After Dai’s and Craig’s sterling efforts with the all time greatest albums, and then 80s/90s albums, it falls to me to bring this triumvirate to a triumphant and exhausted close. So, the challenge now, is to name your top ten albums released since 1 January 2000. Personally in thinking about this I found it harder than either of the previous two – not because there isn’t enough good stuff there. Quite the contrary. So many riches to pick from, but few of them as hard wired into my consciousness as ‘all time favourites’. So I think this is going to be a very diverse list which should remind us all of some fantastic records we may have forgotten about.
Dai’s Rules still apply:
1) Post 10 albums ONLY
2) Place them in order 1 to 10. Number 1 will be allocated 10 points down to 1 pt in 10th place.
3) If you post more than 10 only the first 10 will be counted.
4) If you don’t post a preference in the 10 then each will be allocated 5 pts
5) Post exactly like this :
Number – Album – Artist
e.g. 1 – Dare – The Human League
Use proper names not The Fabs or HJHM etc
If you don’t your choice may not be counted.
I’ll give til midnight on 13 July.
Go to it.
Incidentally, I don’t have the computer sized brain and Excel skills of the previous two moderators so whilst I will be delighted to compile the results the analysis may be a little more haphazard….
Excellent. I have already prepared this.
1 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
2 – Kid A – Radiohead
3 – Blackstar – David Bowie
4 – Back in Black – Amy Winehouse
5 – Magic – Bruce Springsteen
6 – Chaos and Creation in the Backyard – Paul McCartney
7 – A Ghost is Born – Wilco
8 – Aerial – Kate Bush
9 – Journal for Plague Lovers – Manic St Preachers
10 – Out of Season – Beth Gibbons and Rustin’ Man
Basically the albums I played the most in this period, a 3rd Wilco album nearly made it too (Sky Blue Sky).
1 – White blood cells – White stripes
2 – The Liberty of Norton Folgate – Madness
3 – Black Star – David Bowie
4 – Dirty Vegas – Dirty Vegas
5 – The rising – Bruce Springsteen
6 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
7 – Encore – The Specials
8 –
Hope he didn’t die …
Dunno about number 10, but I think 7 8 9.
Blackstar is going to win isn’t it? It’ll be high on my list too….
Either that or Liberty of Norton Folgate (in the lead at the moment by my calculations).
Outside bet: Seldom Seen Kid – Elbow
(even though it didn’t make my final 10)
Bit early to be calling it after 3.7 votes.
1 – Skeleton Tree – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2 – Blackstar – David Bowie
3 – 50 Words for Snow – Kate Bush
4 – Alice – Tom Waits
5 – Third – Portishead
6 – Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams
7 – Born to Die – Lana Del Rey
8 – From Scotland With Love – King Creosote
9 – Let’s Get Out Of This Country – Camera Obscura
10 – MASSEDUCTION – St. Vincent
1 – The Chronicles Of Modern Life – Henry Priestman
2 – Liberty Of Norton Folgate – Madness
3 – No Going Back – Stiff Little Fingers
4 – Sonik Kicks – Paul Weller
5 – Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
6 – Duckworth Lewis Method – Duckworth Lewis Method
7 – The Race For Space – Public Service Broadcasting
8 – Monkey Minds In The Devils Time – Steve Mason
9 – Send Away The Tigers – Manic Street Preachers
10 – Astronomy For Dogs – The Aliens
1 – Fever Ray – Fever Ray
2 – Dysnomia – Dawn of Midi
3 – All Melody – Nils Frahm
4 – Fire in the Hole – Sara Isaksson and Rebecca Törnqvist
5 – Carrie and Lowell – Sufjan Stevens
6 – Southeastern- Jason Isbell
7 – My Queen is a reptile – Sons of Kemet
8 – The Undivided Five – A Winged Victory for the Sullen
9 – Fits – White Denim
10 – Open – The Necks
Hoops – I know your real name and I know where you live. You really don’t have much time to tell Blue Boy that you didn’t know what you were doing when you nominated C***** & Lo**** and you’d like to substitute Ry Cooder’s Prodigal Son instead.
Prodigal Son did actually make it onto my (not so) shortlist
6 points for Sufjan. No turning back now….
Great list.
Here goes….
1 – Aerial – Kate Bush
2 – Hand Cannot Erase – Steven Wilson
3 – English Electric – Big Big Train
4 – Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust – Sigur Rós
5 – The Courage Of Others – Midlake
6 – The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists
7 – A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead
8 – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate – Madness
9 – The Race For Space – Public Service Broadcasting
10 – Blackstar – David Bowie
That was hard – so many that I had to leave out (Trueloves Gutter, Seldom Seen Kid, Girl Called Eddy, Crimson / Red are the immediate ones that came to mind and didn’t quite make the cut). But it’s submitted now – no looking back and changing etc etc …..
This was easier. All these still feel so fresh and give the excitement of hearing albums as if as a teenager.
1 – Orfeo – Fay Hield and the Hurricane Party
2 – Medulla – Bjork
3 – Shipwrecks and Static – Inge Thomson
4 – More Tunes about Baggage and Hills English and Border Music 1625 to 2017 – David Faulkner & Steve Turner
5 – Un Dia – Juana Molina
6 – Aerial – Kate Bush
7 – Songs from the City, Songs from the Sea – PJ Harvey
8 – Empire and Love – The Imagined Village
9 – English Electric – Big Big Train
10 – Traces – Karine Polwart
and, No, I am not deliberately going for the singleton’s award, it just all went folkie for me from about 2009.
WRONG!
Sorry Karine, I missed out one of your neighbours.
1 – Orfeo – Fay Hield and the Hurricane Party
2 – Medulla – Bjork
3 – Shipwrecks and Static – Inge Thomson
4 – More Tunes about Baggage and Hills English and Border Music 1625 to 2017 – David Faulkner & Steve Turner
5 – Un Dia – Juana Molina
6 – Aerial – Kate Bush
7 – Arc Light – Lau
8 – Songs from the City, Songs from the Sea – PJ Harvey
9 – Empire and Love – The Imagined Village
10 – English Electric – Big Big Train
Positively mainstream, big fella 😉
I dont recall recording no.4 but thanks for the vote.😂😂
A lost weekend?
You might be surprised on how many of my albums you appear!
Aerial is doing well
Lots of 5/6/7 votes – could be a sneaky contender to outdo something with more top scores but less widespread appeal.
No, not easy, gutted that I can’t find room for any Neil Finn, Kristin Hersh, Elvis Costello, Nick Cave, etc.
1 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
2 – Nixon – Lambchop
3 – You Want it Darker – Leonard Cohen
4 – Blackstar – David Bowie
5 – Something more than free – Jason Isbell
6 – The Terms Of My Surrender – John Hiatt
7 – The Old Magic – Nick Lowe
8 – Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams
9 – Ash Wednesday – Elvis Perkins
10 – The Crane Wife – The Decemberists
Here are the votes of the Folkestone jury…
1 – Ten New Songs – Leonard Cohen
2 – Love and Theft – Bob Dylan
3 – Soul Journey – Gillian Welch
4 – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards – Tom Waits
5 – Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett
6 – Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
7 – Illinois – Sufjan Stevens
8 – Pull Up Some Dust – Ry Cooder
9 – Harps and Angels – Randy Newman
10 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Nice list – several of my long list contenders that didn’t quite make my final ten
And here’s mine…..
1 – Indian Ocean – Frazey Ford
2 – Handcream for a Generation – Cornershop
3 – Coles Corner – Richard Hawley
4 – Blackstar – David Bowie
5 – Once I Was an Eagle – Laura Marling
6 – Chaleur Humaine – Christine and the Queens
7 – World Without Tears – Lucinda Williams
8 – The Invisible Way – Low
9 – The Intercontinentals- Bill Frisell
10 – Dirty Computer – Janelle Monae
Coles Corner! Damn!
I feel bad not having room for Janelle Monae or Christine and the Queens in mine.
Hi BB
This might sound a stupid question; I really love ‘U Kin B the Sun’ by Frazey Ford; are you saying that ‘Indian Ocean’ is significantly better?
In can’t speak for Blue Boy, but for me, yes and by a considerable way. I quite like U Kin B the Sun, but it is short on tunes. I read an article when it came out where the rest of the crew praised Frazey for for making up melodies in the studio, but I took that as a warning sign that she hadn’t spent enough time writing the album and still think I’m right. I’m more charitably disposed to it than many round here, but still find it a bit of a disappointment. I’ll do my list later, and would be very surprised if Indian Ocean doesn’t feature in a high-ish spot.
I definitely agree with Gatz, but then I love the Muscle Shoals musicians that play on Indian Ocean, the same ones that backed Al Green in his prime. They make a huge difference.
Yes I think so although I’m still getting to know the new one. Like Tiggs I think the Muscle Shoals musicianship on Indian Ocean really makes it. If you like U Kin B the Sun I reckon you’ll love Indian Ocean.
The production on u kin b is, if anything Even more swampy, in a good southern soul way. Delectable.
I found this thread useful as a reminder.
1 – Life on a String – Laurie Anderson
2 – Contraband – Kirsty McGee & the Hobopop Collective
3 – At the End of Paths Taken – Cowboy Junkies
4 – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out – Yo La Tengo
5 – Laika Come Home – Gorillaz (with Spacemonkeyz)
6 – The Willies – Bill Frisell
7 – Feels Like Home – Norah Jones
8 – 21 – Adele
9 – Desert Road – Justin Adams
10 – Anastasis – Dead Can Dance
(hoping for a complete run of unique choices this time)
Norah Jones wasn’t far outside my top 10, but with Little Broken Hearts.
Aargh! I am seriously not good at moderation. I already have a list of my top 100 and the quality doesn’t drop very far when you reach number 100 (Inside the Machine by Bad Company UK). Just picking 10 means leaving out loads of great albums, made even more agonising by Ms Ellis-Bextor being at numbers 11 and 13 in my list. Here’s my current top 10 anyway. I say current because I have been living with some of these albums for a long time, whereas others lower down my list are relatively new to me, so are slowly creeping up the list. In a couple of years time I expect my top 10 to look quite different.
1 – All The Beauty In This Whole Life – Brother Ali
2 – Enjoy The Melodic Sunshine – Cosmic Rough Riders
3 – Savage (Songs From A Broken World) – Gary Numan
4 – To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
5 – Shadows On The Sun – Brother Ali
6 – Rainy Day Music – The Jayhawks
7 – The King Is Dead – The Decemberists
8 – Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
9 – Isis Project – Guy Chambers & Sophie Hunter
10 – Untrue – Burial
Thanks Blue Boy
Getting 303 down to 200 wasn’t easy.
Getting 200 down to 100 was very, very difficult
To go further I may have to have 1 album per year but that would still leave 21 albums (including year 2020).
Aaaaaaarrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Im already regretting my list but here we go
1 – 1972 – Josh Rouse
2 – The Trials of Van Occupanther – Midlake
3 – Both Sides Now – Joni Mitchell
4 – Sky Meadows – The Pearlfishers
5 – Just A Little Lovin’ – Shelby Lynne
6 – Kings of Convenience – Riot On An Empty Street
7 – Hand Cannot Erase – Steven Wilson
8 – Kristina Train – Dark Black
9 – Befriended – The Innocence Mission
10 – Travel Like in Songs – Rebecka Törnqvist
Was fully expecting Aerial, Back to Black, Illinois and Trueloves Gutter to be in there but they haven’t made the cut – Im baffled. I mean who the hell came up with this list ??
One of my choices should surely win a prize as being the most valuable. Just seen that you can buy the cd on Amazon for £1,350. I do own a copy so will now place under lock and key.
1 – Wasp Star – XTC
2 – Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
3 – Tales Of Us – Goldfrapp
4 – The Imagined Village – The Imagined Village
5 – Empire and Love – The Imagined Village
6 – La Revancha Del Tango – Gotan Project
7 – Tour De France Soundtracks – Kraftwerk
8 – Tale To Tell – The Mummers
9 – Lost In a Moment – Shrift
10 – Third – Portishead
Very pleased to see another vote for Empire and Love.
I love both of the first two, but have never got to grips with the third. My loss. Chris Woods is wonderful on Sweet Jane and The Handweaver and the Factory Maid.
Quite agree. When they decided to write stuff for the band, they lost that which had made the band work in the first place. Empire and Love is one of those albums which has prompted me to perform several songs. (cue question about Cmon Feel the Noize)
1- Just a Little Lovin – Shelby Lynne
2- Transcendental Blues – Steve Earle
3- Modern Times – Bob Dylan
4- Ling Player, Late Bloomer – Ron Sexsmith
5- Look Out – Elvis Costello
6- Essence -Lucinda Williams
7- welcome Interstate Managers- Fountains of Wayne
8- I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning – Bright Eyes
9- Same Trailer, Different Park – Kacey Musgrove
10- Hard Candy – Counting Crows
Nice to see Costello in there, but I think the album’s called “Look Now” rather than “Look Out”.
