100albums

[100albumsin2026]

album #4 5/1/2026

Waiting by Thursday 1999

7.5/10

After reading many negative-ish reviews, I was a bit worried about listening to Waiting as my first introduction to Thursday. I really wanted to like this album and everyone seemed to be saying it was their worst work.

Yesn't?

I can see how it's not their best, the vocals are rough, the lyrics sometimes awkward, and the songs are occasionally forgettable but I really really really enjoyed this record!

I get it, it's generally a good album, but in context to Thursday's discography, it's a bit meh.

But if it can get a complete Thursday novice like me into the band, then there must be something good about it.

To be fair, I wasn't super into it on first listen, but then I kept relistening for the past two days, and now I'm watching crusty concert footage where the stench of warped tour transcends space and time.

So yeah, now I want to know what they were putting in the water in New Jersey from 1996 to 2010. And I want whatever it is.

[100albumsin2026]

album #3 - 2/2/2026

Parachutes by Frank Iero and the patience

7.5/10

Frank could burp in a mic for 3 hours and i would listen and probably enjoy it too.

His music is everything to me, so it was surprising to me when I realised I hadn't listened to Parachutes in its entirety. I definitely have heard the majority of the album as individual tracks, but as a complete album? Shockingly no...

Parachutes, like most of his solo work, is to put it simply about ~life~ (so deep wow). Frank ponders on life, death, mental health and addiction with his raw, whiny voice over noisy guitars. This is a good thing, how it's supposed to be, like a frog in a lily pad.

I enjoyed virtually everything about Parachutes. I love the rawness of the lyrics and his voice, I love hearing the peaceful country ballad "Miss me" halfway through a punk album, I love the punky, fast guitars and drums. This is a near-perfect record for me.

I say near-perfect because, as a Frank solo music connoisseur, Parachutes pales in comparison to the rest of his discography. This really speaks to how good his music is (Barriers is objectively his magnum opus).

The single and only reason I'm giving this album a 7.5 instead of 10 is simply that it's not Barriers. Nothing could ever beat Barriers. Barriers is my everything.

[100albumsin2026]

album #2- 2/1/2026

Etiquette by Casiotone for the painfully alone

6.5/10

If being a depressed 25-year-old had a sound, Etiquette by Casiotone for the painfully alone would be it.

Owen Ashworth (the Tame Impala of Casiotone ("Did you know Tame Impala was one guy?!?!") ) mumbles over eerie keyboard keys for 30 minutes in a way that's akin to revisiting old photographs from past frat parties that you were unwillingly dragged to by your drunk friend Vicky.

I did quite enjoy this album; the lo-fi sound was unconventional and worked well with his dry vocals. The best parts of Etiquette lie in its sound. It's minimalistic, made up mostly by Owen's keyboard, a drum set and probably other instruments that i don't know the names of.

I tried to conjure up something negative about this album to add more nuance to my review, but I was unable to come up with anything. I'm not going to call Etiquette flawless, though. While I did enjoy it and I'm definitely going to relisten, it just didn't do it for me.

I think we can just chalk that up to personal taste. If you live in Portland, this is definitely for you.

Etiquette is nonetheless good, just good. I can see myself returning to this album eventually.

Some highlights of mine include 'Nashville Parthenon,' 'I Love Creedence,' and 'Bobby Malone Moves Home.' I can't really tell you what made these songs stand out to me, well, they're really catchy, I guess? But they're (like the rest of the album) good.

[100albumsin2026]

album #1 -1/1/2026-

American football by American football 1999

7/10

I have been known to dabble in Midwest emo, but I've only scraped the surface of the genre since I have friends and whatever.

My first introduction to American football was Never Meant, I like many others have heard this song to death. But despite it being so insanely overplayed I still haven't gotten sick of it, maybe it's only a matter of time till i start getting tired of hearing it but for now i think it speaks to how much of masterpiece it is. The instrumentals are dreamy and entrancing and after hearing that guitar riff, i looked at my guitar and I swear to god i could hear it audibly sigh in disappointment.

But if I had to choose my favourite track, it would be The Summer Ends, let me tell you this was my SHIT last summer. I'm in love with the trumpet sequences (which is also one of my favourite things about the album in general). And in my opinion, this song contains some of the strongest lyrics in the album. They are melancholic and vague, which works in its favour and gives a hazy nostalgic feeling.

As much as I loved this album, it's easier to talk about and listen to as a collective. At times, the tracks sound so similar that they tend to bleed into each other. I can see how that could be enjoyable to someone but for me it really makes hard to re-listen to.

The vague nostalgia and hazy melancholy sound of the album blends the songs together even more. And I think this is mostly a personal issue, but to me, the "sameness" of everything didn't make any tracks stand out from the rest.

Overall, I did really enjoy this album, and I can see how unique and revolutionary it was. Despite being made in 1999, the sound is so timeless that I could see it being made in 2015 or even in 2025.

[100albumsin2026]

I'm Mia, and I love music

In fact, i love it so much to the point where I listened to 52 albums in 2025 (that's 1 album a week)

I think with what I call the "playlistfication" of music has made me and a lot of people forget the magic of the album. I'm a big fan of playlists, don't get me wrong, but when I listened to all my music on curated playlists based of "vibes" I tend overlook the intention and effort that goes into picking what songs to include and what order to put them in.

After prioritising albums instead of playlists, I started listening to music more intention and purpose, i started noticing a story in the music , it made me decenter the internet from my music taste and build my own unique taste. And most importantly: my appreciation and love for music has done nothing but grow.

However, I think the 1 album a week format i used was not really my thing, it felt too restrictive and i feel like i could have listened to double the amount if i didn't restrict myself to 1 album each week.

So for the new year, I will listen to 100 albums during the course of the year and share my thoughts here, i don't think many people will see this blog but nonetheless i have MANY opinions and i WILL share them with the void.

and please, please, if you feel so inclined, send me some recommendations!!!

Anywho, here's a bit about me and thanks for reading this long ass intro.

fave artists in order : My Chemical Romance, Joy Division/New Order, Lady Gaga, The Smashing Pumpkins, Paramore, David Bowie, The Cure

best album of all time: The Black Parade

AOTY(2025): Ego death at a Bachlorette party- Hayley Williams

Worst AOTY(2025): Life of a showgirl- Taylor Swift