I bet I’ll like Seveneves, but I still haven’t read Cryptonomicon or Anathem, and I’m not reading it before those.

I pretty much agree about Snow Crash.

I’ve listened to Rising the least of the Dio-era Rainbow albums. Stargazer is their Kashmire, but it is better live.

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is an A+ for me, but I haven’t listened to it in a while. I didn’t realize that people don’t like Masters of War, I thought that was one of his classics. A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall is the best song though, and the best song of his pure-folk period.

I don’t remember that Black Sabbath album, and even Iommi regrets it.

I do not find Permanent Vacation to be monotonous, I think they did a good job making the songs sound different from one another. On the other hand, I think that the production is worse than you do. It’s not awful, especially for 1987, but it is too slick and sterile. Especially on Hangman Jury, which is the best song.
That album has (or had 25+ years ago, no idea what people say about it now) an interesting reputation, in that fans who think that Get a Grip is great generally think that Permanent Vacation has too much faceless ’80s rock on it, but people who love the ’70s stuff and don’t much like what happened after the band “sold out” tend to think it’s their most tolerable sell-out album.
I’m kind of in the middle on it, in that it is a plasticy ’80s corporate version of Aerosmith, but no more than was inevitable. I still hear enough of what I like (or love, on the earlier albums) about the band. I don’t even think the outside songwriters are that much of a problem that much of the time (and from what I’ve read about the making of it, they might have done more good than band on this one), the producer probably bears more blame.

And now, because nobody wants it or cares, I’m going to rate each song from 1 to 4, based on how much it succeeds in sounding like Aerosmith translated into the context of poppy 1987 hard rock. This is all graded on a curve, a 4 is the best they could do under the circumstances. The grades are not for quality. Something can get a 3 and be awful (I’m too much of a fan of their early stuff to give a 4 to a bad song) and can get a 1 and be good.

“Heart’s Done Time” - 3 - I think this is a pretty credible Aerosmith song. Desmond Child gets alot of hate, but he did alright here. Although it’s hard not to notice how vapid the lyrics are (and that’s true for most of the album). Steven Tyler didn’t work get credit for this song at all, which is unusual.

“Magic Touch” - 2- Jim Vallance has the best track record of any of the corporate hired guns they brought in. There’s a Joe Perry riff underneath it all, but there’s too much poppy bombast to sound that much like their ’70s material. I’ve always thought this was catchy though.

“Rag Doll” - 4- This is one of their better and more vintage “sellout period” its, and even the horns sound like something the band might have come up with on their own.

“Simoriah”- 1- This songs okay, there’s some craftsmanship there and I always remember how it goes, but it’s the song I think of when people say there are tracks on this album that could have been recorded by anyone.

“Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” -2- Joe Perry’s trying hard to give us this album’s Walk This Way, but it’s smothered in the stupidest horn arrangement they’ve ever been afflicted with. Steve’s somewhere in between. It’s hard to ignore how dumb the lyrics are, but this song would be alot better with a different mix. Headphones help.

“St. John” Tyler - 3- This isn’t great, but it’s decent and it’s Tyler writing the song he wants to write (by himself). That ranting televangelist part is stupid. I used to like this song more, but then I heard more music.

“Hangman Jury” 4 - Their best post-70s song.

“Girl Keeps Coming Apart” - 3 - underwritten basic rocker. Back in the ’70s they knew how to give these kinds of songs personality. The fact that Tyler and Perry wrote this without the outside songwriters kind of illustrate why they were brought in. Filler

“Angel” - 3- I loath this, but it gets a 3 because it is the 1987 equivalent of something like Home Tonight (which is okay, but my least favorite song between Toys/Rocks). I would point out that this is the only power ballad. People equate the “sell out” era with albums dominated by power ballads, but that doesn’t start until Get a Grip. This is put together like one of their old albums.

“Permanent Vacation” - 2 - This would get a “3” if the assignment was just to sound like somebody from the ’70s, since this sounds like the 1987 version of a late ’70s corporate rock band, not sleazy, funky Aerosmith.

“I’m Down” - 3?- whatever. It’s like something they would have done if they’d had one fewer songs on Night in the Ruts.

“The Movie” - 1? 0? - This homange to Momentary Lapse of Reason era Pink Floyd must have left Dave Gimour green with envy.

I like this album pretty well up through Hangman Jury, and then I only tolerate it (except Angel, which is the worst of their big hits).