Oops! That’s the one.
And Ron is Long …
1 – If you Wait – London Grammar
2 – Lost in the Dream – The War on Drugs
3 – De-Loused in the Comatorium – The Mars Volta
4 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
5 – The Civil Wars – The Civil Wars
6 – Queen of Denmark – John Grant
7 – 12 Stops and Home – The Feeling
8 – Birds fly South – The Mastersons
9 – Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
10 – Life is People – Bill Fay
Glad to see a nod for London Grammar. I don’t know if they’ll make my top 10 but I’ve been Playing them a lot this week.
Me too. I wish they would come up with some new material.
The Mastersons are on my long list.
Can’t help thinking that what is missing is more interesting than what’s made the cut.
I knew this would be difficult so this is off the top of my head as that seemed easier than agonising over it. So…
1 – No Deal – Melanie de Biasio.
2 – Since I Left You – The Avalanches.
3 – The Epic – Kamasi Washington.
4 – Kid A – Radiohead.
5 – Stankonia – Outkast.
6 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco.
7 – Far From Over – Vijay Iyer Sextet.
8 – Nixon – Lambchop.
9 – Lift Your Skinny Fists… – Godspeed You Black Emperor!
10 – Sound Of Silver – LCD Soundsystem.
1 – Rules for Jokers – Thea Gilmore
2 – Mount the Air – The Unthanks
3 – The Queen of Denmark – John Grant
4 – Indian Ocean – Frazey Ford
5 – 13 Rivers – Richard Thompson
6 – Time (the Revelator) – Gillian Welch
7 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
8 – Dead Capital – Louis Brennan
9 – Owl John – Owl John
10 – Ragged Kingdom – June Tabor and the Oyster Band
Good list. Excellent call on Thea.
1 – Lost Horizons – Lemon Jelly
2 – Since I Left You – The Avalanches
3 – Untrue – Burial
4 – A Certain Trigger – Maximo Park
5 – Noone cares about your creative hub – Half Man Half Biscuit
6 – Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
7 – All Melody – Nils Frahm
8 – No Going Back – Stiff Little Fingers
9 – Supergrass – Supergrass
10 – Truth Is A Beautiful Thing – London Grammar
Bugger – just remembered Flaming Lips….so:
1 – Lost Horizons – Lemon Jelly
2 – Since I Left You – The Avalanches
3 – Untrue – Burial
4 – A Certain Trigger – Maximo Park
5 – Noone cares about your creative hub – Half Man Half Biscuit
6 – Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
7 – All Melody – Nils Frahm
8 – No Going Back – Stiff Little Fingers
9 – Supergrass – Supergrass
10 – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots – Flaming Lips
Yoshimi very nearly made my list too – great album, but lost points for nicking a Cat Stevens riff
I’m sure there are plenty I’ve missed, but after some too brief consideration I have come up with
1 – West Coast – Studio
2 – Left And Leaving – The Weakerthans
3- The ’59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem
4 – Rounds – Four Tet
5 – Get Well Soon – Sarabeth Tucek
6 – New Bermuda – Deafheaven
7 – Stranger In The Alps – Phoebe Bridgers
8 – Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will – Mogwai
9- Wrecking Ball – Bruce Springsteen
10 – Original Pirate Material – The Streets
This is such a hard one. It’s a diffuse list already and I fear I’m only going to add to that. But based on repeated plays in my house this past 20 years, here’s my top 10 …
1. Queen of Denmark – John Grant
2. Cole’s Corner – Richard Hawley
3.The Hour of Bewilderbeast – Badly Drawn Boy
4. Behind the Music – The Soundtrack of Our Lives
5. At Dawn – My Morning Jacket
6. Lost in the Dream – The War on Drugs
7. We’re All Gonna Die – Dawes
8. No Cities Left – The Dears
9.Tales From Turnpike House – Saint Etienne
10. Chore of Enchantment – Giant Sand
Wow, The Dears. I recently re-listened to No Cities Left having not played it for a fair few years. For some reason it doesn’t seem as dynamic as I remembered it. Gang of Losers, however, still sounds amazing to these ears (and is in my long list, will probably be in my top 10)
I’ve not enjoyed anything by them as much as No Cities Left, though I do check in with them from time to time.
1. Snapshot – The Strypes
2. The Liberty of Norton Folgate – Madness
3. Inform – Educate – Entertain – Public Service Broadcasting
4. Tekitoi? – Rachid Taha
5. Your Queen is a Reptile – Sons of Kemet
6. Royal Blood – Royal Blood
7. Prince of Tears – Baxter Dury
8. The Captain and the Kid – Elton John
9. Proxima Estacion: Esperanza – Manu Chao
10. Original Pirate Material – The Streets
Now hit send before I change my mind. Again.
Was tempting to just list all the Steven Wilson 5.1 remixes of old Yes albums, but I’m sure that is not in the spirit of the thing.
While preparing for this poll, I checked the number of plays on a variety of portable devices etc and found that the album I’ve listened to the most from this period is Dark Days/Light Years by Super Furry Animals. I love the grooves and the riffs. The drums are wonderfully recorded giving them a satisfying thump and the bass is all beef. They sound like a bunch of Welsh lads larking about in a recording studio with the advantage of having a gift for a tune. The lyrics are all tongue in cheek, seemingly made up on the spot. They make the ordinary sound extraordinary: a Kraftwerk tribute disguised as a song about trams, a mundane record collection, Cardiff In The Sun, White Socks/Flip Flops, making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s a joy from beginning to… well, except for the four minutes of noise at the end to clock the album in at a full hour.
Still. Here’s my top ten of the century so far:
1. – No Deal (2013) – Melanie De Biasio
2. – DAMN. (2017) – Kendrick Lamar
3. – Blackstar (2016) – David Bowie
4. – Aventine (2013) – Agnes Obel
5. – Untrue (2007) – Burial
6. – Arise – Zara McFarlane (2017)
7. – A Moon-Shaped Pool (2016) – Radiohead
8. – Truelove’s Gutter (2009) – Richard Hawley
9. – Currency Of Man (2015) – Melody Gardot
10. – The Infinity Dub Sessions (2014) – Deadbeat & St.Hilaire
The three I deeply regret not including: New Amerykah Part One – Erykah Badu, Lana Del Ray – Norman Fucking Rockwell! and Frazey Ford – Indian Ocean.
I had a feeling we would agree over the number one slot.
I like a lot on your list, especially the hippity-hoppity one! 😋
10’s just not enough is it. The dilemma over whether to list your actual favourite 10 albums, or whether to drop one of them to shoehorn somebody in who otherwise won’t get a mention. In the end I decided to go with my actual top 10 and have since felt that I have betrayed Sophie!
But, as always, I use these lists to listen to the ones I haven’t heard, just in case I’m missing out on anything. I’d never head of Melanie De Biasio before today, but I’ve just listened to No Deal and it is very good isn’t it.
The Infinity Dub Sessions narrowly missed out on mine too. It was a great recommendation, that one.
I applied arbitrary rules for myself. One act, one vote and five from each decade. I decided not to consider Jazz and ‘World’ because that would be too much. However, as you can see, I have three Jazz albums this time (all vocal, which isn’t quite the same) and the Teenies way outnumber the Noughties.
I believe No Deal is an outstanding piece of work. Her (and the band)’s other albums are excellent but nowhere near the same league. No Deal is comparable to a masterpiece like In A Silent Way, to which it nods acknowledgement.
Yes, I had a listen to her others too, but No Deal seemed miles better. I’ve thrown myself into the world of jazz these last few weeks, when I still have some way to go reggae-wise really, but a mate recommended a couple of albums (one being Somethin’ Else by Cannonball Adderley, which is ace) and, as is my way, I couldn’t wait and have dived in, so I am now trawling through both reggae and jazz blogs/books. Keeps me off the streets I suppose.
Whereas rap, grime, drum & bass and reggae have pretty manageable parameters, ‘jazz’ seems to veer off all over the place, so I’ve started, mainly, with the biggies from the 50s and 60s, as I was already familiar with some of the more well known albums. I imagine I’m gonna be down this rabbit hole for quite some time. Just listened to Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock, which is fab.
Really, really got to be careful though, cos the wife is getting very angry every time she sees a new CD arrive, even if it only cost me a quid. Should be okay when the Cannonball Adderley set comes tomorrow though, cos it’s going to be sunny, so she’ll be in the garden when the postie comes…
Oh dear. Jazz isn’t a rabbit hole it’s a warren.
You have an exhilarating ride ahead of you. Buckle up.
A veritable Watership Down.
Jazz as a rabbit hole? A Watership Down?
Then maybe it’d be good to listen to “Tales of the Algonquin” by John Surman and John … Warren.
That’s a mighty fine idea. It’ll make a change from Lettuce.
Tigger – I thought we might see Matthew Halsall’s “Fletcher Moss Park” in your Top 10. Maybe it just got squeezed out amid the white hot competition and ended up somewhere in the 11-20 places…
I meant to include it in my list but forgot. It should replace the Godspeed… album.
is that an official request to the scorers, Pencil? Happy to oblige if so.
Thanks Blue. Yes please make the change. As I initially wrote I posted off the top of my head I’m a bit surprised everything else I listed meets the criteria tbh.
Yes. I was trying to do without Jazz altogether but couldn’t resist those women. I could easily do a top hundred 21st Century Jazz
Mmm, I’m tempted to ask you to do just that, but I’ve inundated myself with new music these past few weeks, so I could really do without a new list to go through!
Melanie De Biasio – No Deal
Matthew Halsall – Fletcher Moss Park
Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth – Deluxe
The Nat Birchall Quartet – The Storyteller: A Musical Tribute To Yusef Lateef
Zara McFarlane – Arise
Henry Butler & Steven Bernstein & The Hot 9 – Viper’s Drag
GoGo Penguin – A Humdrum Star
Melody Gardot – Century Of Man
Sons Of Kemet – Your Queen Is A Reptile
Mammal Hands – Animalia
Emilio Teubal – Música Para un Dragon Dormindo
Binker Golding – Abstractions Of Reality Past And Incredible Feathers
Patricia Barber – Mythologies
Avishai Cohen – Into The Silence
Shabaka & The Ancestors – We Are Sent Here By History
Jon Thorne Danny Thompson – Watching The Well
Courtney Pine – Transition In Tradition (En Homage à Sidney Bechet)
Brian Landrus Kaleidoscope – Mirage
Branford Marsalis Quartet & Kurt Elling – Upward Spiral
Joyce Elaine Yuille – Welcome To My World
James Blackshaw & Lubomyr Melnyk – The Watchers
Joshua Redman & The Bad Plus
Donald Alexander Strachan And The Freedom Ensemble – Soul Translation
Jason Moran – All Rise: An Elegy To Fats Waller
Yussef Kamaal – Black Focus
Kojato, The Afro Latin Cougaritas – All About Jazz
Esbjörn Svensson Trio – E.S.T. Live In London
Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band – Seasons Of Changes
Chris Batchelor – Big Air
Wyatt/Atzmon/Stephen – For The Ghosts Within
The Necks – Open
Todd Gustavsen Quartet – The Well
Ketil Bjørnstad – La Notte
Anouar Brahem – Blue Maqams
John Surman – Coruscating
Binker & Moses – Alive In The East?
