Best Ever Albums

Re: Weak years (for you)

JasonZaia — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 22:22:53 GMT

Author: JasonZaia

Posted: 01/17/2015 03:22

2014 was kind of a weak year for me. Then again, it did only just happen. So perhaps I'm just yet to catch up.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Infinity183 — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 19:01:02 GMT

Author: Infinity183

Posted: 01/17/2015 00:01

satiemaniac wrote:

What about the war metal scene, which reached its peak in 1990 with Blasphemy's Fallen Angel of Doom? If that's too kvlt, there was plenty of good thrash and heavy metal still getting churned out. The alternative rock scene was also going strong, with a fan favorite (though personally kinda disliked) album Goo from Sonic Youth? Fugazi's best record, Repeater, also came out that year. Dream pop was up and coming and slowly morphing into shoegaze, with Cocteau Twins and Ride releasing Heaven or Las Vegas and Nowhere respectively as well as Galaxie 500 releasing their swan song. College radio saw They Might Be Giants' Flood, The Flaming Lips' In a Priest Driven Ambulance and Ween's debut album. Just because commercial rock radio was as bad as it had been since... forever... doesn't mean there wasn't plenty of awesome stuff coming out that year. And that's ignoring hip hop, which you rightly pointed out as having a great year.

I like a good mix of everything, commercial or not. Just because an album is successful or radio-friendly doesn't mean it's not good, even great (i.e., '80s Michael Jackson and Prince, Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., Nirvana's Nevermind, etc.). There are plenty of pleasant surprises from each year if you dig deeply enough, of course, but as far as albums that really defined the year 1990, there's precious little to find, in my opinion.

On another note, I own all of TMBG's albums through Mink Car, and while Flood has a large amount of their best tracks, it's still a bit of a mixed bag compared to something like Apollo 18.

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MF DOOM, Mos Def, The Roots, Pharoahe Monch, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Deep Puddle Dynamics

I do own Mos Def's Black on Both Sides, but while it has plenty of absolutely incredible tracks ("Hip Hop," "Ms. Fat Booty," "Mathematics," etc.), it's a little inconsistent to me around the middle. Eminem and Dr. Dre were pretty strong in 1999, but still I prefer the hip hop classics from the mid-'90s, back when Pac and Big were still alive and New York was producing masterpiece after masterpiece.

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2008 kinda fell off for rock music to an extent, I agree. I've never been a fan of that Deerhunter album that came out, and Beck made the worst thing he had made up to that point. Still, No Age, Beach House, Why?, and Have a Nice Life put out some of the best material of their careers. Outside of the rock sphere, there was a decent trickle of good electronic music, with DJ Sprinkles, fuckin PORTISHEAD, The Bug, Alva Noto, Flying Lotus, and a less established Oneohtrix Point Never putting out pretty good stuff. I will admit I can't think of a hip hop masterpiece from that year, and it probably is one of the weaker years of the aughts.

The new millennium in general has been a weak era for me, both in terms of widespread releases and more alternative ones. Popular music lacks the enthusiastic delivery it had in the '80s and '90s, while more artistic ventures often have none of the backbone that grounded previous decades. Honestly, I'll probably come to appreciate the '00s and '10s more as I discover new albums in their sea of releases, but right now, I prefer the overall "sound" of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, which is probably why I haven't discovered a whole lot of phenomenal releases from the new millennium. 2008 is just the year with the fewest classics.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 17:15:25 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/16/2015 22:15

Infinity183 wrote:

1990 - My favorite album of this year is Mariah Carey's self-titled debut. Terribly dry year for rock (before grunge, but after all the best hair metal albums came out) and pop in general, although from what I gather, a decent year for hip hop.

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1999 - Easily the worst year of the '90s, imo. Good grunge and hard rock were dead and replaced by pretentious, radio-tailored nonsense like Limp Bizkit and Slipknot, and alternative wasn't much better (Californiacation isn't that great, imo). I actually like most '90s pop, but this was an especially underwhelming year, due to the teen pop/boyband craze and lack of any truly prolific albums. This was also the worst year for rap prior to the crunk explosion of the mid-00s, the genre having become unattractively commercialized, even from heavyweights like Jay-Z and Nas. I also think blink-182's Enema of the State is extremely overrated and easily their worst pre-hiatus album.

Again, commercial radio has always been shit, and I will give you that 1999 had an impressively poor showing in that arena. Still, for the touchy feely rock kids there were Sigur Ros and American Football's albums, as well as The Flaming Lips' and Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's respective masterpieces. Built to Spill, The Dismemberment Plan, Stereloab, Wilco, The Olivia Tremor Control, and Pavement kept the indie rock scene cranking stuff out, setting the stage for the explosion of incredible indie rock in the aughts (though admittedly Pavement put out their worst record in 1999). And I'm not sure where you get off calling 1999 the worst year for rap when we had great albums come out of MF DOOM, Mos Def, The Roots, Pharoahe Monch, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Deep Puddle Dynamics, and I'm sure several more I haven't heard (of).

