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Link Index:
* WRC Review Sites view Sites
* General Music Sites
* Radio Stations
* MP3, CD & DVD Shopping
* Music Resources & Directories
* Pop Music Sites
* Independant Music Sites
* Totally Unrelated Sites
* Internal Sites

WRC Review Sites
Ranked in order of coolness              
Links to other personal review sites worth checking out if haven't done so already. There are just so many reviewers on the web offering their opinions, so what are the sites to regularly browse through? Well these ones!

*WRC Review Updates* (Index)
The dedicated and profilic Web Reviewing Community has it's own updates page where webmasters can submit links to new reviews just posted. You can check out all the recent activities of the Community on one handy webpage. Also, includes a Site Ranking Index logging how many visitors the site has received/sent from the Site Ring. FYI - this site is located on the 2nd page, if that means anything....

Prindle Rock And Roll Record Review Site
Out of the numerous album review sites on the web, it's Prindle's in-depth site that is probably the most well known and has the most reader comments on all the web. And with good reason. A great deal of the actual content is taken by up guest reviewers and reader comments agreeing or in most cases disagreeing with Prindle's humorous reviews. Also, Prindle has been interviewing a number of hardcore legends and key scene players, including the mightly Henry Rollins. The sheer content and frequent knob jokes will make you go back for more. And every so often, Prindle will go into more personal details than I would in my private diary, so be prepared for some home truths along the way.

Only Solitaire - George Starotin's Music Reviews
After a lengthy hiatus from the internet, "George Starotin's Music Reviews" returned with a new site name but same in-depth reviews of classic and recent albums. Probably the most prolific writer in the WRC with more words per review than the average reviewer, George is refreshingly frank and cuts away from hypobole that taints many album reviews. Concentrates on the classic 1967-1972 era with The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan receiving the highest possible artist grades. Slowly but surely more "modern" artists like Alice in Chains and Blur are getting favourable reviews from one of the most critical men on the web.

Brad’s Completely Useless Record Reviews
Ever expanding review site, that is heavily influenced by Mark Prindle - i.e. often humourous, expetitive-ridden, honest opinions. Judging by the site intro when first launched, Brad is a "sexy bitch" from Harvard University, and very text heavy artist pages are added all the time. Despite appearing crude and unintelligent upon first impression, dig deeper and you'll find some of the most informative and entertaining reviews within the entire Web Reviewing Community. Check out Brad's frequent snippings of Creed and Geddy Lee's voice throughout his honest and downright accurate writing style.

Adrian's Album Reviews
One of the most profilic review sites in the WRC, the navigation is really easy to use with an effective layout structure. The review style isn't as critical as, say, Wilson & Alroy, but Adrian can express if an albums any good in just a few paragraphs in his distinctive "poetic" writing style. The range of artists is diverse, from Adrian's right-on-the-money reviews of the overrated Robbie Williams and deserved praise of The Beach Boys.

Jack Feeny's CD Archive
There aren't many British reviewers in the WRC, so I always take an interest in what a fellow Brit has to say, and there's a good selection of artists including a healthy selection of UK acts (Manic Street Preachers). With reviews of modern hyped bands included, Jack's reviewing style is very opinionated, which is always an enjoyable read.

Scott's Rock and Soul Album Reviews
Straight-to-the-point rock reviews with a navigation simple to use, what the site lacks in flashiness is easily compensated by the actual reviews. I agree with most of the opinions and the growing diversity since the early days. Updated regularly, you'll sure to find new material worth savouring on each new visit.

Wack Jolfe's Record Reviews
Wacky and biting opinions from Jack Wolfe who as he so delicately put it on the main page - "an ugly, poorly typed, rarely updated web reviewing montrosity". As reviewers shouldn't take themselves seriously, Jack's approach to reviewing is refreshing and highly entertaining, especially when he slates the artist in question.

Wilson & Alroy's Record Reviews
One of the few site review pioneers, Wilson & Alroy go in more the kill - disregarding hype, image and sentiment, the music comes first. Though the reviews are a little short and lacking depth, they are so to the point and concise, it's amazing. Tearing apart Oasis, Bush and Green Day in just a few words is quite a feat, as they back up their claims. Other web reviewers don't favour W&A's style due to being too blunt and brief, but if you don't fancy reading pages of text to find if an album is worth owning, this site is very useful as a summary guide.

