Vinyl Verdict

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by their friend Bell. Bell is here today to talk about Adam's pick, Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life". Released in 1976, it came out as the culmination of a legendary run of albums, beginning in 1972 with "Music of my Mind". Between 1974 and 1977, Stevie Wonder won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year 3 times, a record. Upon release, the album was critically praised and spawned five singles, "I Wish", "Sir Duke", "Another Star", "As" and "Isn't She Lovely" (although this one was not released as a single in the US). But will the boys critically praise this album? Will they say it "Knocks me off my Feet", or will it leave them with a "Contusion"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by Dan Besser, who this time brings his own pick! Unconventionally, Dan's pick is a maxi-single called Payback Time by the The Dysfunctional Psychedelic Waltons. As far as we can tell, the song was created for an advertising campaign by Levi's Jeans in 2003. The single contains four versions of the song, remixed by different artists. We've never covered the same song, four different ways before, but we did cover singles all the way back in Season 1. Come along with us and have a little fun with Payback Time!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by their friend, Dan Besser! Dan joins us today to talk about Adam's next pick, Igorrr's "Spirituality and Distortion". Released in 2020, it was his fourth album. A mix of avant-garde music, metal, and most perplexingly...polka, "Spirituality and Distortion" is a wildly eccentric album, named in 2024 as one of the 10 most wacky by Loudwire. But what will Dan and the boys think of the combo of blast beats and accordion? Will they dance a "Nervous Waltz" or will they think it is "Very Noise"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their new friend Wade! Better known as the hands behind the YouTube channel Dankpods , Wade was visiting us all the way from Australia. His pick for this episode, the Avishai Cohen Trio's "Gently Disturbed" was a favourite from when Wade studied jazz in university. Released in 2007, the trio at the time featured Avishai Cohen on bass, Mark Guiliana on drums and Shai Maestro on piano. At the time of recording, Shai Maestro was only 21 years old, and was considered a rising phenom in jazz music, while Avishai Cohen and Mark Guiliana were more seasoned veterans. The jazz press was warm to this album, with the Jazz Times lauding the piano work by Maestro and saying the playing by Cohen cemented him as one of the elite bassists in jazz. But what will the boys think of the album? Will it be a study of the 'structure in emotion', or will it leave them 'gently disturbed'? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined again by Sven - this time for his pick, Linkin Park's "Hybrid Theory" . Released in the distant future of the year 2000, the album was released to critical success. It spawned four singles, "One Step Closer", "In the End", "Crawling" and "Papercut", all of which charted. At the 44th Grammy Awards, "Crawling" won the award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album has gone on to be named on several Best Of and Must Own lists, but what will the boys think? Will it leave them crawling in their skin? Will it have them one step closer to the edge? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their friend and former guest, Sven. This time, Sven is here to talk about Jamie's next pick, Neil Young's 1972 album, "Harvest" . Released to lukewarm critical reception, the album went on to be the highest selling album of 1972, and remains Neil's most successful album. Its success was propelled forward by two huge singles, "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man", with "Heart of Gold" being Neil's only #1 single in his career. But what will Sven and the boys think of this Canadian classic? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by Plouffe to discuss Adam's pick, Geese's "Getting Killed" . Released in September 2025, it received nearly unanimous critical acclaim and was ranked highly on many year-end album lists. The album features a lot of surreal imagery and explores a number of themes, such as power and transformation. But what will the boys think of this critically acclaimed album? Will they feel the need to pay their "Taxes"? Will it feel "Half Real?" Come along and find out! *Note: we apologize for the weird banding at the top of the video and will fix it*

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined yet again by their friend Plouffe. His pick today is the 2017 album from Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, "Pizazz". Described as a funk jam band, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong was formed in 2009. A staple in the jam band community, they are the organizers of the Domefest music festival. But are they actually funky? Do they "put the fun in funk", or is this album "too long"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined once again by Plouffe to discuss Adam's pick, Geese's "Getting Killed" . Released in September 2025, it received nearly unanimous critical acclaim and was ranked highly on many year-end album lists. The album features a lot of surreal imagery and explores a number of themes, such as power and transformation. But what will the boys think of this critically acclaimed album? Will they feel the need to pay their "Taxes"? Will it feel "Half Real?" Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their friend and former longtime host, Bell. Coming back with him is Begonia, whose album "Fear", we covered in season 1 of the podcast. This time, the album is her 2023 release, "Powder Blue" . Nominated for several awards, including a Juno and a Polaris prize, the album explores more lighthearted emotions than her previous release. The album also utilizes several different musical styles and genres throughout, creating a very luscious and warm sound. But will the boys be "Chasing Every Sunrise" after listening to this album, or will they be left "Crying"? Come along and find out

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie are joined by their friend and former host, Plouffe to talk about his pick: John Mayer's "Room For Squares" . His debut album, it was released initially as a digital download in June 2001, before being released as an actual physical album in September 2001. Spawning three hit singles, the album has gone on to sell five million copies in the US alone, and earned John Mayer a Grammy in 2003. But what will the boys think of this album? Will they say it's one of the best of all time, or will it be "No Such Thing"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Adam and Jamie talk about Jamie's first pick of Season 4, Dire Straits' "Alchemy". Released in 1984, it was their first live album and their fifth album in total. This album has been requested by our most loyal fan, Dave (sorry Sarah). Clocking in at two LPs and just a hair under 90 minutes in length, "Alchemy" represents the final show of the tour in support of the album "Love Over Gold". Recorded via the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio at the Hammersmith Odeon, the album captures Mark Knopfler at his peak, and the crowd is absolutely eating it up like they're at a Led Zeppelin concert. But is the album more like iron pyrite than actual gold? Come along and find out!

