My friends and I all have wildly different tastes in music and I think there’s a lot of value in that. While some listen to more mainstream stuff, some listen to older things, we all have different tastes. It makes us unique. However, when I’m out with my friends, I have officially been banned from playing music. I have a weird music taste and I will play things just to get a laugh. I’ve played Mario Kart music in the car or started playing terrible soundcloud rap music when things get quiet. However as a result of this ban, I have gotten to listen to all of my friends’ music choices. No two friends of mine have similar music tastes. However as a result of this ban, I have gotten to listen to all of my friends’ music choices. No two friends of mine have similar music tastes. So that’s why I decided to ask my friends what their favorite albums were so that I could sit down, listen to them in full and then review them and give my opinions on them. I’ve chosen three friends to give me three different albums, all of these albums differ in genre so it should be an interesting experience.

Mya chose Walls by Louis Tomlinson. This is Louis Tomlinson’s debut album after his career as a member of One Direction, released in 2020. Going into this, I wasn’t expecting much. Former boyband member’s debut album? Boring. But I was pleasantly surprised. Now I don’t think this is an amazing album but it is a comfortably good album. It’s a pretty standard debut album. He’s not pulling out the big guns and doing some crazy concept album but he’s doing what he knows best, radio pop-rock. This album is definitely stable. All the songs sound like they’re off the same album but as a result, none of them stand out too majorly. The inspiration on this album is painfully clear. It’s Oasis. This album feels like you made an AI listen to Oasis’ entire catalog and recreate it. Despite me saying that none of the songs stand out, there were two. Fearless and Only The Brave. I’m a sucker for those really toned down calm tracks towards the end of albums. It’s such a clichéd way to end an album but I love it so much where you go from these super hype loud songs to like soft little guitar or piano tunes. Fearless is a good song because it’s one of those reminiscing tracks about your past and I am a sucker for those kinds of tracks. Only the Brave is the final track on this album and it’s a really good way to close it out. It’s a simple guitar track and the vocals have that Lofi fuzz on top and it’s just really calming to listen to. My favorite track off this album would have to be Only The Brave.

Chance chose This Is War by Thirty Seconds to Mars. This is the third studio album from the band released in 2009. I really enjoyed this album. My only prior experience with Thirty Seconds To Mars was when I was deep into my emo phase and I’d listen to The Kill on repeat. It’s a really interesting combination of sounds and genres. It’s primarily alternative rock but has elements of prog rock that really resonated with me. The average track length is about 4-5 minutes which is a lot longer than the standard 3-4 minutes but they make sure to pack every second full of worthwhile listening. Jared Leto is a really talented singer and his talent really shines through on this album. This is also just a really energetic album. It feels super motivational and even the slower songs are still really energetic. This definitely feels of the era. In the 2000’s there was a lot of anthemic, people uniting rock music and this fits right in. It also has some interesting electronic bits blended in that fit really well. This is a great album if you like rock music and prog rock. My favorite track off this album is Search And Destroy.

Jasmine chose The Life Pursuit by Belle and Sebastian. This is the seventh studio album from the indie pop group. It was released in 2006. This is a pretty solid album. I only knew a couple of Belle and Sebastian songs prior to listening to this album but this album was much better than expected. It’s a really calm, pleasant experience. What I like about this album is just how seasonally appropriate it feels. Considering we’re just starting to enter fall this album feels like apple cider and orange leaves on trees. What I like is that it’s a really easy album to listen to, much like Walls by Louis Tomlinson. You’re not investing a huge amount of emotional energy into it. You can just put it on and sit back and relax. I feel like this album would be right at home at a pumpkin patch and with good reason I quite like this album and I will definitely be re-listening to it. You can just put it on and sit back and relax. I feel like this album would be right at home at a pumpkin patch and with good reason I quite like this album and I will definitely be re-listening to it. I am also a sucker for albums that have a track and then a sequel to the track. I am also a sucker for albums that have a track and then a sequel to the track., in this case with Act of the Apostle and Act of the Apostle II. My favorite track off this album is Funny Little Frog

As it stands we all have varying tastes in music. In genre, era and just in general. While usually that would mean we have absolutely nothing in common and nothing to bond over, you’d be incredibly wrong. I listen to very specific genres of music and I don’t stray out of them that often so for me this was a really good exercise in listening to some different genres, some different artists and really just expanding my taste in music. I even ended up adding a few songs off each album to my playlist. While yes I have been banned from playing music with my friends, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Because you’ve got to let other people take the spotlight sometimes. If there’s anything to take away from this experience it’s that my friends have some pretty good taste in music and I’ll definitely be asking more of my friends for their favorite albums, songs, and artists.