Don Ignacio's Music Reviews
Off the cuff humour from the self-proclaimed "twenty-seventh greatest music review site on the Web". Albums are reviewed in a rigid structure of main context, overall album score and individual track reviews. The Beatles get naturally high marks, and at the other end of the spectrum, Madonna's recent output is lambasted. Also, A Perfect Circle's 'Mer De Nom's' is savaged to death.

Eclipse Review Emporium
Opinionated reviews by Roland Fratz - to the point of wearing his heart on his sleeve. Bush is roundly dismissed, whilst Alice Cooper is worshipped to high heaven. Hole are "mostly mediocre, and I suspect, as do many others" and Marilyn Manson's "Antichrist Superstar" is easily one of the landmark rock albums of the 90's. Worth a quick visit in anyone's book.

Guy's Music Reviews
Very professional looking site run by Guy Peters, a twenty-something guy living in Brussels, Belgium. There are reviews on artists who aren't so obvious including Cracker, Dinosaur Jr. and Elastica, that's a welcome change from reading yet another Beatles review. I especially liked the "Do you really think George Starostin is in fact 12 people working 18 hours a day?" comment in the FAQ section.

Fyfeopedia Music Reviews
Written by a 25 year old Presbyterian from Lower Hutt, New Zealand, containing loads of mainstream rock in the likes of REM, The Smiths & Springsteen. The love of Big Star, Yes and The Replacements shines through from enthusiastic praise.

Disclaimer Music Review Archive
The difference between Disclaimer and most other review sites is the layout structure. Instead of separate artist pages, every review is placed under a letter from the alphabet. Depending on your preference, this is either an irritating structure, or handy for reading large blocks of reviews without sifting through several pages. As for the reviews themselves, I like the snappy, straight to the point nature, and there's such an diverse range of artists. I admit there are several artists I haven't even heard (Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, To Rococo Rot, Slowdive). Main reviewer Willie has such a cool range of albums (by PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Sonic Youth) that's it's unreal. There's even a smattering of UK acts quite obscure to American audiences (Space, Mogwai, Super Furry Animals) which get a thumbs up.

CosmicBen's Record Reviews
CosmicBen writes unpretentious and balanced reviews which are very informative and easy to read. After a while, the bright green background colour scheme will burn your retinas off, but it's worth the pain!

RockBytes
Compact review site run by Australian Scott Russell, what's most readable are the numerous special features like the "Fifty Worst Songs Ever" (Achy Breaky Heart deserves #1 position, but Vanilla Ice at #19, that's a different story...) and the self-explanatory "Bloody Good Modern Rock Bands" (Muse, Velvet Revolver, Coldplay, etc). Add to the mix, polls, rock history timelines, and of course album reviews, and there's plenty of opinions to digest.

General Music Sites
Ranked in order of coolness              
General rock music sites, along with the expected reviews are news, articles, competitions and other useful chunks of rock music info. In the similar style of Spin.com and RollingStone.com but less corporate whore!

SeattleSound.de
Specialist site dedicated to Seattle Bands, mainly Nirvana and The Foo Fighters. Most notable feature: the site features Nirvana reviews contributed by this site.

DrownedInSound.com
This quality UK site contains reviews, news and interviews. Very up-to-date and always an entertaining read.

SputnikMusic.com
Interactive community driven music website where the users write the reviews. Rather than the writings of one individual, there are many contributors, along with a feedback forum underneath each review. A good idea - this site shows democracy at it's best...

PlayLouder.com
A fresh and distinctive site split into the following categories: Read, Watch, Listen, Go, Download, Talk, Find and Join - doesn't mess around! Reminds me of NME, with it's take-it-or-leave-it attitude to music.

Pitchforkmedia.com
Pretentious and snobby at times, but still an essential read - ratings for many albums can be extremely harsh - just check out the reviews for Audioslave, Zwan and Foo Fighters to some harsh ratings.

CokeMachineGlow.com
Much in the same vein as Pitchforkmedia, this sometimes pretentious site is written by people who deeply love music. Artists receiving mass acclaim include The Tragically Hip and Ryan Adams.