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2008 - The previous few years had the occasional indie/alternative masterpiece that saved them from what I personally declare the dark age of popular music (the lowbrow, childishly vulgar, snap-dominated period from mid-2005 to late 2008), but this year produced next to nothing that I fondly recall.

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2014 - 2013 actually had a handful of pretty strong albums, this year, not so much. The Grammy nominations for best album say it all.

Eh, it hasn't had enough time to mature yet. We haven't had enough time to go back and dig into the treasures a little bit further without the clutter all around. On Soundcloud mixes alone (though they weren't the only good things coming out this year), 2014 has been one of the best years of the 2010s, which I very much believe will have been my favorite decade of music so far by the time it ends.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Infinity183 — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 16:44:58 GMT

Author: Infinity183

Posted: 01/16/2015 21:44

1990 - My favorite album of this year is Mariah Carey's self-titled debut. Terribly dry year for rock (before grunge, but after all the best hair metal albums came out) and pop in general, although from what I gather, a decent year for hip hop.

1999 - Easily the worst year of the '90s, imo. Good grunge and hard rock were dead and replaced by pretentious, radio-tailored nonsense like Limp Bizkit and Slipknot, and alternative wasn't much better (Californiacation isn't that great, imo). I actually like most '90s pop, but this was an especially underwhelming year, due to the teen pop/boyband craze and lack of any truly prolific albums. This was also the worst year for rap prior to the crunk explosion of the mid-00s, the genre having become unattractively commercialized, even from heavyweights like Jay-Z and Nas. I also think blink-182's Enema of the State is extremely overrated and easily their worst pre-hiatus album.

2008 - The previous few years had the occasional indie/alternative masterpiece that saved them from what I personally declare the dark age of popular music (the lowbrow, childishly vulgar, snap-dominated period from mid-2005 to late 2008), but this year produced next to nothing that I fondly recall.

2014 - 2013 actually had a handful of pretty strong albums, this year, not so much. The Grammy nominations for best album say it all.

Re: Weak years (for you)

paladisiac — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 11:46:31 GMT

Author: paladisiac

Posted: 01/16/2015 16:46

Especially weak years IMO:

2014
2009
1998
1984 (after "thriller" and "1999", not much left for me)
1974 (after "the lamb", not much left for me)

i'm not qualified to give an opinion of "weak" years prior to 1967-1969 timeframe.

But it seems like almost every year nowawadays i'm complaining about it being a weak year for music. It's not you (music), it's me.

Re: Weak years (for you)

latenighttv — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 03:42:19 GMT

Author: latenighttv

Posted: 01/16/2015 08:42

Decurso wrote:

1982, 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001 for me. Had real trouble even making a top 10 list for all those years.

Just from having a quick look at your chart I'd say to check out these bands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OupA5wt3IKQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPs9jvg6h3c

Re: Weak years (for you)

latenighttv — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 03:40:28 GMT

Author: latenighttv

Posted: 01/16/2015 08:40

Saoirse wrote:

From a personal viewpoint... 2001 despite having some of my favorite albums of all time (It's a Wonderful Life, Things We Lost in the Fire- a great year for slowcore if not much else) was one of the weaker years of the new century in terms of overall depth.

Dunno if you'll be familiar with some of the stuff below but see if anything there might grab ya - one of my fave years of the new millennium, for the simple reason that I never had to work too hard to find stuff I liked...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv8KSTnB51c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOK6jrr57cI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUjmJu8-dNA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99C5yoGbDA0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTruoSmR8k8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAEeWxAy6UU

Re: Weak years (for you)

Necharsian — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:15:36 GMT

Author: Necharsian

Posted: 01/14/2015 06:15

satiemaniac wrote:

1983

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Antichrist - Slaughter in Hell [Black Metal]

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Stadia by Diseño Corbusier [Minimal Synth]

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Zeichnungen Des Patienten O. T. by Einstürzende Neubauten [Industrial]

dude yaaaaaaa

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 00:00:45 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/14/2015 05:00

This is actually a good thread to highlight some hidden gems we can find in every year, and I don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" year in music. Some, though, just seem to be lacking in depth or perhaps those really galvanizing releases that become future classics. For the most part though how "strong" or "weak" a year depends on each person's individual opinions about the albums that were released.

