In Utero

A very cohesive listen. The sequencing is particularly impressive.

I was skeptical of the hype but this completely lives up to it.

The instrumentation is gorgeous throughout. Really well produced.

Revisiting this for what must be my 200th listen and it still gives me chills at the same moments. The mark of a truly great album is that it never loses its power no matter how familiar it becomes. If anything, knowing what's coming makes the anticipation even better. I played this for a friend recently who had somehow never heard it, and watching their face during certain moments was like experiencing it for the first time all over again. The sharp intake of breath during that one transition. The slow smile spreading during the climax. This album connects on a primal level that transcends taste or genre preference.

Somehow sounds even better decades later.

There's a before and after with this album. It changed everything.

Every generation has a handful of perfect albums. This is one of them.