Undercover.com.au
Better than decent Aussie music news, interviews, reviews and plenty of freebies.

Popmatters.com
Fantastic resource for Music, Movie and Television opinions, giving intelligent and insightful viewpoints on the latest in Entertainment.

MetalUK.com
Quality UK based metal site created and developed by Vlad Vassiliev, covers a wide range of artists from Alice In Chains to Dream Theatre. The news updates get updated on a regular basis, so it's a good resource centre of rock news stories.

MetalSludge.com
Dedicated metal site with no pretention (unlike say, Pitchforkmedia), there's loads of distinctive features no least the infamous "The Penis Chart" where groupies give out the most intimate rock star details.

RobotFist.com
More of a pop cultural site covering music, TV, film and computer games, UK based RobotFist is highly opinionated and totally relevant. With a host of excellantly written articles, the eye-candy design site raises debate and invokes discussion. Nice! Has been inactive for a while, though.

411mania.com
As the site Philosophy states "411mania.com is not a site run by writers and webmasters, but rather a site run by the community that habitats it..... it makes decisions based on what is called for by the loyal readers who have made this site what it is today…one of the most popular websites on the internet."

Satan Stole My Teddybear
Metal orientated site including the trendy lot of System Of A Down and Slipknot and every death, black, sludge metal band you can think of. Excellent site design as well, despite the heavy use of frames.

ChartAttack.com
Comprehensive music info site, with interviews, reviews.... you know the rest.

FreakyTrigger.co.uk
Sharp music opinion site showcasing a number of talented writers including Tom Ewing who write articles on their genuine love of music (well, except the "I Hate Music" column). Most recent articles when I put up this link in October'03 included: "It's Science! - why shouldn't science writing be punk rock?" and "Spontaneous Appause In Two Three Go! - On the floor at TOTP." Also special mention to the site's very slick design - very tasty.

CoolNoise.co.uk
Now this is an excellent showcase for unsigned bands, very similar to the set-up on this site, from the same webmaster who runs the iq451.com resource site. Reviews are short and precise, giving a quick opinion on the albums relative merits, all-in-all very easy to navigate and a gem of a site.

MusicEmissions.com
Most notable for the extremely short reviews and the diverse genres covered. There are cool contests to enter and you can even buy MusicEmissions merchandise.

IndieBox.co.uk
Good selection of news articles, a smattering of album reviews and a comprehensive gig guide makes with site worth a visit.

rockreviews.org
Specialising in the trad and power metal likes of Iron Maiden, Opeth and Steel Prophet, the reviews and brief and to the point. The site benefits from a decent navigation layout that sorts reviews into recent, archived and by rating categories.

Atrocity Exhibition
I only stumbled across this fairly new site whilst searching for Radiohead B-Sides, but thought it was so good that I added it on this link page. Impressive site design and cool music taste (the site is named after the Joy Division song).

WorldsGreatestCritic.com
What a statement from this guy who goes by the name of Brother Kneumsi, critic of movies, music, television and literature. He has some good opinions worth reading and quite an extensive range of tastes, from Pixies to Seven Mary Three (music), The Last House on the Left to Dr. Dolittle 2 (movies).

DrivingMusic.net
Decent review site for independently released albums, so excellant site for bands to submit their albums. Reviewed by a self-depreciating webmaster if you read the "About" page -- "You'll also learn that 1) I have no web authoring skills, 2) my writing skills need work, and 3) I'm pretty lazy. Keep those in mind, and we'll be just fine."

The View From The Underground
Worthwhile personal opinions on everything from music (diverse tastes range from Pretty Girls Make Graves to Muse), television (mainly concerning Smallville) and movies (mainstream offerings Big Fish and Lord Of The Rings are covered extensively). A developing site, it's sure to expand into something significant in the future.

RockReviews.net
Informative site concentrating on rock and alternative reviews. Great place for finding out if an album is hot or not.

Gig101
Music fanzine telling the world about great alternative music. From Ryan Adams to Franz Ferdinand, most tastes are covered.