Welcome to season four of Vinyl Verdict! On this episode, Adam and Jamie discuss Adam's first pick, Vampire Weekend's "Modern Vampires of the City" . Released in May 2013, it was their third studio album. Following the success of their second album "Contra" , the band took a break before coming back to record this album. The result was an immediate commercial and critical success, with dozens of outlets calling the album one of the best of 2013. The album was supported by three singles - "Diane Young", "Ya Hey" and "Unbelievers", all of which charted. But where will the boys put this on their chart? Will they put it at the top, or will they be "Unbelievers"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, the boys discuss the season that was. We re-rank the albums, talk about winners and losers, and what albums really stood out to us this year. We also get into albums from previous years! On a less fun note, we also discuss some changes for Season 4. Will their be laughter? Will there be tears? Come along and find out! Here's our Top 10s Bell: Frank Ocean - Blond(e) Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog Jack J - Blue Desert NxWorries - Why Lawd? Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run Peach Pit - Being So Normal Coldplay - Parachutes Lupe Fiasco - Samurai The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds Jamie: Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon Deafheaven - Sunbather Fleetwood Mac - Rumors Carole King - Tapestry Lana Del Rey - Did You Know that there's a tunnel under Ocean Blvd D'angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run Peter Gabriel - So The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out Joey Valence & Brae - No Hands Adam: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon Death Grips - The Money Store Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition D'angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah Fleetwood Mac - Rumors The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds The Rural Alberta Advantage - Hometowns Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion Deafheaven - Sunbather

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Adam's last pick for the season, Lupe Fiasco's "Samurai". Released in 2024, it was his ninth studio album. The whole concept for the album is based around a voicemail Amy Winehouse left her producer, stating that she kept coming up with battle raps, and Lupe Fiasco makes the quote a reality. Coming in at a tight 30 minutes in length, the album explores themes such as the struggle artists face, fame and self doubt. But will the boys like these really neat, very beautifully alliterated little battle raps? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's final pick for Season 3, The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" . Released in 1966, it was a monumental work that influenced many artists. Inspired by the Beatles' 1965 album "Rubber Soul" , Brian Wilson, the creative head of The Beach Boys decided to make an album that surpassed it in every way. The pursuit of perfection meant that the band didn't actually play on many of the songs and instead enlisted many session musicians to complete the album. Initial reactions to the album were decidedly mixed, with fans and critics alike not understanding the new sound and direction for the group. Retrospective reviews of the album are much more favourable, with many citing it as one of the greatest albums of all time. But where will the boys place this album on their rankings? Come along and find out!

Hey it's your buddy Jamie - sorry we've missed a few uploads here and there lately, all of us have been very busy! On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Bell's last pick for this season, Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" . Released in 2006, it was her second and final studio album before her death in 2011. Propelled by the singles "Back To Black" , "Rehab" and "Y ou Know I'm No Good ", the album hit #1 in 19 countries. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, it won Record of the Year , Song of the Year for "Rehab" , and Best Pop Vocal Album. Winehouse herself won Best New Artist, and the producer of the album, Mark Ronson, won Producer of the Year. The album has a sound that is both modern and reminiscent of ages old Jazz as well as pop and soul recordings of the 60s. But what will the boys think? Will they say 'no, no, no'? Or will they find themselves "Addicted"? Come along and find out!

On this special episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam go see a concert film! In a first for the podcast, we cover Pink Floyd's "Live At Pompeii" film, which was recently re-released to theatres in IMAX format. Along with restored visuals, the films' audio was reworked with a new 5.1 mix by Steven Wilson. Filmed partially inside the Amphitheatre of Pompeii and partially within a studio, the film explores their music prior to the release of "Dark Side of the Moon", and is bookended by a performance of the song Echoes, originally from the album "Meddle". But what will the boys think of the movie? Come along and find out, and be sure to let us know if you'd like us to cover other concert films and their soundtracks in the future!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam are joined by their friend Reece to talk about Adam's next pick - Joey Valence & Brae's "No Hands". Released in 2024, it was their second album. With a sound that is a callback to hip-hop of days past, the duo raps with a style reminiscent of the Beastie Boys, which we've covered before in our episode on their album "Paul's Boutique". The group's ability to go viral on platforms such as TikTok has allowed them to skyrocket in popularity in a short period of time. But what will the boys think of the album? Will they say its "OK" or will they say it's "THE BADDEST"? Come along and find out!

On this episode of Vinyl Verdict, Bell, Jamie and Adam listen to Jamie's next pick, AC/DC's "Back in Black" . Released in 1980, it was their seventh studio album. Following the death of their lead singer, Bon Scott in February 1980, the band sought out a new singer and selected Brian Johnson who was formerly of the band Geordie. The album was recorded quickly and released in July 1980 to tremendous success. It is the second-best selling album with an estimated 50 million records sold, following Michael Jackson's "Thriller" , which has an estimated 70 million sold. The album spawned four hit singles and their tour in support of the album was one of the most successful in rock history. Additionally, many metal and rock groups have cited the album as influential. But - will the boys like it? Come along and find out!