While I didn’t love every aspect of this album, I enjoyed it enough to consider purchasing it. Many of the tracks are catchy, although none of them come across to me as standout hits. I’m also intrigued now to listen to some of their previous work.

Muse’s second album is an adventure in style and sound, from the tinkling piano introduction of “Bliss,” to the rocking and rollicking “Plug In Baby,” to the jazzy, lilting “Feeling Good.” Joining Freddie Mercury, Matthew Bellamy has quickly become one of my favorite musical geniuses.

I have experienced Muse’s four albums in a somewhat reverse order (3,4,2,1), which makes me curious how my perceptions might have been different had I gotten to know them chronologically. I highly recommend all of their albums.

This, Muse’s first album, turned out to be the very last one I got the opportunity to listen to. The sound is definitely younger and less polished and complex, but the clear signs of genius are already present.

“Unintended” struck a strong, poignant chord with me, being perhaps the closest Muse comes to a balladic love song. It’s also a good one for singing in the shower! :) “Muscle Museum” is also a strong track, and the rest of the album rounds out nicely. Solid Muse.

MCR is a band I was hesitant to like for a while as I take pleasure in enjoying music most of my friends haven’t heard of (I’m in my 30s). However, despite an appearance on Saturday Night Live, I think you could say they’re still pretty far from mainstream.

The Black Parade is a strong, brilliant album. The song “Welcome to the Black Parade” deservedly takes center stage. Its style of several songs rolled into one reminds me of Queen’s ‘The March of the Black Queen’ and Green Day’s ‘Jesus of Suburbia.’ I’m a big fan of complex arrangements. Other standout tracks for me include ‘Teenagers’ and the theatrical ‘Mama,’ which features cameo vocals by, of all people, Liza Minnelli.

I hope MCR has staying power. I’m looking forward to more.

Not as strong as their Absolution album, but solid Muse. There is a little more complexity to their style nowadays compared to their earliest albums, which is one of the elements I most appreciate in music. It’s a little lighter than I’d like on piano, but what is there works well. Standout tracks for me are “Take a Bow” and “City of Delusion.” ROCK!

Muse is one of those bands that I simply can never get enough of.

I was skeptical about this CD at first as I had listened to The Darkness’ first album, Permission to Land, and didn’t care for it at all. With this album, however, The Darkness has grown on me and I highly recommend it—especially to fans of Queen. At times I get the feeling they’re actually channeling Queen through their harmonies, Dan Hawkins’ guitar, and Justin Hawkins’ falsetto. You’ll either love the falsetto or hate it, but you’ll have to admit the guy’s got talent! My favorite track is ‘Hazel Eyes,’ which has a sort of Celtic-gone-wild feel to it.

This is the first Muse album I’ve listened to, and WOW! This is what alternative rock should be—it’s phenomenal. Many of the songs are piano-infused rock, which may sound unusual at first but is actually quite powerful. There is something likeable about each of the songs, and it is an especially good album for singing (or belting out at the top of your lungs) in the car. My favorite track is “Thoughts of a Dying Atheist,” although interestingly it seems to be among other reviewers’ least favorite.

I picked up this album on the recommendation of a colleague and really enjoyed it. I recognized one track, ’Flathead,’ from the radio, and several others are catchy as well. The Fratellis exude a kind of sincere, contagious exuberance that will have you bouncing and singing along. Great for commuting music.

Live albums aren’t really my thing, but if you’re a Muse fan it’s certainly worth a listen. The set also includes a DVD of the concert, which includes additional songs not on the CD. Unlike a lot of singers whose studio recordings are vocally enhanced, Matt Bellamy sounds just as talented live.

I checked out this CD because I thought it had the track ’Vindicated’ on it. Turns out that track is only on the bonus version of the album. I didn’t find much else that struck my fancy, although several of the songs were familiar. Overall, the album “In the Shade of Poison Trees” is superior.