BlackChampagne.com
Prolific personal site by "Flux" (Eric Bruce) that's described by the webmaster as "...a website designed to present my fiction, as well as daily updates and various reviews, articles, and comedy features that spring into my mind." Not just music mind, subject matter consists of whatever is on Flux's mind. Check out the band names section for an off the wall opinion.

Music News
Ranked in order of coolness              
All the latest news in the rock world from these contantly updated webpages

ArtistDirect.com
Massive, highly commerical site with plenty of music content who boast they are "innovative and diversified media powerhouse, home to a critically acclaimed and groundbreaking online destination" - blowing own trumpet are we?

Blabbermouth.net
Up-to-the-minute metal news and gossip, usually Blabbermouth are the first with exclusives.

Antimusic.com
Densely packed with music news, very content heavy.

LiveDaily.com
Headline news from the site to "get the full story"

Radio Stations
Ranked in order of coolness          
Radio stations, enough said.

Kaor.net
Commercial free rock alternative radio station with wallpaper downloads, contests and forums on offer. When I visited, the raio was currently playing Switchfoot's - 'Living Is Simple', and recent playlist included Beastie Boys - 'Something's Got to Give' and Better Than Ezra - 'Like It Like That' to get a rough idea of the music played.

MadAlt.com
Alternative Rock music radio station with a strong playlist. Comprehensive site that also includes Interviews, Message Boards, Videos and Pictures. To get an idea of the music, when I visited the site, current song playing was The Smashing Pumpkins - 'Silverfuck'.

TheVoltsShow.com
Swansea based radio station dedicated to playing the music of the UK's unsigned acts/bands with the catchy slogan "Music needs to be driven not controlled".

Rock3.co.uk
Rock radio network from Surrey, England who are "proud supporters of new and independant rock bands". There's also a community forum, band reviews and other assorted goodies on offer.

MP3, CD & DVD Shopping
Ranked in order of coolness          
With the web generally cheaper than the high street plus many sites offering Free Delivery, there are some respectable and worthwhile sites to spend your hard earned money.

SonicBond.com
Instead of just selling albums by commercially viable artists, as their website states, "Sonic Bond is a music sales site with a difference. Each artist has been hand picked for their passion, for their quality and for their approach to their music."

CDWOW.com
UK residents are spolit for choice on the latest CD releases. Albums are usually £8.75 which is a few quid cheaper than the likes of high street stores HMV and Virgin Megastore.

SendIt.com
Focuses on DVD releases from music, television and of course movie. UK residents get free delivery which is a key factor. Prices range from £3+ so some genuine bargains can be found. Hell, I got Shrek 2 for £3 which is good value in anyone's book.

mp3search.ru
Russian mp3 music download site. Can you subscribe and pre-pay between $20 and $50 for a wealth of albums. Prices range from 90 cents to $1.50 per album depending on length. Very expansive album range but with some glarring ommisions like Fugazi and Flaming Lips back catalogues mostly missing.

Wippit.com
MP3 subscription service. The advantages of Wippit over iTUNES and Napster are mp3's do not become inactive after you unsubscribe - a massive bonus. Wippit is compatible with all your devices, so not a restrictive site like the big boys. And get this -- 60,000 tracks for £50 - good value. There are a lot of WMA format songs, which are not as user friendly as mp3's but that the main downside.

Mp3Raid.com
Lots of non-studio album tracks, easy to download. Read the small print first, "[mp3raid] gather certain personal information about you that helps us customize our content to your tastes and preferences" and they "strongly suggest you to delete the audio files you downloaded in 24 hours". Limited selection, but loads of remixes and cover versions availale for.... yes! FREE

Stargreen.com
Shop for concert tickets in London. All the hot gigs down at the likes of Brixton Academy, London Astoria and Wembley Arena can be snapped up from the Argyll Street, near Oxford Street ticketing agency.

Beck Theatre - Events Listing
Only useful if you live in the West London area, this is an overview of upcoming events at the Hayes located Beck theatre. Tribute acts and comedians pass through these doors along with minor celebrites and muscial productions.

Music Resources & Directories
Ranked in order of coolness          
Informative and expansive resource sites that offer a wide range of entertainment.

IQ451.com
Excellent site offering free music content for your music website (that's if you have one).