Solveig Slettahjell – Good Rain
Jack DeJohnette Muhal Richard Abrams Larry Gray Roscoe Mitchell & Henry Threadgill – Made In Chicago
Greg Foat/Jon Thorne – Photosynthesis
Emile Parisien Quintent with Joachim Kühn – Sfumato
Joe Armon-Jones – Turn To Clear View
John Zorn – The Mysteries
Julia Hülsmann Quartet – A Clear Midnight: Kurt Weil & America
Jan Garbarek – Twelve Moons
Jeff Parker – Suite For Max Brown
Lucia Cadtsch with Peter Eldh & Otis Sansjö – Speak Low
Yazz Ahmed – La Saboteuse
Mathias Eick – Midwest
Brad Mehldau – Highway Rider
The Comet Is Coming – Trust In The Lifeforce Of The Deep Mystery
Tomasz Stanko New York Quartet – December Avenue
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra – Portrait In Seven Shades
José James – Yesterday I Had The Blues
John Ellis – Evolution: Seeds & Streams
Ezra Collective – You Can’t Steal My Joy
Steve Lehman Quartet – Mise en Abime
Cècile McLorin Salvant – Dreams And Daggers
Tim Garland Gwylim Simcock Asaf Girkis – Lighthouse
Hilario Duran – From The Heart
Claire Martin Daniel Fredriksson Martin Sjöstedt
JD Allen – Americana
Ian Shaw – The Theory Of Joy
Jack McDuff – Brotherly Love
Bill Frisell & Thomas Morgan – Small Town
Madeleine Peyroux – Half The Perfect World
Chris Thirle & Brad Mehldau
Dayna Stephens – Gratitude
Cassandra Wilson – Silver Wilson
Aketi Ray – From Ever Since
Gregory Porter – Liquid Spirit
Dinosaur – Together, As One
Bakehouse – Before I Forget
Ischmael Ensemble – A State Of Flow
Stefano Bollani – Piano Variations on Jesus Christ Superstar
Charles Lloyd New Quartet – Passin’ Thru
Jan Johansson – Folkvisor – Jazz På Svenska
Carolyn Leonhart – The Romatic Music Of Robert Allen
Portico Quartet – Knee Deep In The North Sea
Snarky Puppy – Culcha Vulcha
Vijay Iyer Trio – Far From Over
Wolfgang Muthspiel Trio – Brightside
Adam Fairhall – Friendly Ghosts
Bobby Hutcherson – Enjoy The View
Joanna MacGregor & Andy Sheppard – Deep River
Ambrose Akinmusire – When The Heart Emerges Glistening
Alexander Hawkins Ensemble – Live At Cafe Oto
Tenderlonious – The Shakedown
Billy Childs – Map To The Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro
Camilla George Quartet – Isang
Kamasi Washington – Heaven And Earth
Nicolas Moreaux – Fall Somewhere
Trio Libero
Keith Jarrett Gary Peacock Jack DeJohnette – Inside Out
Bobby Watson Quartet – Love Remains
John Taylor – Angel Of The Presence
Jaga Jazzist – Starfire
Empirical
Marius Neset with Ivo Neame, Jim Hart, Petter Eldh & Anton Eger – Pinball
Szun Waves – New Hymn To Freedom
Rudy Royston – 303
That’s sticking to one album per artist, though in Jazz line ups are fluid, no compilations and no archive material.
You do realise what you’ve just done, don’t you? 94 albums to listen to, as I already have 6. I only downloaded the Ezra Collective one this evening, as they popped up on an Apple playlist I was flicking through this morning.
One problem I’ve noticed, as I flicked through the Apple Radio playlists and as I’ve listened to albums recommended on blogs, is that there can be a fine line between some jazz albums and muzak. I’ve decided that the yardstick is Getz/Gilberto, as that seems to fall just on the right side. I’ve seen some people commenting that it belongs on the other side, and I guess it has been played in the odd lift or two, but I like it. I guess it will be like sorting the good rap music from the stuff that gets played on MTV (and my daughter’s phone!).
So, Matthew Halsall first then…
Grand list Tigg and I am loath to niggle but Far From Over is a recording from the Vijay Iyer Sextet not the trio.
Yes you are quite right. I had pencilled in Break Stuff (see what I did there?) and changed my mind.
The thing about the sextet as opposed to the trio is you get twice as much for the same money.
Loads and loads to dig into there. I can see just how much stuff I’ve missed. Should keep my ears busy for a good while.
A couple of inevitable typos in such a long list:
Tord Gustavsen Quartet, not Todd
Asaf Sirkis, not Girkis with Tim Garland and Gwilym Simcock.
What can I say? My iPod doesn’t recognise certain names. It’s American and possibly racist.
Thanks for the “Hundred Albums To Avoid At All Cost” list. Seriously ,and especially when I’m looking at my provisional Top 10, you make me feel so mainstream…
My pleasure
And I feel so awed. Think I’ll stick to folk….
There’s been a lot, and I mean a lot, of great Jazz this century.
Now now, let’s not exaggerate
No order of preference for me.
1.- Snow borne sorrow- Nine Horses
2.- Sea Change- Beck
3.- Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea- P.J. Harvey
4. Highway Companion- Tom Petty
5. Fast Forward- Joe Jackson
6. Fool- Joe Jackson
7. Clearing- Softspot
8. Halo- Juana Molina
9. Un Dia- Juana Molina
10. Beauty and Crime- Suzanne Vega
Double Juana – good man!
My singletons are diminishing by the day.
Double everything!
I’ve just noticed that, on a gender basis, my list is an equal split between the sexes when there used to be two. I’m maybe I’m amazed.
Hard choice but finally –
1. The Evangelist – Robert Forster
2. Natalie Merchant – Natalie Merchant
3. Illinois – Sufjan Stevens
4. Back to Me – Kathleen Edwards
5. Southerneastern – Jason Isbell
6. Bachelor Number 2 – Aimee Mann
7. Begin to Hope – Regnia Spektor
8. The Stoop – Little Jackie
9. Lust for Life – Lana del Ray
10. High Violet – The National
1. To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
2. High Violet – The National
3. Queen of Denmark – John Grant
4. I’m new here – Gil Scott Heron
5. The Defenestration of St Martin – Martin Rossiter
6. Absent Friends – Divine Comedy
7. Norman Fucking Rockwell – Lana Del Rey
8. The Liberty of Norton Folgate – Madness
9. Sleep well beast – The National
10. Yoshimi battles the pink robots – Flaming Lips
I wasn’t aware that Martin Rossiter had released a solo album. The first Gene album is one of my favourite records. I saw them a couple of times. The last time was at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, when he was supported by the great Stephen Duffy, so it was a great night. I had a ticket to see them at the Astoria (I think) the following night, but I went to Shepherd’s Bush and swapped the ticket with a tout, as Duffy wasn’t supporting him the following night (it may have been a couple of days late, I can’t quite remember). Anyway, I ended up sitting down, overlooking the side of the stage. Halfway through Gene’s set, Rossiter announced that he wanted to dedicate the next song to someone special in the audience. A spotlight then shone right at me. I was wondering what the feck was going on, until he mentioned that his gran had come to see him, at which point I realised she was sitting directly in front of me.
There are a couple of Martin Rossiter solo gigs with tickets for sale next June. I don’t know much about him myself, but just saw that message on Stella Creasey’s Twitter. See Ticketbastard for info.
They are farewell concerts re-arranged from this year. He has done a few NHS related things online too during lockdown. The solo album is clearly a labour of love and at times pretty brutal but honest and moving and a regular late night source of me pandering to my maudlin side…. Recommended.
1 – Blonde – Frank Ocean
2 – Nostalgia, Ultra – Frank Ocean
3 – Above The Bones – Mishka
4 – Guy With A Guitar – Mishka
5 – Is a Woman – Lambchop
6 – The Race for Space – Public Service Broadcasting
7 – Blemish – David Sylvian
8 – Manafon – David Sylvian
9 – Kiwanuka – Michael Kiwanuka
10 – Roots Controller – Misty In Roots
1- Surf – Roddy Frame
2- At My Age – Nick Lowe
3- Gold – Ryan Adams
4- Handcream for A Generation – Cornershop
5- Coles Corner – Richard Hawley
6- Up The Bracket – The Libertines
7- The ArchAndroid – Janelle Monae
8- Sticky Wickets – Duckworth Lewis Method
9- Performance- White Denim
10- White Blood Cells – The White Stripes
An observation:
I’m noticing a lot more variety in the 10s for this period compared to say the Overall, or other periods we’ve explored.
The big hitters – David Bowie, Kate Bush, Bruce Springsteen, and Elvis Costello oft mentioned.
Is it that theses later albums haven’t fully had the chance to bed into our conscience?
Also, we haven’t necessarily had time to get bored of them, or take therm for granted?
Is it an age thing? Where previously our guide may have been Smash Hits, Q, Mojo, etc, we now know what we like, and are willing to explore further than the popular media suggests?
With the splintering of “the biz”, the multitudes of genres, and the relative ease of getting stuff to market and consuming it, could it be that there is just more music out there, and by association, more gems to be found?
First thing I’m noticing is that the recent “AW Album of the Year” winners (apart from Blackstar) aren’t getting many votes in this poll.
Aerial is as bedded in now as Dark Side of the Moon would have been in the late 80s; certainly is for me.
I love the suite of songs on Disc 2 of Aerial, but am less keen on Disc 1. So that’s why the album never features in any duco01 lists of favourite albums.
John Grant’s Queen of Denmark looks like an early leader; surprisingly less love for his other records, though The Richard Hawley vote is split but it looks like Truelove’s Gutter might feature (it is a great record). And there’s a lot of love for the last Lana Del Rey album. It is ridiculously diffuse. I think that probably is due the music press having less influence, and things being much easier to sample for ourselves via streaming.
I’m not so surprised about John Grant. I find QOD to be head and shoulders above his other solo albums. There are a couple of Czars albums that are quite good, but not as good as QOD.
Restricting to one per artist.
1 – Antidepressant – Lloyd Cole
2 – Shadows – Teenage Fanclub
3 – The Convincer – Nick Lowe
4 – Calexico/Iron & Wine – In the Reins
5 – Public Service Broadcasting – The Race for Space
6 – Last Temptation of Chris – Chris Difford
7 – Smile – Jayhawks
8 -Truelove’s Gutter – Richard Hawley
9 – You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen
10 – 21st Century Man – Luke Haines
It’s been an unadventurous (and ever decreasing in music-listening terms) two decades musically for me. But some good stuff there.
1 – Wasp Star – XTC
2 – Lost Horizons – Lemon Jelly
3 – Jollity – Pugwash
4 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
5 – Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
6 – Lost in Space – Aimee Mann
7 – Meaningless – Jon Brion
8 – Rainy Day Music – The Jayhawks
9 – Pneumonia – Whiskeytown
10 – Farrah – Farrah
1 – Frazey Ford – Indian Ocean
2 – Kathleen Edwards – Voyageur
3 – Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
4 – Rosanne Cash – The River And The Thread
5 – Bruce Springsteen – The Rising
6 – Rodney Crowell – Fate’s Right Hand
7 – Ryan Adams – Gold
8 – Israel Nash – Rain Plans
9 – Chuck Prophet – Let Freedom Ring!
10 – Gillian Welch – Time (The Revelator)
Ooh Err, wrong format:
1 – Indian Ocean – Frazey Ford
2 – Voyageur – Kathleen Edwards
3 – Something More Than Free – Jason Isbell
4 – The River And The Thread – Rosanne Cash
5 – The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
6 – Fate’s Right Hand – Rodney Crowell
7 – Gold – Ryan Adams
8 – Rain Plans – Israel Nash
9 – Let Freedom Ring! – Chuck Prophet
10 – Time (The Revelator) – Gillian Welch
I seem to be a sort of pop apologist!
1 – Attitunes – Amsterdam
2 – Joined Up Talking – My Life Story
3 – The Baboon In The Basement – Martin Gordon
4 – Birth/Death – The Computers
5 – Le Pop – Katzenjammer
6 – Songs Of Strength And Heartbreak – The Mighty Wah!
7 – Music From The Motion Picture – Josie And The Pussycats
8 – A Map Of The Floating City – Thomas Dolby
9 – Hear Come The Aliens – Kim Wilde
10- Hippopotamus – Sparks
A map of the floating city is a surprise to see here.
1 – Stramash – Colin Steele
2 – Love and Hate – Michael Kiwanuka
3 – My Secret is My Silence – Roddy Woomble
4 – Niteworks – Niteworks
5 – The Light the Dead See – Soulsavers
6 – Soul Journey – Gillian Welch
7 – Lushlife – Lushlife
8 – Water of Leith – Blue Rose Code
9 – Anomic – Marconi Union feat. Jah Wobble
10 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
Impossibly difficult to leave out many of my favourite artists.
I’m in awe and envy of those who found it hard to narrow down their choices…it appears I’ve purchased and enjoyed very little in the last 20 years. Hey ho!
1 – The Queen of Denmark – John Grant
2 – Hello Young Lovers – Sparks
3 – Thirst for Romance – Cherry Ghost
4 – The trials of Van Occupanther – Midlake
5 – Further/Deeper – The Church
6 – The Good, the Bad and the Queen – The Good, the Bad and the Queen
7 – I follow Rivers – Lykke Li
8 – Autumn in the Neighbourhood – China Crisis
9 – Stay Gold – First Aid Kit
10 – NormanfuckingRockwell!- Lana Del Rey
Thanks for reminding me about China Crisis, that’s going on the long list. I think it might be their best work…
Same No 1 as me, and three that nearly made my list. That Cherry Ghost album i great as is their third one (not sure what happened with the second).
@martin-horsfield
There’s a 3rd album??? How have I missed that? The debut is ace but like you didn’t rate the follow up at all. No tuneage. Must give it another go.
Here you go – it’s already five years since it came out: We’re due another one:
I can’t help feeling that Elbow have somehow had his career, but apparently he gets writing credits on others’ songs, so at least he’s making a living. Great singer, especially.
Bugger @martin-horsfield
Just seen this ,a couple of hours after ordering it from the tax dodgers along with Simon Aldred’s solo album.
@martin-horsfield
First play . Seems a bit one paced but actually getting better the longer it goes on.