From a personal viewpoint, 1976 and 1986 (unfortunately) were rather lacking, despite some great top albums from the latter, and 2001 despite having some of my favorite albums of all time (It's a Wonderful Life, Things We Lost in the Fire- a great year for slowcore if not much else) was one of the weaker years of the new century in terms of overall depth. 2009 too for similar reasons, especially since having listened to so many releases cuz for some reason I chose to do that in the year tournament. In some cases I think like 1999 may be weak in terms of breadth of strong full-length albums released (although the best from that year were killer) but there was so much great music overall being released it was actually a very strong year.

Sp4cetiger wrote:

According to my decade charts, the weakest year for me (after the mid-60s) is 1990, with 5 entries. However, I did a quick scan of my 1990 chart and found lots of good stuff that could have made the cut. I think if you explore enough, you can find some stuff to love from any year in recent history.

Yeah that's an intriguing experiment, for each decade it appears 2011, 2001, 1997, 1983, 1976 and 1962 have the fewest albums on each chart, though all my decade charts are due for an overhaul.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Decurso — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 11:08:02 GMT

Author: Decurso

Posted: 01/11/2015 16:08

1982, 1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001 for me. Had real trouble even making a top 10 list for all those years.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Sun, 11 Jan 2015 08:46:28 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/11/2015 13:46

More essential 1983...

(loving these picks so far. Especially Golden Palominos! I had no idea they actually had a No wave, art funk stage only knowing their more pop oriented stuff which is also awesome.)

Kill 'Em All by Metallica

The most important album of 1983. By far. The birth waters of thrash and extreme metal.

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Soul Mining by The The

Easily one of the best Synth Pop album of all time!

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Porcupine by Echo & The Bunnymen

My favorite Echo album. And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Echo!!!

Hootenanny by The Replacements

Better than Tim! This is the album where The Replacements found their sound. Their second best after Let It Be, which is simply one of the best albums of all time easy peasy.

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Metal Circus by Hüsker Dü

Same with Husker Du. This is where they found their sound. Just perfect post-hardcore.

Mommy's Little Monster by Social Distortion

Essential Cali Punk

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Piece Of Mind by Iron Maiden

Arguably Maiden's best and my second favorite after Killers. Essential NWOBHM. And THE best band of 1983 in any genre.

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Smell Of Female by The Cramps

Vintage Cramps. 'nough said.

War by U2

Fuck the haters. Their early years were awesome & this chock full of college rock anthems. This is what emo kids listened to before their was emo.

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Pyromania by Def Leppard

Top 5 hair metal album of all time. Easy.

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Life's A Riot With Spy Vs Spy by Billy Bragg

Classic Indie folk or folk punk. You decide.

And finally, my personalized recommendation for dividesbyzero...

Oil On Canvas by Japan

Re: Weak years (for you)

SuedeSwede — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:20:02 GMT

Author: SuedeSwede

Posted: 01/11/2015 02:20

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The Golden Palominos by The Golden Palominos (No Wave)

S'all I got other than previous mentions

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:11:15 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/11/2015 02:11

1983

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Antichrist - Slaughter in Hell [Black Metal]

Head Over Heels by Cocteau Twins [Dream Pop]

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Stadia by Diseño Corbusier [Minimal Synth]

Trixie's Big Red Motorbike - Peel Session [Twee Pop]

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Demonstration Tapes by Dolly Mixture [Twee Pop]

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Show No Mercy by Slayer [Thrash Metal]

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Zeichnungen Des Patienten O. T. by Einstürzende Neubauten [Industrial]

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:55:38 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/10/2015 21:55

According to my decade charts, the weakest year for me (after the mid-60s) is 1990, with 5 entries. However, I did a quick scan of my 1990 chart and found lots of good stuff that could have made the cut. I think if you explore enough, you can find some stuff to love from any year in recent history.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:16:10 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/10/2015 21:16

The Day The Country Died by Subhumans is an album from 1983 😉 Seems to be my highest rated.

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:13:41 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/10/2015 21:13

dividesbyzero wrote:

ca.That said, anyone got stuff from 1983 other than

I'm assuming you've already heard Filth so no need to rec that one, but these two are great.

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Dazzle Ships by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

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Over The Edge by Wipers

Re: Weak years (for you)

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jan 2015 15:54:30 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 01/10/2015 20:54

alelsupreme wrote:

says 1595 on the cover, irrelevant.

ca. 1595

one of the recordings here (Eighth book of madrigals) was composed in 1586 and it's actually pretty dope

anyway, I don't really believe in bad years. That said, anyone got stuff from 1983 other than

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Murmur by R.E.M.

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Barbed Wire Maggots by Borbetomagus

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Violent Femmes by Violent Femmes

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Power, Corruption And Lies by New Order

Swordfishtrombones by Tom Waits

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Speaking In Tongues by Talking Heads

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