Best Ever Albums

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

dihansse — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 15:11:07 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 12/12/2017 20:11

And I just can't stop listening back to the albums I picked as the top albums of this year and I'm upping the scores on all of them. What a great year in music!!

These are the ones I gave a new spin today:

In Between by The Feelies

In Mind by Real Estate

Still no question of thinning the herd.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

dihansse — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 16:50:22 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 12/11/2017 21:50

Today was one of those days I was trying to review the 2017 albums already in my top 10 but were from the start of the year.

I did three of them and all three I just had to give higher grades after listening to them again:

Is This The Life We Really Want? by Roger Waters

It's Pink Floyd all over but it sounds even more fantastic after a few listens

Life Without Sound by Cloud Nothings

More melodic than their other albums but a grower as well.

The French Press by Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever

Only six tracks but all of them great.

So I'm not at all thinking of thinning the herd yet....

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

RoundTheBend — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 14:22:07 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 12/10/2017 19:22

There's only so much time in life.

I don't think slowing down and wondering what's worth my time is a bad thing.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

bobbyb5 — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 04:20:39 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 12/10/2017 09:20

rkm wrote:

When there's only a few tracks I like, I start asking myself if there's a greatest hits album that would serve me better (but I mostly don't like greatest hits albums).

I think you're right. That would probably be the smart thing for me to do. But then there's still the problem of having some kind of sentimental attachment to the album which doesn't really reflect the actual quality of the album. Ha ha

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 04:09:36 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/10/2017 09:09

bobbyb5 wrote:

it seems too early try to try to thin the herd for 2017. I'm really bad at trying to thin the Herd. I haven't even been able to thin the herd from the seventies or eighties yet. Every time I try, it just never seems to get much thinner. Whenever I remove something, I usually feel bad about it and put it back. I feel like I made a mistake. And then I just lower the bar for what qualifies. Until it's just like. "Well, its really not a great album, but it does have 1 or 2 tracks that I really love, so I'm going to keep it in". And that is just silly.

When there's only a few tracks I like, I start asking myself if there's a greatest hits album that would serve me better (but I mostly don't like greatest hits albums).

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

bobbyb5 — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 04:01:27 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 12/10/2017 09:01

it seems too early try to try to thin the herd for 2017. I'm really bad at trying to thin the Herd. I haven't even been able to thin the herd from the seventies or eighties yet. Every time I try, it just never seems to get much thinner. Whenever I remove something, I usually feel bad about it and put it back. I feel like I made a mistake. And then I just lower the bar for what qualifies. Until it's just like. "Well, its really not a great album, but it does have 1 or 2 tracks that I really love, so I'm going to keep it in". And that is just silly.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

AwaitingAndrew — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 23:55:10 GMT

Author: AwaitingAndrew

Posted: 12/09/2017 04:55

I usually try to limit to a top 20-25 for websites, and I'll make an "official" top 10 collage plus some honorable mentions post on social media - the same applies to films, but that list won't come until later. I think I finally have my album list down! I don't think 2017's music offerings were as strong as 2016 but still a solid year. Can't recommend my top 5 enough.

I don't have any sort of genre limits to my list, it's just a top-to-bottom favorite albums list. There's nothing I'm inherently opposed to - I believe I listened to a bit of everything this year - but it's pretty clear from my 2017 list and beyond that I love alternative and indie music.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 20:58:19 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/09/2017 01:58

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

I'll refer to this post and my chart. Been trying to push some of these albums on y'all all damn year. Vandermark has two albums coming out next week that are guaranteed to be good. Still tons I need to listen to.

Thanks. There's a lot of artists I haven't heard of there. Much to explore.

I had intended on checking these out but had forgotten them:

The Ecstatic Music Of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda by Alice Coltrane

Far From Over by Vijay Iyer Sextet

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

Anonymous — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 19:59:51 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/09/2017 00:59

rkm wrote:

These are the jazz albums from 2017 I'm sorting through on my list. Anyone else found any jazz albums this year that they'd like to recommend?