@lemonhope
I think you might be right! There are at least a couple of corkers on there.
It’s such a consistently strong set of songs. Mature, in the best sense.
China Crisis are playing in a pub half a mile from me next year (rearranged from this). A pub. (ok, a micro brewery – but in the west of Bradford) It seems odd that a band who were TOTP big would playing such venues. Apparently they are playing the London Palladium on the same tour.
I don’t understand touring anymore.
@paulwright
Go see them! Good fun live and their latest album is v good.
They played The Horn in St. Alban’s – a fine music pub, but still.
1. Yes, when I was a boy, that pub, at the junction of Victoria Street and Alma Road was called the Horn of Plenty. Then, sometime in the 1980s (?), it got a makeover and became The Horn Reborn. As you say, it’s now called, simply, the Horn.
2. Erm …. Twang, me old mate … there’s no apostrophe in St. Albans. We’re talking about the city of my birth here! 🙂
Sorry flipping autocorrect! I lived there for 20 years!
1 – The Delivery Man – Elvis Costello
2 – Wasp Star – XTC
3 – Abbattoir Blues – Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
4 – Blackstar – David Bowie
5 – The Convincer – Nick Lowe
6 – Alice – Tom Waits
7 – Rainy Day Music – the Jayhawks
8 – The Knowledge – Squeeze
9 – Out of Season – Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man
10 – Western Stars – Bruce Springsteen
This is the most difficult poll of the three…I’ve sweated over my “short list” of 85 albums for a week now, and each day I come up with at least three different top tens, all equally correct!
As painful as this is, here’s today’s list:
1 – Sky Blue Sky – Wilco
2 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
3 – Lost In Space – Aimee Mann
4 – Noble Beast/Useless Creatures – Andrew Bird
5 – Long Gone Before Daylight – The Cardigans
6 – Skit I Allt – Dungen
7 – Blackstar – David Bowie
8 – Big Bad Luv – John Moreland
9 – Indian Ocean – Frazey Ford
10 – Alabursy – Daniel Norgren
I’m already regretting this list!
Superlative top 2! But you are missing A Ghost is Born 😉
I know! It was painful to cut any Wilco album out from that list! Sophie’s choice…
Hope you’re not regretting Big Bad Luv – that’s a fine choice that I forgot about when I was compiling my list.
No – I don’t regret any of my choices, I only regret having to leave out equally fine albums. John Moreland is brilliant, any of his albums would deserve a spot on any best of-list.
1 – History of Modern – OMD
2 – Pure Heroine – Lorde
3 – Tour de France Soundtracks – Kraftwerk
4 – Heathen – David Bowie
5 – Playing the Angel – Depeche Mode
6 – 10,000hz Legend – Air
7 – Tron:Legacy – Daft Punk
8 – 1989 – Taylor Swift
9 – Savage – Gary Numan
10 – Ringleader of the Tormentors – Morrissey
@black-celebration – I watched the new DM doc this morning. I didn’t catch it at the pictures. It was a bit like a better looking (the film, not the band!) and better structured version of 101. I haven’t watched the full concert yet, but a couple of things stood out from the clips. Firstly, Gahan has almost completely turned into Mick Jagger. All that remains is for him to adopt that stupid accent Jagger uses on stage and the job’s done. But the biggest shock was that the editor managed to find clips where Fletch was actually playing something! There was a bit of his odd, half-hearted gesturing to the crowd, but he certainly seemed to be contributing to the music on more than one occasion. Of course, that’s presuming they plugged his keyboard in!
It’s a great set for £20 though, with 2 CDs and 2 Blu Rays.
@paul-wad Anton Corbijn’s genius as a director is apparent when he captures the hither-to elusive musicality of Fletch.
I can see the Gahan/Jagger thing but I think he has developed his stage craft from Dave Vanian. I have written at tedious length on this before so I’ll leave it there.
All joshing aside, it is very well done and I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I’ve been a fan of The Damned since the early 80s, but they’re a band I’ve never seen live. A couple of mates of mine went to the night of a thousand vampires show at the Palladium. Had they told me about it beforehand I’d have gone with them and I was extremely jealous when I read the reviews and saw the pictures. What Vanian did for the second half must trump anything that anybody has ever done before during a concert!
Incidentally, I had one of their old roadies in my living room last year, as my daughter is mates with his daughter. He told me a few good stories and surprised me with one or two Vanian stories, as I thought he was the cultured one and would have instead expected Scabies or the Captain to have been the culprit.
OMD released an album in the last 20 years? Who knew?
I revisited the album recently and I think the songwriting is remarkable. More than that is the return of the powerful industrial noises that rattle the speakers and rearrange your internal organs when played loud. I find good songs and loud noises irresistible.
1 – Two Way Monologue – Sondre Lerche
2 – Figure Eight – Elliot Smith
3 – From a Compound Eye – Robert Pollard
4 – Field Music – Field Music
5 – The Lost Album – Lewis Taylor
6 – Fed – Plush
7 – Sleep/Holiday – Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci
8 – Bachelor No. 2 – Aimee Mann
9 – Reconstruction Site – The Weakerthans
10 – Poses – Rufus Wainwright
After listening to Ms Ford’s ‘Done’ and ‘September Fields’ my # 5 may change to Indian Ocean…
1 – Felt Mountain – Goldfrapp
2 – Semper Femina – Laura Marling
3 – Not Dark Yet – Shelby Lynne And Alison Moorer
4 – Statues – Moloko
5 – U Kin B The Sun – Frazey Ford
6 – On The Cobbles – John Martyn
7 – Under The Black Light – Rilo Kiley
8 – Liars – Todd Rundgren
9 – Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time – Steve Mason
10 – Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams
…and if anyone is interested:
11 – Overpowered – Roisin Murphy
12 – Truelove’s Gutter – Richard Hawley
13 – Fanfare – Jonathan Wilson
14 – Magical World Of The Strands – Michael Head And The Strands
15 – The Raven That Refused To Sing – Steve Wilson
Oh how did I leave out Kacey Musgraves’ Same Trailer Different Park
1. Long Gone Before Daylight – The Cardigans
2. Nashville – Josh Rouse
3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
4. Here’s To Taking It Easy – Phosphorescent
5. Wounded Rhymes – Lykke Li
6. Rewind The Film – Manic Street Preachers
7. Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket
8. A Bad Wind Blows in My Heart – BIll Ryder Jones
9. Cassadega – Bright Eyes
10. Magic – Bruce Springsteen
Two of Kaisfatdad’s mates (a married couple) once employed Lykke Li as a babysitter for their children.
No – it’s true!
This was hard, cant we have 5 lists?
1. Seldom Seen Kid – Elbow
2. Voyageur – Kathleen Edwards
3. Real Animal – Alejandro Escovedo
4. C’est La Vie – Phosphorescent
5. Look now – Elvis Costello
6. Old Ideas – Leonard Cohen
7. Floating coffin – Thee oh Sees
8. KMAG YOYO – Hayes Carrl
9. Are we there? – Sharon Van Etten
10. Blessed – Lucinda Williams
Just a thought but can we do one for compilations next? Deutsche Elektronische Musik and Dark Was the night would both have figured in my top 10 but I dont think they fit the remit.
I thought Voyageur might well appear in your list.
I forgot about Alejandro. Too late to revise things now.
Yeah I had compiled my list in my head before I saw yours and yes I thought there would be at least two of us nominating it.
Yeah I had compiled my list in my head before I saw yours and yes I thought there would be at least two of us nominating it.
1. Donuts – J Dilla
2. Stankonia – Outkast
3. DAMN – Kendrick Lamar
4. Don’t Believe The Truth – Oasis
5. Fletcher Moss Park – Mathew Halsall
6. Seven Days Of Falling – Esbjorn Svensson Trio
7. Greendale – Neil Young and Crazy Horse
8. Phrenology – The Roots
9. Love Kraft – Super Furry Animals
10. New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War – Erykah Badu
Nice to see love for Greendale. It’s a real love or hate album. I feel positively about it, though not as much as Mr Shears.
Can a playlist be generated of one track from all of the combined artists listed from the entire thread once this is completed?
I don’t ask for much.
If it’s a Spotify playlist ye desire I’d be happy to oblige. I’ll do a track six playlist, as is my want. In fact, even if you don’t want a Spotify-track-six-playlist, that’s what I’m gonna do.
If anyone else wants to do one have at it – one can’t have too many playlists IMO.
Oh man,if you could achieve that, that would be awesome.
Yes please. There’s so much stuff on these lists that’s new to me, a sampler would be great
The playlist is in progress – lord, its a mammoth task [me and my big mouth]
1- Creatures of Light and Dark – Jackie Leven
2 – Blinking Lights and Other Revelations – Eels
3- Harp and a Monkey – Harp and a Monkey
4 – Cursed With Being – Gorgeous
5 – No Such Place – Jim White
6 – It’s a Wonderful Life – Sparklehorse
7 – More Arriving – Sarathy Korwar
8 – Land Fall – Laurie Anderson and the Kronos Quartet
9 – Transgelic Exodus – Ezra Furman
10 – Welcome 2 My Nightmare – Alice Cooper
As always, only one choice per artist…..
Calling all Joanna Newsom fans on the Afterword!
When it was announced that there would be a poll of our favourite albums from the 21st century, I naturally assumed that Ms Newsom would feature strongly – that there would floods of votes for “Ys” and “Have One On Me”. But how many votes has she polled so far? Zilch. Nowt. Nada. A big fat zero. What’s wrong with you, Afterworders? Why have you forsaken the alluring, elfin, duck-voiced, harp-playing Californian song-thrush? I’m going to include every Newsom album in sight on my list, but my efforts won’t be enough. Come on, Afterworders – vote, vote, vote for La Newsom.
Anyone following the above advice should be banned from posting on here for ever and ever (and ever).
Am sure this is illegal, agree a permanent ban is suitable.
Lodey is quite right – vote for Carrie and Lowell instead
Have one on me might have appeared on a longer list, but Top 10 from 20 years? Not quite.
She’s on my draft list! 🤪
She was so close, Have One On Me and Divers were both considered and placed on preliminary lists, until left off at the last minute. I think what made her end up outside of my final Top Ten (which really is a way too small number) is that – as much as I love her albums – I can’t immediately start humming any of her songs without hearing them first.
“Humming her songs”? There is so much Wrong with that sentence.
😀
Sorry @duco01 but she really is dreadful.
I liked the one song that was used in the Orange advert – the other side of the blue I think it was called – really liked it. Everything else is complete tosh.
Has she learned what a tune is yet? I gave up after Ys.
“Have one on me” has tunes. The others have tunes too but they are long measures not 16 bars then a chorus, it’s true.
Doing this quickly in case I forget about it and miss the deadline again so I may be leaving out something I’ll regret later. Anyway, 5 points for each please @Blue-Boy
– Blackstar – David Bowie
– Push The Sky Away – Nick Cave
– Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends – Coldplay
– Chaleur Humaine – Christine And The Queens
– Aerial – Kate Bush
– Rain – Joe Jackson
– Awayland – Villagers
– Courting The Squall – Guy Garvey
– A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead
– So Beautiful Or So What – Paul Simon
Also In Contention: Western Stars (Bruce) / Build A Rocket, Boys! Elbow) / When I was Cruel (E.C.) / Far (Regina Specktor) / Casadega (Bright Eyes) / Mental Illness (Aimee Mann)
Oh man! How did I forget about ‘When I Was Cruel’? 🤦♂️
Apologies to A Girl Called Eddy but it’s way too soon for this poll. She’ll probably have to be content with being my album of the year.