Answers.com
Really useful resource tool which the site says delivers "snapshot, multi-faceted definitions and explanations from credible, attributable reference sources on over one million topics in our database" Type in any term, say... I don't know... Nu-Metal and the result page comes up with everything you ever needed to know about the subject matter.

Artistopia.com
Join music artists across the world in their pursuit to music stardom. Artistopia's music community includes artist profiles, free MP3 music downloads, press releases, artist gigs and events, music resources directory, classified ads, and music forums.

BackWash.com
OK, here's the deal - a group of like-minded individuals scour the net looking for funny, worthwhile links and post them on-line - it's a personalised search engine. This site's "Nu-Metal Guide" has even been featured making the Top 40 Link at this Content Discussion Page.

Backwash  

Joeant.com
Site that proudly states "directory of quality sites for Internet users. Our goal is to list the best sites for a wide variety of topics giving our users the most relevant results for their searches."

ListsOfBests.com
Anyone who loves lists will have a great time at this gaff. Alongside Music, are movies, books, people & places. Want to know the "#1 Movies at North American Box Office, 2005" - well, look no further!

Pure80sPop.co.uk
More lists -- this time focusing on the decade most people choose to delete from their memory banks. Come on, it was chessy but ther music was fun! New Romantics! Live Aid! Kylie! Yes, even Kylie is here.

Lyrics
When the introduction sets out it's intention with "Are you young and hungry for music and lyrics? Have a lot of favorite songs? Are you a party animal?" you just know this isn't a stuffy website. Rammed full of artists popular and erm.... unpopular, you can find out lyrics of any type, from the obvious (Nirvana, Beatles) to some gems (McClusky, Dillinger Escape Plan), there are just TONS of artists to wade through. Part of the duble.com website.

SearchMusicNetwork.com
Contains links to general music sites in easy to search categories, including Anti-Music, Charts, Education, Music Videos, Reviews and much more. Having a thumbnail of each site's frontpage is a nice touch.

SoundsFamiliar.Info
Advert database - with TV commericals mining a wealth of songs to soundtrack their products & services, have you ever wondered which artist was used? With The Pixies selling Wandadoo and The Kinks offering their soul to HP, it's a handy and informative searching tool.

Gooism.com
Contains various Blogs and mp3 remixes. Many of the remixes merge Cartman from South Park with Eminem to varying success. Check out the "Writings of Goo" blog for some open minded theories.

Zeen.com
Directory "helping you to increase your site’s traffic and expose your products or services to an ever-expanding website community"

RockOnTheNet.com
Large music resource with charts and artist info, it's very up-to-date and excellent for researching purposes.

SortMusic.com
Detailed resource centre for many bands including discographies, lyrics, midi files, wallpapers. etc. Sift through the different musical genres artists and there are a decent array of Rock bands to check out.

Rockmine.music.co.uk Music Trivia
All kinds of pop & rock trivia from UK #1 singles since the fifties to "Get a proper job" - people who have given up being actors, models, even sheet metal workers to be rock stars.

SongFacts.com
Have you ever wondered what Pantera's 'Flood' is about? (Answer: a flood that comes and ends mankind) or wanted to learn the "anal cavity is 4 degrees warmer than the vaginal" by analysing Tool's 'Four Degrees'? Then spend hours searching through thousands of songs to find their meanings.

Pop Music Sites
Ranked in order of coolness          
As much as Commercial Pop Music is suffering a slump in recent years, I just can't help but love these pop sites.

Popbitch.com
Deliciously biting pop music gossip posted on a weekly basis. There's a full Popbitch email every Thursday for the converted. Addictive.

Popjustice.co.uk
I stumbled across this pro-pop/anti-rock site by acident, but I'm glad I did as it's on-the-money remarks and speculations are irrelevant and fun reading.

BBC Top 40 Singles Chart
The weekly UK chart rundown, which despite myself not buying a single for several years, still want to know what everyone else is buying.

Billboard Top 100 Album Chart
What are the American's buying? Judging by their habits, lots of hip hop.

Independant Music Sites
Ranked in order of coolness          
Giving props to unsigned/undiscovered artists on the net.