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 17:24:56 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/08/2017 22:24

These are the jazz albums from 2017 I'm sorting through on my list. Anyone else found any jazz albums this year that they'd like to recommend?

This guy played guitar on Esperanza Spalding's album last year

Preverbal by Matthew Stevens

Hudson by Jack Dejohnette / Larry Grenadier / John Medeski / John Scofield

John Abercrombie sadly passed away this year

Up And Coming by John Abercrombie Quartet

A Rift In Decorum: Live At The Village Vanguard by Ambrose Akinmusire

I Am A Man by Ron Miles

Body And Shadow by Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band

Open Book by Fred Hersch

Unfold by The Necks

Truth, Liberty & Soul: Live In NYC:... Pastorius

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 17:12:13 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/08/2017 22:12

sethmadsen wrote:

rkm wrote:

sethmadsen wrote:

Musical DNA:
I think I said it earlier... something like:
Swing/Jazz (not a fan of free jazz)
Classical (mostly Baroque to Early Romantic)
Alternative Rock (ala 80s/90s) - children of hippies
Actual Hippies or the sort - of the late 60s/early 70s
Hip-hop/Rap - I can't really dial in which kind... it's pretty random
"Good?" Folk/singer songwriter

Themes: Humanity & Philosophy - basically things that are emotionally and intellectually pleasing/honest/real (not challenging for the sake of being challenging)

Do you like any contemporary jazz, say from the 90's onwards?

I realize this is ignorant of me to say, but when I hear the term contemporary Jazz, I think Kenny G, and then I slightly vomit in my mouth.

But if you were to refer to me anything you think someone who likes what I'll call catchy Jazz... the early beginnings of soul, etc, I'd probably like it. Like the closest think I could think of is Norah Jones (and I'm likely way off) and I don't know I'd really say I love her music. I would probably keep it on a mix/radio type thing and wouldn't skip it, but I wouldn't purposely go out of my way to choose to listen. There was a Polish user who turned me on to some stuff that I thought was cool, but then just never listened to it again (I guess for me it wasn't that cool). And to be honest it probably has more to do with my lack of experience with it than anything else.

I probably have a certain bias, but when it comes to jazz from the last 30 years or so, my main interest lies not with vocalists, sax or trumpet players, but with guitarists. For sax and trumpet centred jazz I'd probably listen to stuff from the 50's and 60's, but to a certain degree guitar players were second class citizens in that era of jazz (not that there weren't great players). Contemporary jazz guitar players are informed by a rock aesthetic and are inclusive of other kinds of music.

If you like soul/jazz and accessibility, you could check out this record:

A Go Go by John Scofield

My favourite guitarist is Bill Frisell. He's made a lot of interesting music, and I'm not sure where to point you first. He's mostly quite lyrical in his playing (although can be quite dissonant), and is somewhat of a colourist (creating soundscapes via looping and delays etc.) this one is quite noir-ish and weird like a David Lynch film.

Blues Dream by Bill Frisell

This doesn't swing at all, but Wayne Krantz is an incredible improviser. I often think that some music is emotional, some intellectual, and some is physical. This music I think of as being all three equally. Recorded with a single stereo mic at Bar 55 in New York.

2 Drink Minimum by Wayne Krantz

Three very different guitarist. I hope one of them is a gateway drug to other jazz for you.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

RoundTheBend — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 01:30:47 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 12/08/2017 06:30

rkm wrote:

sethmadsen wrote:

Do you like any contemporary jazz, say from the 90's onwards?

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

RoundTheBend — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 01:21:51 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 12/08/2017 06:21

Tap wrote:

I've heard 11 2017 releases just in the past week, I'm more of a herd thickener

🤣

That's awesome.

There's no such thing as a staple or a standard. F the norm.

And I'm all like, who are the Beatles again? 🤣

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 00:39:26 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/08/2017 05:39

babyBlueSedan wrote:

Right now I feel like I'm doing the opposite of trimming down my list, as I'm listening to a bunch of stuff that I didn't get around to earlier in the year.