1 – Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
2 – World Without Tears – Lucinda Williams
3 – Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett
4 – Alpinisms – School Of Seven Bells
5 – The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night – The Besnard Lakes
6 – Ride The Black Wave – The Donkeys
7 – 40 Days – The Wailin’ Jennys
8 – The Adventures Of Zodd Zundgren – The Ed Palermo Big Band
9 – Ceduna – The Sand Pebbles
10 – Tale To Tell – The Mummers
The next 3 slots are all Joanna Newsom. So close…
1 – Years of Meteors – Laura Veirs
2 – Wriggle out the Restless – This is the Kit
3 – The Decline of British Sea Power – British Sea Power
4 – Out of Season – Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man
5 – The Optimist – Turin Brakes
6 – You Forget it in People – Broken Social Scene
7 – Real Life – Joan as Policewoman
8 – Queen of Denmark – John Grant
9 – Strays – Jane’s Addiction
10 – Breaking Up – The Research
Decided not to vote for some of the more obvious choices so I took a deep dive back into the ‘e-music years’ of my collection for a few of these. The order is fairly arbitrary, but I hope somebody finds something they like here 🙂
1 – High Society – The Silver Seas
2 – Post-War – M Ward
3 – Picaresque – The Decemberists
4 – Mothers Daughter and other Tales – Tunng
5 – Tell No Lies – Justin Adams & Juldeh Camara
6 – Strange Geometry – The Clientele
7 – My Way – Akufen
8 – Cannibal Sea – The Essex Green
9 – Several Arrows Later – matt pond pa
10 – Neon Golden – The Notwist
1 – Southeastern – Jason Isbell
2 – Two Against Nature – Steely Dan
3 – Stripping Cane – Jeffrey Foucault
4 – Hand. Cannot. Erase. – Steven Wilson
5 – Love and its Opposite – Tracy Thorn
6 -Dixie Blur – Jonathan Wilson
7 – Fever Dream – Ben Watt
8 – Time (the Revelator) – Gillian Welch
9 – Still – Richard Thompson
10 – Have one on me- Joanna Newsom
1 – Diamond Mine – King Creosote and Jon Hopkins
2 – Hand. Cannot. Erase. – Steven Wilson
3 – Essence – Lucinda Williams
4 – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
5 – Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
6 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
7 – Sky Blue Sky – Wilco
8 – Humming by the Flowered Vine – Laura Cantrell
9 – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips
10 – The Great Destroyer – Low
Bubbling under…
Soul Journey – Gillian Welch
Lemonade – Beyoncé
Crimson/Red – Prefab Sprout
Nothing is Wrong – Dawes
1989 – Taylor Swift
1 – The Woods – Sleater Kinney
2 – Tender Buttons – Broadcast
3 – Let England Shake – PJ Harvey
4 – A Ghost is Born – Wilco
5 – Venice – Fennesz
6 – Have You In My Wilderness – Julia Holter
7 – Burial – Burial
8 – Third – Portishead
9 – Sound of Silver – LCD Soundsystem
10 – Ys – Joanna Newsom
For what its worth, here are mine. They could be completely different tomorrow, but `i will stick with these;
1. I am Kloot – I am Kloot
2. Campfire Headphase – Boards Of Canada
3. Quiet is the New Loud – Kings of Convenience
4. Rounds – Four Tet
5. Days to Come – Bonobo
6. Mouse and the Mask – Danger Doom
7. The Cosmic Game – Thievery Corporation
8. Queen of Denmark – John Grant
9. Leaders of the Free World – Elbow
10. Through the window pane – Guillemots
@BigJimBob Guillemots are a great choice. Wish they were still around although I would have gone for Hello Land.
Yeah I nearly went for that too.
lots of bubbling-unders including La Newsom, Doves, Josh Rouse, Janelle Monae, Vinicio Capossela, Kid Creosote, and Laura Veirs
Some very good albums there, not least the first appearance of the mighty MF DOOM. He nearly made my top 10, but with Madvillainy. I spent ages, a fair bit of detective work and quite a bit of money, tracking all his CDs down, not helped by him releasing nearly every disc under a different name or in a new collaboration. As a 50 year old northern English bloke, I took a great deal of pride last summer when a young hipster girl working in the amusement area of the Navy Pier in Chicago commented ‘nice DOOM t-shirt’ to me, whilst me and the wife were queuing with the kids at one of the rides. For a few seconds the kids looked at me as if I was cool, before quickly reverting to type and dishing out the ‘fat’, ‘old’ and ‘bald’ insults.
Madvillainy. – great album. I like the bubblegum thing Danger Mouse brings to the mix though. The Viktor Vaugn – Vaudeville Villain is also worth the price of buying for him taking the piss out of himself with Let Me Watch.
Oh I will have to get a tee-shirt now – to be one of the cool kids.
Nah, the cool dad thing was over in the blink of an eye and now I’m back to being too old and fat to be wearing a T-shirt with a picture of a rapper on it. Fortunately, too old to care.
1 – Illinois – Sufjan Stevens
2 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
3 – In Rainbows – Radiohead
4 – Black Star – David Bowie
5 – Aerial – Kate Bush
6 – Surprise – Paul Simon
7 – Translinear Light – Alice Coltrane
8 – Believers – Deacon Blue
9 – Caustic Love – Paolo Nutini
10 – Adventure Man – Eg White
So many possibilities. Sufjan would be in any top 10 of mine. Eg White could do with more recognition, 24 years of hunger is in my all time top 10 too.
I too love 24 Years of Hunger, but I was a little disappointed with Adventure Man. It’s good, but doesn’t reach the heights of his first two albums. He certainly needs more recognition, not only for his own music, but also for the songs he has written for others, but I’d also add that he should have released more music himself. There were 5 years between his first two albums and then another 13 year wait for Adventure Man and nothing since. For starters he could release his own version of this Ivor Novello award winning number one he wrote.
An album of songs for others? I think he is so busy getting paid for writing and isn’t that bothered about his own music sadly. I thought Adventure Man wasn’t that good, ditto Rocket Man, but then I realised I was just comparing to the peerless 24 years and relistened and just enjoyed them.
Plus I reserve a place for Rough and Rowdy Ways. Beginning to think it’s a masterpiece.
Well, I’m not ready to post yet, but my number one will be Rough And Rowdy Ways by Bob Dylan. I had written off Dylan in 2004 when his voice collapsed into shit. I was given a kick up the arse by Tell Tall Signs in 2008 though, but that was largely older stuff.
I urge you all not to vote unless you have at least given a quick listen to Rough And Rowdy Ways. It’s on You Tube I believe. I have been totally overwhelmed by the greatness of this record. In fact I have played nothing else for the last 9 days since it came out. It is perfection. And no, my name’s not Jeff Rosen.
Profound in the truest sense. The man is nearing the end of his mortal life. Bowie was a bit more personal. Dylan is a bit more species concerned.
His rhyming is exemplary.
Poetry is rhyming. I’m pretty sure that is the definition anyway.
Slam poetry all you want, all you coffee goers are nothing but a will without a want.
Poetry is condensed thought. It can be accessible or demanding or both. Rough And Rowdy Ways is both. The rhyming couplets are just a contrivance of form. They make it pleasing to the ear.
“All you coffee goers are nothing but a will without a want” is poetry. It demands thought.
This album is profound. It makes Dylan’s previous four albums of original songs seem like unconsidered trifles. Leonard Cohen in an unguarded moment once confessed that he thought most popular music was marred by “laziness.”
“Something is going on but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?” comes to mind for some reason.
Hold the front page! Just in from The Languedoc.
1 – Norman Fucking Rockwell – Lana del Ray
2 – Prodigal Son – Ry Cooder
3 – 1989 – Taylor Swift
4 – 1989 – Ryan Adams
5 – A Friend of a Friend – Dave Rawlings Machine
6 – Southeastern – Jason Isbell
7 – Pure Heroine – Lorde
8 – Last Night On Earth – Noah And The Whale
9 – Wilco (The Album) – Wilco
10 – High – The Blue Nile
I always read where you’re from as ‘The language dock’.
Never mind that – bet you think that’s a bonza list, eh? Bet you listened to at least one of those at least once?
Surprised Ry’s Been knocked off your number one spot, Lodes. I had it just outside my top ten but having listened to it yesterday I am regretting the decision….
I know it’s early days for the Lana record but so far it really is the best thing I have heard this century.
I’m waiting on the sampler. 🍻
1 – Modern Blues – The Waterboys
2 – Truelove’s Gutter – Richard Hawley
3 – Astronaut Meets Appleman – King Creosote
4 – Egypt Station – Paul McCartney
5 – Inform Educate Entertain – Public Service Broadcasting
6 – Painting It Red – The Beautiful South
7 – The Liberty Of Norton Folgate – Madness
8 – The Captain & The Kid – Elton John
9 – 50 Words For Snow – Kate Bush
10 – Wintersmith – Steeleye Span
Tough choices above and tough to leave out: Elton’s Songs From The West Coast, Bruce’s Western Stars, Thea Gilmore’s Small World Turning, Richard Hawley’s Coles Corner and Ray LaMontagne’s Til The Sun Turns Black. Give it a couple of weeks or so and I suspect Rough And Rowdy Ways will be knocking on the door too.
1 – Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards – Tom Waits
2 – You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen
3 – Rough and Rowdy Ways – Bob Dylan
4 – Blackstar – David Bowie
5 – The Imperial – The Delines
6 – Southeastern – Jason Isbell
7 – Soul Journey – Gillian Welch
8 – Not Dark Yet – Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer
9 – Close Ties – Rodney Crowell
10 – My Favorite Picture of You – Guy Clark
1 – In Rainbows – Radiohead
2 – Norman Fucking Rockwell – Lana Del Rey
3 – Hand.Cannot.Erase – Steven Wilson
4 – Lost In The Dream – The War On Drugs
5 – Honey – Robyn
6 – A Moon Shaped Pool – Radiohead
7 – Blackstar – David Bowie
8 – Body Talk – Robyn
9 – Black Cherry – Goldfrapp
10 – Overpowered – Roisin Murphy
Serms like the 00s were a bit of fag-end of the 90s. A landfill of rock bands that have been discarded. The 10s rather more open to all styles and possibilities and the better for it. Strong for female electronic pop. Radiohead stand strong throughout, still exceptional.
1. Blackstar – David Bowie
2. Wasp Star – XTC
3. Come Away With Me – Norah Jones
4. Raising Sand – Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
5. Wise Up Ghost – Elvis Costello and the Roots
6. Harps And Angels – Randy Newman
7. Prodigal Son – Ry Cooder
8. The Bairns – Rachel Unthank and The Winterset
9. Rejoice – Hugh Masakela and Tony Allen
10. So Beautiful So What – Paul Simon
1 – Li’l Beethoven – Sparks
2 – Commune – Goat
3 – Black Mountain – Black Mountain
4 – Espers II – Espers
5 – The Mighty Rearranger – Robert Plant and the Strange Sensation
6 – De Stijl – The White Stripes
7 – Sea Change – Beck
8 – By Bye Beaute – Coralie Clement
9 – 604 – Ladytron
10 – Escape from Dragon House – Dengue Fever
After contributing to the all-time favourites poll, I singularly failed with the 80s and 90s one. Having been able to come-up with a Top 4 (those from that period already in the former), I was unable to reduce the other 50 or so on the shortlist to the remaining 6 spots. Seriously.
Therefore, and with some trepidation, my Top 10 are:
1 – Blackstar – David Bowie
2 – All Melody – Nils Frahm
3 – Mount The Air – The Unthanks
4 – Aerial – Kate Bush
5 – The Tyburn Tree (Dark London) – Marc Almond & John Harle
6 – Greendale – Neil Young & Crazy Horse
7 – Melanie De Biasio – No Deal
8 – Departure Songs – Hammock
9 – Finlandia – Johann Johannson
10 – You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen
Nice to see Jóhann Jóhannnsson in your Top Ten, Biggles, but I think the title of the album is Fordlandia, not Finlandia.
Great record, anyway.
Thank you for spotting my daft error.
Englaborn (sic) & Variations make a great vinyl package, too!
1 – Sound of Silver – LCD Soundsystem
2 – Born To Die – Lana Del Ray
3 – Discovery – Daft Punk
4 – Contra – Vampire Weekend
5 – A Deeper Understanding – The War on Drugs
6 – High Violet – The National
7 – The XX – The XX
8 – The Neon Bible – Arcade Fire
9 – Original Pirate Material – The Streets
10 Whatever People Say I Am…. – Arctic Monkeys
Was going to wait another while before diving in, but the Wadster’s 2020 thread has reminded me I’ve been neglecting new music over the last couple of months while revisiting the past (not that I didn’t enjoy it, mind) and I need to get back in the game.
Once again, a quick grumble about the difficulty of directly comparing the 92 minutes of Miley Cyrus And Her Dead Petz with the tidy 39 minutes of Wire’s Red Barked Tree (although the act who loses most from the sprawl factor is Kendrick with To Pimp A Butterfly being like Christmas dinner – too rich to be having it all too often).
So..
1 – The Cold Vein – Cannibal Ox
2 – Figure 8 – Elliott Smith
3 – All The Beauty In This Whole Life – Brother Ali
4 – Hurricane – Grace Jones
5 – Norman Fucking Rockwell – Lana Del Rey
6 – I Worked On The Ships – Ballboy
7 – Wonky – Orbital
8 – The Lion’s Roar – First Aid Kit
9 – The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers
10 – Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
Cos no-one’s gonna stop me, here’s the next ten:
You Can Make It If You Boogie – James Kirk
Bloodsports – Suede
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Prospect Of Skelmersdale – The Magnetic North
Tales From Turnpike House – Saint Etienne
Funeral – Arcade Fire
The Hazards Of Love – The Decemberists
To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
The Liberty Of Norton Folgate – Madness
..and, leapfrogging many albums of more obviously fixed merit, I must include the record I’ve played obsessively for the last two years, which is Could It Be Different? by The Spook School.
Thankyew!
