy Elliot) 9/10
07. I Am Music (Aaliyah/Timbaland/Static of Playa) 9/10
08. More Than A Woman (Bump N Flex Club Mix) 6/10
09. Hold On (Wyclef Jean & Timbaland - Dedication to Aaliyah) 9/10

DVD 3 THE AALIYAH STORY

60 minute documentary; includes rare behind the scenes footage, promo video clips and interviews with Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, P.Diddy, Damon Dash & Timbaland.

Overall Grade: 9/10

Favorite Track (on disc 2): Messed Up, I Don't Wanna
Least Favorite Track (on disc 2): More Than A Woman (Bump N Flex Club Mix)

[Tiger]

AALIYAH - ULTIMATE AALIYAH

1. One In A Million 10/10
2. If Your Girl Only Knew 10/10
4. The One I Gave My Heart To 9/10
5. Got To Give It Up 8/10
7. We Need A Resolution 10/10
8. Rock The Boat 9/10
9. More Than A Woman 9/10
10. I Care 4 U 9/10
11. Try Again 10/10
13. Are You That Somebody 10/10
14. Don't Know What To Tell Ya 9/10
15. Miss you 10/10
16. At Your Best (You Are Love) 10/10

8. More Than A Woman (Bump N Flex Club Mix) 6/10

WELL now woo for One In A Million, If Your Girl Only Knew, We Need A Resolution, Rock The Boat, More Than A Woman, I Care 4 U, Try Again and More Than A Woman (the original)

Woo also for At Your Best (You Are Love), Miss You, Don't Know What To Tell Ya, Are You That Somebody, Got To Give It Up and The One I Gave My Heart To which I'm not sure I know...

[StarQuality]

^Thanks everybody for commenting, btw...

AEROSMITH - AEROSMITH (1973)



Aerosmith (1973) is Aerosmith's debut album. When Aerosmith started, their basic influences were original English bands (The Yardbirds, etc.). Also, black soul bands had influenced their style a bit. Even though I'm not personally that familiar with old English bands or soul bands either, I'd imagine these influences are audible on this album. Aerosmith certainly sounds different on this album compared to the Aerosmith we're familiar with nowadays. Dream On, their first single ever, is a ballad though, and I've always associated their music with beautiful rock ballads. The music sounds very 70's on this album, but I think that's a plus. It is worth mentioning, however, that this album was something new/fresh at the time of its release.

01. Make It 9/10
02. Somebody 8/10
03. Dream On 10/10
04. One Way Street 9/10
05. Mama Kin 10/10
06. Write Me 7/10
07. Movin' Out 8/10
08. Walkin' The Dog 7/10

Overall Grade: 8,5/10

Favorite Track: Dream On, Mama Kin
Least Favorite Track: Write Me, Walkin' The Dog