TheMusicBroker.net

Forward-thinking site that hand-delivers the best unsigned talent to the heart of the Entertainment industry. Artists can join up and stand more chance of success within the cut-throat music industry.

Entertainment Live UK
Similar sounding name to this site, this is "a service for unsigned musicians, young and young at heart." Loads of information about live venues, which bands are playing and where to catch them live.

Pralay.org
This is interesting, a rock band from India - not exactly a hotbed for world-known RAWK bands but Pralay are different, becoming the first Indian band to have music released in the US, impressively the debut CD was shortlisted for the 2003 Grammy Awards.

ThinkFloyd.net
Tribute band of - yes you guessed correctly! - Pink Floyd who tour the UK playing to audiences who got fed up waiting for the real Floyd to get off their arses and play again. Actually, this tribute band are probably better than real deal nowadays, great musicianship and very close to the original sound.

TheBetterWorld.com
Rock band The Better World who in their own words describe themselves as writing "compelling lyrics and powerful guitar riffs formulate this band's new and rnddiveting sound" - you can't argue with that!

Eighties Matchbox B-Line
Man, what a high energetic collective coming straight out of Brighton UK mixing dirty, distorted Punk/Garage rock. Discography includes the "Horse Of The Dog" album and the deftly titled "Celebrate Your Mother" single.

From The Ashes
West London rock band formed by Andy Bradley, who in their own words: "play many old favourites and a few new ones, all with a hard edge - guaranteed to go down well at any venue". Catch them out on Lemonrock.com with latest news and where they will be gigging next.

The Loves
Four piece rock band, twisting Trainspotting artwork into their own image, lots of songs to listen to and plenty of love to go around.

Totally Unrelated Sites
Ranked in order of coolness          
Forget the music, here are some "interesting" sites I have been known to wander through sometimes.

BoreMe.com
This site is totally addictive - viral emails that get passed around are achived on the aptly named BoreMe, a timewaster of sexy movies, dodgy photos and funny texts. Click on "Bore Me Rigid" for the X-Rated version if you are man enough.

YouTube.com
Of the same ilk as BoreMe.com, users post all kinds of videos ususlly venturing on the funny or sexy side.

Dumpalink.com
Yet another movie archive, with the slogan "we do the surfing, so you don't have to"

ChavTowns.co.uk
For those unfamilar with the British way of life, in recent years there has been an explosion of CHAVS, a term used to bracket young, clueless individuals who wear knockoff sportswear, burberry caps, listen to 50 Cent and hang around town shopping centres. These people have been around for years, but only recently are they media attention. No town in Britain can escape the Chav; be afraid, be very afraid.....

The Simpsons Archive
The definitive archive for reading up on every episode of animation series The Simpsons. The attention to detail is astounding, with every possible quote, reference, dialogue and pieces of trivia documented. In terms of effort, you'd expect nothing less for one of television's greatest shows.

TelevisionWithoutPity.com
Highly detailed reviews of the latest television dramas ranging from 24 to Lost. Includes regularly attended forums and opinion polls.

HuhCorp.com
The most honest e-solutions website in the world. Some titbits of guru info include "Most consulting companies just provide regular marketing solutions. Not us. We provide groundbreaking solutions." "Our web site will make you think we know what we're doing." & "Our marketing professionals are constantly coming up with new ways to make you feel inferior and stupid. Because you are."

YouSendIt.com
Useful site for sending HUGE sized files that most email sites cannot handle. The file will be stored by YouSendIt without ever filling up your recipient's mailbox. Then, it automatically emails your recipient a link to your file stored on our server

AgonyBooth.com
Champions of carrying out "ongoing inquisition into some of the worst movies humanity has to offer", the Agony Booth offers very detailed analysis of films most people should not watch, including 'Mr T: The Animation Series' and '3000 Miles From Graceland'. Also has a "Download" page of tasty treats including Hulk Hogan's stomach churning singing.

Internal Sites
Ranked in order of coolness          
Alongside the usual music news and reviews, the 'Alternative Rock Review' domain also hosts the following websites:

Oak Records - Home of Pulse120
The music of London ambient/trance artist Justin Collings on-line

The Hillingdon Zone
A links page dedicated to the Webmaster's home town, a borough in West London, England

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