This was difficult. For example, having never heard Blackstar I have no idea if it is a ‘great album’ or not. In the end, I just went for what has given me the greatest pleasure over the last two decades, such as the final run-in from Track 13 onwards on my No 1 choice.
1 – Since I Left You – The Avalanches
2 – Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
3 – In Rainbows – Radiohead
4 – Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
5 – Lost In The Dream – The War On Drugs
6 – Lil’ Beethoven – Sparks
7 – Southern Blood – Greg Allman
8 – The Race For Space – Public Service Broadcasting
9 – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips
10 – The Sophtware Slump – Grandaddy
Mind you, if it had been a list of the worst/’straight to landfill’ albums then that would have perhaps been easier. No 1 then would have been something called Carrie and Something by someone called Sufferin’ Stevens or something like that!
I like the cut of your jib, my boy. When this Covid thing is over let’s share a cheroot and a glass of something fine from The Languedoc. I might even show you my home movies (the one with Gary, the goat and a bowl of olives is a hoot).
Home movies! ‘Ere, you’re not related to that Mr LaPage that Steely Dan sang about in “Everyone’s Gone To The Movies” are you? But yes, we seem to be on the same hymn sheet about a few things, including that strangled hamster sound a certain Ms Newsom makes.
“Old Jack Norris, the Musical Shrimp … and the cadging ramble”
1 – Ys – Joanna Newsom
2 – High, Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project – Loudon Wainwright III
3 – Death Speaks – David Lang
4 – Carrie and Lowell – Sufjan Stevens
5 – 50 Song Memoir – Magnetic Fields
6 – Fletcher Moss Park – Matthew Halsall
7 – Octagon: Between the Times – Knut Rössler & Johanes Vogt
8 – Landings – Richard Skelton
9 – The Bell that Never Rang – Lau
10 – The Liberty of Norton Folgate – Madness
If you ask me in a year’s time, I reckon that John Southworth’s “Miracle in the Night” or Gabriel Kahane’s “Book of Travelers” might force their way into the Top 10. The latter is one of the best recommendations I’ve ever had from the Afterword – so thanks, Carolina!
Hang on a minute: now that the top 10 finishers have passed the winning post, the rest of the field are making their way in. Let’s see who’s amongst them….
In the Heart of the Moon – Ali Farka Touré and Toumani Diabate
…And Their Refinement of the Decline – Stars of the Lid
Oceans Apart – The Go-Betweens
Figure 8 – Elliott Smith
The Mysteries – John Zorn/Gnostic Trio
Chants, Hymns and Dances – Vassilis Tsabropoulos & Anja Lechner
Avalon Sutra/As Long As I Can Hold My Breath – Harold Budd
Le Pas du Chat Noir – Anouar Brahem
Southeastern – Jason Isbell
Life is People – Bill Fay
Sunset Mission – Bohren & der Club of Gore
Sounds Almighty – Nat Birchall/Al Breadwinner
Have One on Me – Joanna Newsom
In The Heart of the Moon nearly made my list too. I even considered sneaking it in because I noticed that my top ten as submitted is exclusively white and either British / Irish or US. In the end I went with my gut reaction on which ten of the shortlist mean most to me.
I honestly thought El Duco was joking re his love of Ms Newsom. Then I realised he was when I looked at his No. 4.
1 – Crippling Lack – David Thomas Broughton
2 – Time (The Revelator) – Gillian Welch
3 – Hadestown – Anais Mitchell
4 – Trespasser – Chris Wood
5 – Admiral Fell Promises – Sun Kil Moon
6 – Farewell Sorrow – Alasdair Roberts
7 – The Friends of Rachel Worth – The Go-Betweens
8 – Aerial – Kate Bush
9 – Out of Season – Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man
10 – Prodigal Son – Martin Simpson
If I could have had more:
Comicopera – Robert Wyatt
Pothole in the Sky – Lisa O’Neill
The Livelong Day – Lankum
This Earthly Spell – Karine Polwart
North Sea Radio Orchestra – North Sea Radio Orchestra
Seven Swans – Sufjan Stevens
Ys – Joanna Newsom
Third – Portishead
Felt Mountain – Goldfrapp
The Queen of Hearts – Offa Rex
A very interesting list, manythumbed.
– I have one David Thomas Broughton album, but I’m not familiar with “Crippling Lack”. I must say, the various bits and pieces of the album that can be listened to online sound excellent. What a pity that that the album, as far as I can see, isn’t available for purchase at all, either as an LP, a CD or even a download. Even Broughton’s bandcamp page only has half the album available to be listened to. Disappointing.
– Alasdair Roberts! Of course! I should’ve had “A Wonder Working Stone” in my ‘bubbling under’ list….
I think it might be obtained from here, https://songbytoadrecords.bandcamp.com/album/crippling-lack
I have the triple vinyl from when it was originally released and of course I don’t own a record player. I wish it came on CD but I think the download is lossless.
It is a lovely album, long tracks, funny tracks – like a prog Ivor Cutler.
…Is it too soon for me to suggest/plead/beg that “we” also look to come up with top 10 Albums in the following categories:
– multi-artist compilations?
– single artist compilations?
– lives?
– Records Of Indeterminate Origin?
Well if you’re volunteering to curate ……
1. Lost In Space – Aimee Mann
2. White Bread Black Beer – Scritti Politti
3. Map To The Treasure (Reimagining Laura Nyro) – Billy Childs
4. Love, Fear and the Time Machine – Riverside
5. Black Holes and Revelations – Muse
6. Two Against Nature – Steely Dan
7. We Like It Here – Snarky Puppy
8. My One and Only Thrill – Melody Gardot
9. 12 Stops And Home – The Feeling
10. Just A Little Lovin’ – Shelby Lynne
That Billy Childs album is superb .
A vote for Scritti’s best record by miles there. Good arrows, Sir.
The Strokes have been forgotten, I fear.
Who?
1- Aerial – Kate Bush
2- The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
3- Sea Change – Beck
4- Readymades – Chumbawamba
5- In The Heart Of The Moon – Ali Farke Toure & Toumani Diabate
6- Love And Theft – Bob Dylan
7- La Revancha Del Tango – Gotan Project
8- Lost Horizons – Lemon Jelly
9- Fire In The Hole – Sara Isaksson & Rebecca Tornqvist
10- Summerlong – Rose City Band
Hurray! Another vote for The Rising – I apologise should I be besmirching the reputation of anyone else who has listed it, but I think this is the only vote for it other than mine.
I’ve seen a couple of votes for other Springsteen albums, and find it hard to understand how any from the 21st century can be selected ahead of this excellent record.
The 9th and 10th place selections I have to admit to never having heard, but I will check Spotify and have a listen.
Fire in the Hole should have been in mine. I demand a recount!
Number ten, Summerlong has only been out a matter of weeks, but i cannot stop playing it. I think this is definitely a slow burner, which will be on all the best of’s at the end of the year.
For me anyway, the Rising is too bloated. There are some truly excellent songs on there, but a few too many forgettable ones as well. Shave four or five tracks off, and you would have a career highlight.
The Rising is generally great but with some filler and Magic is a bit better, which I voted for (sounds like shit though) and Aerial no.1 excellent choice, doing well I think.
1 – Wasp Star – XTC
2 – Blackstar – David Bowie
3 – Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
4 – Pale Green Ghosts – John Grant
5 – Hand.Cannot.Erase – Steven Wilson
6 – The Incomplete… – Glenn Tilbrook
7 – 12 Stops and Home – The Feeling
8 – Is – Hey Ocean!
9 – Whatever People Say I Am – Arctic Monkeys
10 – To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar
Sorry to split the John Grant vote, but I do prefer PGG to QOD
Struggled with this one. Putting the top ten in order would be a step too far, so 5 points all round.
Aerial – Kate Bush
Butterfly House – The Coral
Carrie and Lowell – Sufjan Stevens
Cole’s Corner – Richard Hawley
Eleven Eleven – Dave Alvin
hand cannot erase – Steve Wilson
Moffou – Salic Keita
Queen of Denmark – John Grant
The Race for Space – Public Service Broadcasting
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips
A number of others were bubbling under, many of which, I’m pleased to say, appear on other people’s’ lists. I would like to give a special mention to the recent run of albums by the great Mavis Staples. None stand out to me enough to be in my top 10, but collectively they are excellent.
Fully endorse your view on Mavis Staples.
Never mind Mavis, all of Davidg’s votes are null and void cos of his third “choice”. I’m beginning to think I’m the only one left on here with any insight into popular music.
That Dave Alvin album is one that I had forgotten about.
Oh well! Well done Davidg for ensuring it will get somewhere in the chart, even if it is near the bottom.
I don’t know that I would call it a “great” album; it’s just one I keep returning to and enjoying.
I found this so much more difficult than the previous polls which confirms my suspicion that I’m very 80s biased. I love lots of stuff from the last 20 years just rarely in the album format. These are the ones that have endured!
1 Surf – Roddy Frame
2 Cammell Laird Social Club – Half Man Half Biscuit
3 Chateau Revenge – The Silver Seas
4 Real Life – Joan as Police Woman
5 In Rainbows – Radiohead
6 Since Kyabram – Declan O’Rourke
7 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia – The Dandy Warhols
8 World’s Strongest Man – Gaz Coombes
9 Beachcomber’s Windowsill – Stornoway
10 Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus – Nick Cave
1 Road To Freedom – Young Disciples
2 The Raven That Refused To Sing – Steven Wilson
3 Based On A True Story – Fat Freddy’s Drop
4 Tomeka Reid Quartet – Tomeka Reid
5 Even Better – Halvorson/Formanek/Berne
6 Fire In The Hole – Sara Isaksson + Rebekka Tornqvist
7 Open – Cowboy Junkies
8 Joanna Newsome – Ys
9 Belly Of The Sun – Cassandra Wilson
10 The Source – Tony Allen
Bubbling under: Brad Mehldau in Tokyo, Nguyen Le Purple, EST in Hamburg, Beautiful Garbage, Beth Gibbons + Rustin Man, Plant + Krauss, Massive Attack 100th Window, Wilco (various), Radiohead (various), Lana, anything by Mary Halvorson (the world’s most interesting guitar player, probably).
Just noticed the sheer amount of female input since 2000, even in Jazz (#4, #5). Male hormone music represented in that bunch by #2, #3, #10. The century of the woman? Is it just me then?
I agree. It appears that women are getting a fairer shake this century. Seven of my top thirteen are women.
Good man Tiggs. I’ll check out Melanie, Agnes, Zara, Melody. You need to do the same with Mary and Tomeka.
😉
I certainly will. I haven’t heard either.
So, here’s a top 10…
1- Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
2- A ghost is born – Wilco
3. Sky at Night – I am Kloot
4. Third – Portishead
5. The Great Eastern – Delgados
6. Cammell Laird Social Club – Half Man Half Biscuit
7. Field Music – Field Music
8. The Hour of Bewilderbeast – Badly Drawn Boy
9. Nite Versions – Soulwax
10. Masseduction – St. Vincent
There’s not a lot on this list (or on my long list) from the past 10 years. I could happily do a top 50 for the noughties, but I struggle after 2010 probably as I don’t get to sit down and listen to albums any more (mp3s started for me in 2009, streaming in 2015) I wonder if this has anything to do with it?
One of the surprises to me so far is the relatively low number of mentions of Hour of the Bewilderbeast. For a while after it came out it was ubiquitous, wasn’t it, but I must admit I haven’t played it in an age. Must root it out.
It was done on Tim’s Twitter Listening Party recently, and remains a joy.
He re-released it a few years back with b-sides and e.p. tracks from around that time.
It’s a lovely album, isn’t it? Despite its length it doesn’t feel overly long and its flow/sequence is perfect (in my opinion).
Can I go for this ‘5 points per album’ lark as well? If it’s against the rules, I’ll come up with an order but for the moment it is chronological:
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
Want One – Rufus Wainwright
Blinking Lights And Other Revelations – Eels
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
The Liberty of Norton Folgate – Madness
Queen Of Denmark – John Grant
Diamond Mine – King Creosote and Jon Hopkins
Crimson/Red – Prefab Sprout
Everyday Robots – Damon Albarn
Carrie & Lowell – Sufjan Stevens
Near misses include Nixon, The Hour of The Bewilderbeast, Alligator, Illinois, Truelove’s Gutter, Night Falls Over Kortedela (Jens Lekman)
Might give Lodes a coronary giving 5 points to Carrie and Lowell, but the rules allow it so it’s all good.
Pray tell me where exactly in The Rules does it say “Giving Lodes a coronary is permissible”? That’s it – I’m off to write a retrospective review of the Worst Record Ever Made. I promise to be fair, impartial and above all honourable.
Don’t worry – Lodes won’t have a coronary until we do a poll of our favourite live albums of all time, and somebody gives 10 points to “Sufjan Stevens Live at Pittodrie”.