Me too. I'm adding things as quickly as I'm deleting other things.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

Tap — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 00:33:39 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 12/08/2017 05:33

I've heard 11 2017 releases just in the past week, I'm more of a herd thickener

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 00:31:51 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/08/2017 05:31

sethmadsen wrote:

Do you like any contemporary jazz, say from the 90's onwards?

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

rkm — Fri, 8 Dec 2017 00:27:55 GMT

Author: rkm

Posted: 12/08/2017 05:27

sethmadsen wrote:

I do like what I think Craola said once - give it a pass fail. I'm thinking I'll do that for my discovery processes (not sure WHEN something fails or passes quite yet). It's simple kind of and I complicate it - more or less does it suck or not. Do I like it or not.

I think I've become pretty discerning regarding a pass or fail reaction. I know when I have no interest in returning to an album. The bit that I find frustrating, is that sometimes an album can seem good but not great, until I hear it in a different context (in the car, on headphones, late at night, cloudy day), and then somehow an album that I could've dismissed, becomes indispensable.

And sometimes albums that are immediately gratifying wear thin, while less obvious ones are growers.

This one has been a grower of late.

Out Of Silence by Neil Finn

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

babyBlueSedan — Thu, 7 Dec 2017 23:36:17 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 12/08/2017 04:36

Musically this is my favorite time of the year - finalizing my year end list and watching publications' lists for anything that I missed that I might like. Right now I feel like I'm doing the opposite of trimming down my list, as I'm listening to a bunch of stuff that I didn't get around to earlier in the year. But I'm also reevaluating some of the stuff I already had discovered to create a final year-end ranking. I find that I'm a little stricter by the end of the year so my ratings will more accurately reflect how I feel about certain albums.

I don't have many strict criteria for my final list - it's just the albums I enjoyed the most. This is my fourth year listening to a decent chunk of albums, and I typically come out to liking about a third of the albums I hear enough to add them to my collection. That's really my main criteria - my final ratings and rankings are less important than figuring out what my definitive albums of the year are. I'm at around 30 out of 100 this year so I'm right on pace for my usual percentage. I'll probably do a few more new listens this weekend and then work on revisiting all the ones I'm not sure about after that.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

RoundTheBend — Thu, 7 Dec 2017 22:37:44 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 12/08/2017 03:37

Random thought I as I listen to my 2017 playlist...

It doesn't matter what my final "product" is for my list... what matters is I enjoyed discovering music of 2017.

It also doesn't matter I found a bunch of amazing new artists who debuted after 2010 (kind of long term vision of why I'm on this site, even if I still suck at it 6 years later). If I did naturally, great.

Re: Thinning the herd: 2017

RoundTheBend — Thu, 7 Dec 2017 22:34:33 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 12/08/2017 03:34

Great questions. I'm pretty confident in my top 20 or so (as I said in another thread). I'm also attempting to review the year more earnestly than I probably ever have before.

So many albums are crap and then some I just don't realize are great slow burners or growers (elbow at first I thought was a bit boring and now I'm loving it).

Rules - idk.

I do like what I think Craola said once - give it a pass fail. I'm thinking I'll do that for my discovery processes (not sure WHEN something fails or passes quite yet). It's simple kind of and I complicate it - more or less does it suck or not. Do I like it or not.

Like I'm not gonna do top 30 or bust and even if I really like something I'm only doing a certain number. I will though very likely not have crap albums on my list. That's one thing I want to work on - getting my year charts in order. Right now my year charts are more or less listening lists/things I've listened to, not necessarily 90+ albums or whatever from that year. Some of my year charts are pretty pitiful.

Musical DNA:
I think I said it earlier... something like:
Swing/Jazz (not a fan of free jazz)
Classical (mostly Baroque to Early Romantic)
Alternative Rock (ala 80s/90s) - children of hippies
Actual Hippies or the sort - of the late 60s/early 70s
Hip-hop/Rap - I can't really dial in which kind... it's pretty random
"Good?" Folk/singer songwriter

Themes: Humanity & Philosophy - basically things that are emotionally and intellectually pleasing/honest/real (not challenging for the sake of being challenging)