Now that was a gig and a half! Twenty thousand drunken Aberdonians pelting the stage with empty cans of McEwans and bellowing “You’re shite, you are’ and “Show us your tits”
1 Have you in my Wilderness-Julia Holter
2 Back to Black-Amy Winehouse
3 Black Star- David Bowie
4 Aerial-Kate Bush
5 Record-Tracy Thorn
6 American IV The Man comes around- Johnny Cash
7 Norman Fucking Rockwell-Lana Del Rey
8 British Sea Power-From the sea to the land beyond
9 Paddy McAloon- I trawl the Megahertz
10 Elvis Costello -When I was Cruel
The best:
1 – Here I Am – Burt Bacharach/Ronald Isley
2 – Both Sides Now – Joni Mitchell
3 – Once to Every Heart – Mark Murphy
4 – Eternal – Branford Marsalis Quintet
5 – Just a Little Lovin’ – Shelby Lynne
6 – A Tale of God’s Will – Terence Blanchard
7 – Nightfall – John Taylor/Charlie Haden
8 – Love is the Answer – Barbra Streisand
9 – The Peterhouse Partbooks – Blue Heron
10 – Feeling Orange but Sometimes Blue – Ledisi
The rest:
The River and the Thread – Roseanne Cash
S/T – Quercus
Trio – Marcin Wasilewski Trio
American Song – Andy Bey
The Gift – Susannah Abbuehl
Where our Love Grows – Swing Out Sister
Earfood – Roy Hargrove
Casa – Ryuichi Sakamoto/Paula and Jacques Morelenbaum
Life – Igor Leavitt
Surrender to Love – Kindred the Family Soul
As always, Morrison, yours is a fascinating and eclectic list.
“The Peterhouse Partbooks” performed by Blue Heron sounds right up my street. I see that there are 5 volumes of it. Is there any one of the five that you’d particularly recommend?
I think they’re all worthy of a listen – but Part 5 is the regular spin as it’s the only one I have on CD. I bought it after seeing the choir perform the music at one of the Cambridge College chapels – with the chap who did the transcribing of the medieval manuscripts on hand for a round of applause at the end. It was a stunning concert – unamplified in wonderful acoustics and sung with such precision and grace. I play it very often.
Pretty much in order, at least the top 2 are well ahead of the others:
1 – The Crane Wife – Decemberists
2 – Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
3 – Achtung Bono – Half Man Half Biscuit
4 – American Idiot – Green Day
5 – The Race for Space – Public Service Broadcasting
6 – Comfort in Sound – Feeder
7 – The Last Broadcast – Doves
8 – 12 Stops and Home – the Feeling
9 – A Victory for Common Sense – Stackridge
10 – Norman Fucking Rockwell – Lana Del Rey
American Idiot – great choice.
Green Day did a deal with the devil for one album. They’ve never hit those same heights before or since
That’s the fourth different Biccies album on the list.
This is the issue with bands that release consistently great albums, like HMHB – several nominations rather than just one getting all the votes. It could have been any (Creative Hub was closest) but right now AB is my favourite.
On the other hand RD is correct about American Idiot – everything going right just the once, lifting it well above their usual level (see also Bryan Adams and Reckless).
There’s a thread there: One Great Album, The Rest Is Kack *
* maybe not total dross, but nowhere near the same level
Possibly too close to the ‘Artists whose large, rich and storied back catalogue has now been reduced to a single album’ thread.
True – a good idea, but we’ve already done it (or something perilously close)
Here we go
1. I trawl the megahertz – Paddy MacAloon
2. Joined up talking – My Life Story
3. Discosis – Bran Van 3000
4. Thunder Lightning, Strike – Go Team
5. On the line – Jenny Lewis
6. Race for space – public Service Broadcasting
7. Dirty Computer – Janelle Monae
8. Under the Blacklight – Rilo Kiley
9. Seventh tree – Goldfrapp
10. Coles corner – Richard Hawley
That’s really odd because my No 1 is…….
1. I Trawl The Megahertz – Paddy McAloon
2. Come On Feel the Illinoise – Sufjan Stevens
3. Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
4. Have One On Me – Joanna Newsom
5. The Disintegration Loops – William Basinski
6. Double Negative – Low
7. C.S.I. Ambleside – Half Man Half Biscuit
8. Master And Everyone – Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy
9. Do Hollywood – The Lemon Twigs
10. Planetarium – Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, Byrce Dessner, James McAlister
Lots of bubbling under
Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven! – Godspeed You Black Emperor!
Not The Tremblin’ Kind – Laura Cantrell
The Moldy Peaches – The Moldy Peaches
Rockin’ The Suburbs – Ben Folds
Dear Catastrophe Waitress – Belle and Sebastian
Gallowbird’s Bark – Fiery Furnaces
The Trails of Van Occupanther – Midlake
SyMptoMs – Mordant Music
Lonely Avenue – Ben Folds/Nick Hornby
One Armed Bandit – Jaga Jazzist
Queen of Denmark – John Grant
Circuital – My Morning Jacket
Visions – Grimes
Antiphon – Midlake
The Noise Made By People – Broadcast
Excavation – The Haxen Cloak
Kill The Wolf – Matt Berry
Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO – The Besnard Lakes
Contrepoint- Nicolas Godin
Have You In My Wilderness – Julia Holter
Soused – Scott Walker + Sunn O)))
Skullsplitter – Eric Chenaux
Mirage – Josefin Örhn & The Libration
Blackstar – David Bowie
Lost In The Dream – The War On Drugs
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Mary Casio: Journey To Cassiopeia – Hannah Peel
Peasant – Richard Dawson
Rest – Charlotte Gainsbourg
Screen Memories – John Maus
The Tower – Motorpsycho
The Uncle Sold – Ed Dowie
Varmints – Anna Meredith
Con Todo El Mundo – Khruangbin
Go To School – The Lemon Twigs
Pastoral – Gazelle Twin
Rare Birds – Jonathan Wilson
Your Queen Is A Reptile – Sons Of Kemit
Parallax Error Beheads You – Max Tundra
It’s Album Time – Todd Terje
The Drift – Scott Walker
The Sophtware Slump – Grandaddy
Under The Skylon – Candidate
Black Listed – Neko Case
Sea Change – Beck
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots – The Flaming Lips
Want – Rufus Wainwright
Transnormal Skiperoo – Jim White
Contra – Vampire Weekend
Voice of the Seven Woods – Voice of the Seven Woods
The Sovereign Self – Trembling Bells
Treats – Sleigh Bells
Nice to see “The Disintegration Loops” making its debut in this poll. Amazing record.
It is probably one of the most emotionally demanding pieces of music ever made. But something everyone should listen to at least once.
Then try HMHB afterwards!
Erm…that’s the fifth different Biccies album on the list! I could almost do a half man half biscuit top ten. Thankfully I won’t.
Meanwhile, I forgot about the sleigh bells album. Probably should have put that in my top ten .
Just a week to go for any remaining votes.
A handful of records are pulling away in the race for the podium places, but with over 500 different albums chosen so far, its all to play for further down the rankings….
“A handful of records” presumably doesn’t include Aerial or, shiver, the Album That Must Never Be Named”??
These are difficult times and we all must stick together. Remember, your vote counts (unless of course your vote is Wrong)
I think it does include Aerial (quite correctly).
I need to apply myself more over the following week.
Longlist of 61 so far and I’m only up to 2010, apart from a few obvious ones.
Here is the Playlist
I will add to it as more unique choices are made in the next week.
482 tracks – in album order
Almost 35 hours of fun.
Obviously, not all albums were available on Spotify, but if you can find something I’ve missed please let me know, I’m happy to add any strays.
Brilliant job @Lemonhope – thank you. That should keep us all busy for some time.
My pleasure
I’m really enjoying this playlist. Thanks @Lemonhope
American Adventure – Scottish National Jazz Orchestra
The Old Kit Bag – Richard Thompson
Present – Van Derek Graaf Generator
Fire in the Hole – Sara Isaksson and Rebecka Törnqvist
Push the Sky Away – Nick Cave
Wrytree Drift – Michael Chapman
M:FANS – John Cale
Heathen – David Bowie
Field Music – Field Music
It’s a Wonderful Life- Sparklehorse
Bubbling under, or sometimes over….
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Enfant Terrible
Van der Graaf Generator – Do not Disturb
Ah, yes…the mighty Van DEREK Graaf…..
Is this how the last “Derek Griffith’s surprising role in pop history” urban myth started?
As you say….also rumoured to be the actual fifth Beatle….
1 – Eveningland – Hem
2 – Stay Gold – First Aid Kit
3 – Chris – Christine and the Queens
4 – A Piece Of What You Need – Teddy Thompson
5 – 1989 – Taylor Swift
6 – Thirst For Romance – Cherry Ghost
7 – Funnel Cloud – Hem
8 – Dead Man’s Suit – Jon Allen
9 – Parachutes – Coldplay
10 – Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
Cor, not seen Dead Mans Suit referenced in a while. Or listened to it in maybe decade. It was quite good, I recall. Must look it out.
In Your Light is in my “Happy” playlist which I’ve been using to lift my spirits during these last few months.
@katharine another Cherry Ghost fan!
Thirst For Romance is great. I had it on heavy rotation in the van a couple of months back.
It got played a lot during a large decorating project I was undertaking at the time it came out.
Good call on Hem, which I discovered from @carolina.
Yes, and I discovered them from a review of Eveningland in an old Word magazine. Great choice Katharine, two Hem albums in your top 10. The lead singer Sally Ellyson has such a gorgeous lush voice too.
I first heard them played by Bob Harris on Radio 2. Fortunately I was able to catch them at Union Chapel in 2013.
Another fan! It is an excellent album, just a shame the second and possibly the third don’t match up.
Here are the 10 albums I’ve probably listened to more than any others – and most appeared in my “best by year” vote.
1. Corinne Bailey Rae – Corinne Bailey Rae
2. Blood – Lianne La Havas
3. Soul Providence – Carleen Anderson
4. Songs from the Deep Forest – Duke Special
5. Let’s Change the World with Music – Prefab Sprout
6. Stoned pt 1 – Lewis Taylor
7. A Girl Called Eddy – A Girl Called Eddy
8. Rainbow Ends – Emitt Rhodes
9. Green Eyed Soul – Lari White
10. Liars – Todd Rundgren
Re: no.8 in Timbar’s chart.
I was sad to read of Emitt Rhodes’ death today. A wonderful singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.
1 – Southeastern – Jason Isbell
2 – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco
3 – In Rainbows – Radiohead
4 – High Violet – The National
5 – Queen of the Breakers – The Barr Brothers
6 – Natalie Merchant – Natalie Merchant
7 – Reunions – Jason Isbell
8 – Transcendental Blues – Steve Earle
9 – Born and Raised – John Mayer
10 – Modern Blues – The Waterboys
1 – Wildflower – The Avalanches
2 – Hay Luv – Twit One
3 – Aerial – Kate Bush
4 – Orphans – Tom Waits
5 – Since I Left You – The Avalanches
6 – La Roux – La Roux
7 – Return To Ommadawn – Mike Oldfield
8 – Rubber Factory – The Black Keys
9 – Crazy Clown Time – David Lynch
10 – White Blood Cells – The White Stripes
1. More Adventurous – Rilo Kiley
2. Record – Tracey Thorn
3. Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
4. Black River Falls – Cathal Coughlan
5. Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
6. Sunken Condos – Donald Fagen
7. Original Pirate Material – The Streets
8. Cammel Laird Social Club – HMHB
9. Alright Still – Lily Allen
10. Masseducation – St.Vincent
Probably should have shoehorned Maximum Minimum there, but as a live album based on tunes from the previous two decades I wasn’t quite sure it wasn’t bending the rules.
Curses! I forgot Black River Falls…
I don’t think that will make much difference in the final standings…
Sad: but true…..
Final weekend for your votes folks. We’re up to 553 albums now. Ye Gods…
I`d better start compiling my list.
1. Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump
2. Mastodon – Crack The Skye
3. The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
4. Deftones – White Pony
5. Calexico – Feast of Wire
6. Midlake – Trials of Van Occupanther
7. John Grant -Queen of Denmark
8. Steven Wilson – Hand Cannot Erase
9. Pixies – Beneath The Eyrie
10. Wilco – A Ghost is Born
How come no one apart from me has mentioned Frank Ocean? Eh? The Guardian put ‘Blonde’ at number 10 in their 21st century list. And Justin Timberlake raved about it and everything. Bingo Little (@bingolittle) preferred it to me. Yet nary a mench here. It might not rate your number 1, but surely it’s heaps better than ‘Obscure Arty Tosh’ by The No One’s Ever Heard Of Us. IP33 (@ip33) lists over two thousand albums (above somewhere) and still no sign of Frank. World’s gone barmy.
There’s a good reason for me not listing Frank Ocean – I’ve never heard him and this blog is probably the only place I have ever heard his name mentioned.
When you say it’s ‘heaps better than Obscure Arty Tosh’ you are quite correct.
It is heaps better than Manafon and Blemish. 😉
And there was I thinking you were being wilfully perverse, Gary, nominating two Frank Ocean albums, neither of which were Channel Orange..
Two of Frankie Boy’s records are in my Top 20 if that’s any consolation (somehow I fear it will not be)
Justin Timberlake’s opinions draw very little water around here, a fact which I’m sure aggrieves both parties. Bob was a big FO admirer as I recall. I miss Bob around here. I liked how I sit out almost any political argument until Bob weighed in eloquently then just say, ‘I agree with Bob’.
Hi Gary. I have heard of Frank and I like that one of his. You know the one, he sort of talks on it. He may even sing, I’m not sure I haven’t heard it for a while. Have a lovely Sunday, I’m off to add to my list of ‘two thousand’ albums.
I preferred The No Ones Heard Of Us’s older stuff.
1. Seventh Tree = Goldfrapp
2. A grand don’t come for free – The Streets
3. The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
4. Settle – Disclosure
5 Simple Things – Zero 7
6. Lemonjelly.ky – Lemon Jelly
7. Version – Mark Ronson
8. Rising Sand – Plant & Krause
9. Seldom seen kid – Elbow
10. Come away with me – Norah Jones
1 Blackstar – David Bowie
2. AM – Arctic Monkeys
3. Look now – Elvis Costello & The Imposters
4. True Meanings – Paul Weller
5. Lost In Space – Aimee mann
6. Surf – Roddy Frame
7. Crimson / Red – Prefab Sprout
8. Figure 8 – Elliott Smith
9. I Love You Honeybear – Father John Misty
10. Mental Illness – Aimee Mann
Here’s mine. I was going to say that I’d not looked at anyone else’s list before coming up with mine (I know my own mind, don’t I?) and that was true until I came to paste my prepared list here, at which point I caught sight of the @colrow26 list above and I saw Elliott Smith’s Figure 8. In came Elliott Smith and Wolf Alice’s My Love Is Cool fell off the bottom.
I am still not sure about the order, but I’m fed up with fiddling with it.
1 – Rough Dreams – Shivaree
2 – Road To Rouen – Supergrass
3 – Morning Phase – Beck
4 – Universal Hall – The Waterboys
5 – Wasteland Companion – M Ward
6 – Figure 8 – Elliott Smith
7 – Indian Ocean – Frazey Ford
8 – A Piece Of What You Need – Teddy Thompson
9 – Perpetual Motion People – Ezra Furman
10 – Identity Crisis – Shelby Lynne
I shall read the lists above only once my edit time has expired to avoid any more changes of heart.
S**t …. forgot Wilco, Nick Lowe, Ryan Adams’ Gold …. and more!
oh, and Natalie Merchant …
Yes, I’m kicking myself for forgetting Lhasa’s “The Living Road”, as well.
Lhasa’s “The Living Road” is a great album also forgotten by myself!
Here we go:
1 – No Such Place – Jim White
2 – Felt Mountain – Goldfrapp
3 – No Deal – Melanie De Biasio
4 – Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5 – Sweet England – Jim Moray
6 – One Day In Chicago – Kevin Coyne With Jon Langford & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
7 – American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
8 – Seven Days Of Falling – Esbjörn Svensson Trio
9 – Two Against Nature – Steely Dan
10 – Careless Love – Madeleine Peyroux
Bubbling under:
The Convincer – Nick Lowe
A Livingroom Hush – Jaga Jazzist
Blackstar – David Bowie
Time (The Revelator) – Gillian Welch
The Epic – Kamasi Washington
Open – The Necks
Play Monk And Trane – Dave O’Higgins & Rob Luft
Mambo Sinuendo – Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban
Nós – Virginia Rodrigues
Fado Em Mim – Mariza
Avalon Sutra – Harold Budd
Feast Of Wire – Calexico
Fletcher Moss Park – Matthew Halsall
Massive – Jazz Jamaica Allstars
My One And Only Thrill – Melody Gardot
Unspeakable – Bill Frisell
Plays Frank Zappa: Greggery Peccary And Other Persuasions – Ensemble Modern
At The Mountains Of Madness – Electric Masada
Savane – Ali Farka Touré
Neural Circuits – Joanna MacGregor
Written In Chalk – Buddy & Julie Miller
Surprise – Paul Simon
100 Days, 100 Nights – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
A Tale Of God’s Will – Terence Blanchard
Frank – Amy Winehouse
Ma Fleur – Cinematic Orchestra
..and quite a few others.
…like Blonde by Frank Ocean.
Honestly, I don’t know why I bother sometimes, I really don’t.
It’s clear that whilst there is a bewilderingly eclectic range in the Afterword’s taste, pop, r and b, grime, hip hop Etc are largely of minority interest here. Will be interesting to see how our tastes differ from the received wisdom as set out in any Guardian, Rolling Stone or other online list.
After many days of contemplation…
1 – The Buzz Above – Hey Negrita
2 – Tempest – Bob Dylan
3 – The Sweet Pretty Things (Are In Bed Now Of Course…) – The Pretty Things
4 – Peace Town – Jimmy LaFave
5 – Defending Ancient Springs – Jackie Leven
6 – Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
7 – Adios Senor Pusscat – Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band
8 – Childrern Of Paradise – Willie Nile
9 – All Is Dream – Mercury Rev
10 – Song Of The Pearl – Arbouretum
… however any of these could have been included:
Southeastern – Jason Isbell
Modern Blues – The Waterboys
The Rising – Bruce Springsteen
Southern Rock Opera – Drive By Truckers
English Electric – Big Big Train
Love – The Beatles (This was a NEW Beatles album, not a re-release or compilation)
Harlem River Blues – Justin Townes Earle
Tonight At The Arizona – The Felice Brothers
South Of Reality – The Claypool Lennon Delirium
Two nice lists from the Baron and Mike there, though you bastards will keep adding yet more albums to my already unmanageably gargantuan spreadsheet.
Keep these late entries coming.
1) – Shining Brother Shining Sister – Jackie Leven
2) – Present – Van Der Graaf Generator
3) – Songs For Lonely Americans – Sir Vincent Lone
4) – Long Gone Before Daylight – The Cardigans
5) – Sean-Nos Nua – Sinead O’Connor
6) – Other World – Peter Hammill / Gary Lucas
7) – Les Nuits – Nits
8) – Urstan – Mairi Morrison & Alasdair Roberts
9) – Silver Bullets – The Chills
10) – You Want It Darker – Leonard Cohen
Underbubbling….Bjork, Cave, Dylan….Winehouse..
( And all that jazz).
oooh, is that ex-Magic Band Gary Lucas? After seeing him live a few years ago, I thought that was an avenue I should explore.
@moonidus
The Chills…sound have included that myself!
The very same.
I wish I had seen them cover the album together live.
He’s done some interesting collaborations and released some good albums. Unfortunately I can’t abide Peter Hammill or VDGG, so that’s one I’ll be skipping.
I’ve tried not to overthink this & gone with gut feeling.
1 – Currency of Man – Melody Gardot
2 – Night Surfer – Chuck Prophet
3 – Just a Little Loving – Shelby Lynne
4 – 12 Stories – Brandy Clark
5 – Don’t Give Up On Me – Solomon Burke
6 – Stone Rollin’ – Raphael Saadiq
7 – Smile – Jayhawks
8 – Eleven Eleven – Dave Alvin
9 – Soul Eyes – Kandace Springs
10 – Gold – Ryan Adams
I’m always pleased to see a vote for Chuck Prophet, though to these ears Night Surfer is a surprising choice from his catalogue.
But each to their own, and it will increase Chuck’s share of votes for individual artists.
It was the one that got me into him & the associated live shows were brilliant. As I said, just went with my gut feeling.
1 – Raising Sand – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
2 – Queen of Denmark – John Grant
3 – Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
4 – Life is People – Bill Fay
5- Diversions Vol 2 – The Unthanks with Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band
6 – Push the Sky Away – Nick Cave
7 – Midwest Farmers Daughter – Margo Price
8 – Heartbreaker – Ryan Adams
9 – Boys and Girls – Alabama Shakes
10 – Vanished Gardens – Charles Lloyd & the Marvels
This poll seems way the most diverse of those so far. Is it us, aka a slow maturing of taste, or the multiplicity of genres now out there?
There are thousands more albums released every month compared to the sixties and seventies, the so-called golden age. I reckon the proportion that are top quality has actually increased.
“the so-called golden age”? It was the golden age but so has every decade since been a golden age, that is apart from the 80`s which did produce quite a few gems but 90% shyte.
I agree with you about the proportionof top quality actually increasing Tiggs. I had more difficulty picking 10 albums for this poll than the preceding polls.
It could be ease of access via streaming to a wider array of new music.
(It only occurred to me once voting had started that there could have been an extra field as to whether the choice was digital only, or physical cd/vinyl)
Feel my pain trying to spreadsheet the shit out of all this.
That said – keep the votes coming. Just a few hours to go!
1 – What About Me – 1 Giant Leap
2 – 1972 – Josh Rouse
3 – A Deeper Understanding – The War On Drugs
4 – Ghosteen – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5 – Gold – Ryan Adams
6 – Bon Iver – Bon Iver
7 – Moonshine Freeze – This Is The Kit
8 – Norman Fucking Rockwell – Lana Del Rey
9 – Out of Season – Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man
10 – Until The Hunter – Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
And finally, here we are:
1 – Modern Blues The Waterboys
2 – Welcome Interstate Managers – Fountains of Wayne
3 – Kids in Philly – Marah
4 – 12 Stops and Home – The Feeling
5 – American Band – Drive By Truckers
6 – Southeastern – Jason Isbell
7 – Mine and Yours – David Mead
8 – The 59 Sound -The Gaslight Anthem
9 – Marbles – Marillion
10 – 1972 – Josh Rouse
And just missing out:
Road to Rouen -Supergrass
Morph The Cat – Donald Fagen
The Rising – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Long Gone Before Daylight – The Cardigans
Stay Gold – Butch Walker
Lost in the Dream -The War on Drugs
On a different day a different order……but today….If doing these lists has taught me anything it’s that lists are meaningless or at least the order is, either that or that a top 10 needs to include 37 albums minimum!
And thanks to all that have collated and officiated.
Kids In Philly is a great record. Marah should have been so much bigger than they were.
1 – One Day I’m Going To Soar – Dexys
2 – Aerial – Kate Bush
3 – Is This It – The Strokes
4 – Cat’s Eyes – Cat’s Eyes
5 – 22 Dreams – Paul Weller
6 – Tale To Tell – The Mummers
7 – Crimson/Red – Prefab Sprout
8 – The Liberty Of. Norton Folgate – Madness
9 – Hamilton – OBC
10 – The Archandroid – Janelle Monáe
And just for the record…
11. Overpowered – Róisín Murphy
12. Free The Bees – The Bees
13. 12 Steps And Home – The Feeling
14. A Girl Called Eddy – A Girl Called Eddy
15. 50 Words For Snow – Kate Bush
15. Felt Mountain – Goldfrapp
16. Want One – Rufus Wainwright
17. Bachelor No. 2 Or, The Last Remains Of The Dodo – Aimee Mann
18. Blackstar – David Bowie
19. Dear Catastrophe Waitress – Belle & Sebastian
20. reputation – Taylor Swift
21. Channel Orange – Frank Ocean
22. Progress – Take That
23. Futuresex/Lovesounds – Justin Timberlake
24. Confessions On A Dance Floor – Madonna
25. Dogrel- Fontaines DC
26. Ill Manors – Plan B
27. Back To Black – Amy Winehouse
28. Sunken Condos – Donald Fagen
29. A Rush Of Blood To The Head – Coldplay
30. Paddy McAloon – I Trawl The Megahertz
This has been weird . These are the CD’s I have turned to most regularly in this period. I like them, I don’t love them and none of them have made the lasting impression of my formative years – 1970’s. I also feel disenfranchised from several of them as in this era some are downloads only – nothing to hold, pore over and lovingly cherish, etc.
1. – Salt – Lizz Wright
2. – Indian Ocean – Frazey Ford
3. – War On Drugs – War on Drugs
4. – Race for Space
5. – Keep Me Singing – Van Morrison
6. – Blackstar – David Bowie
7. – Southeastern – Jason Isbel
8. – Raising Sand – Robert Plant &
9. – High Hopes – Bruce Springsteen
10. – Glasgow Walker – John Martyn
@attackdog – which War on Drugs album? and I assume Race for Space is the PBS album?
ta
Thanks everyone. I will get to work and post the results as soon as I can
Oops. Must have been late!
Lost in the Dream
PSB
and
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
Good luck with the computation.