Best Ever Albums

Round 19: 2020 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 16:19:37 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/13/2026 20:19

These are the albums of 2020 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Never Not Together (2020) by Nada Surf
And why not throwing in another Nada Surf album of which Doug Gillard was now a fixed member and it is clear that Gillard adds a bit of a rough guitar edge to the generally fairly mellow but very melodic Nada Surf sound; And this album contains many positive outliers : Live Learn and Forget, Looking For You, Crowded Star, Mathilda and Ride In The Unknown. Which means that this great album remains steady at the 2nd rank of the year.

And an album from my wishlist:

The Black Hole Understands (2020) by Cloud Nothings
The lockdown album of the band and that way also not as hard edged as their other albums but what it loses in roughness, it gains in melodic quality and that's not a bad thing for a band I really like and only the instrumental Tall Gray Structure suffers a bit from a lack of depth. The album enters at the 42nd rank of the year.

Round 19: 2019 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 16:22:26 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/12/2026 20:22

Two albums of 2019 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Rose City Band (2019) by Rose City Band
A bit, just a bit of a softer version of Wooden Shjips by Ripley Johnson of Wooden Ships. But that doesn't mean this album isn't all about jams. The songs never go in overdrive but they are all too mesmerizing and the best example of that is the fantastic long Fear Song. So great album which moves up from the 53rd to the 26th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Akron, Ohio (2019) by Sad Planets
A collaboration of Patrick Carney from the Black Keys and John Petkovic. There's certainly very weak spots to be found in this album like City Ghosts or Long Goodbye but overall it is pretty good. It enters my year chart at the 87th rank.

Round 19: 2018

dihansse — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:45:12 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/11/2026 19:45

These are two albums of 2018 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Phantastic Ferniture (2018) by Phantastic Ferniture
A band centered around the Australian singer songwriter Julia Jacklin and a fairly good album with energetic tracks. It moves up from the 91st to the 69th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Die Unendlichkeit (2018) by Tocotronic
And another album from this great German band and another good album with lots of variety and good songs. And you know what: the extended version on Apple Music contains a fairly mellow but excellent cover version of Hüsker Dü's Flexible Flyer called Schittenflug. The album enters my year chart at the 76th rank.

Round 19: 2017 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Tue, 9 Jun 2026 16:17:12 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/09/2026 20:17

Two albums of 2017 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Goths (2017) by The Mountain Goats
This album is a bit too long and maybe even a bit boring but it has some nice textures and the first two tracks jump out in a positive way. So after doubting a bit I decided to keep this album in my year chart and it even moves up from the 101st rank (so in fact not in the top 100) to 95.

And an album from my wishlist:

Sing The Night In Sorrow (2017) by Sweet Apple
And there seems to be no end of the productivity of my two main characters of this round. Sweet Apple is mainly a collaboration of John Petkovic, J Mascis (mainly on drums but luckily also sometimes on guitar) and Dave Sweetapple (who died in 2024) but on this album they collaborate with lots of other people: Mark Lanegan, Robert Pollard, Rachel Haden and even also old friend Doug Gillard who also delivers some guitar parts. There's a few songs without a lot of appeal but She Wants To Run and the sprawling Candles In The Sun are real highlights. And the album lands at the 44th rank of 2017.

Round 19: 2016 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Thu, 4 Jun 2026 16:25:12 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/04/2026 20:25

These are the albums of 2016 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

The Getaway (2016) by Red Hot Chili Peppers
One of the albums of the in my opinion best period of band also featuring a few good singles like Dark Necessities. A very decent album which moves up from the 42nd to the 38th rank.

And not one but two albums connected to Doug Gillard from my wishlist:

You Know Who You Are (2016) by Nada Surf
John Petkovic joined Nada Surf in 2010 and this the second of their albums where he played the guitar and did a very good job at it. The melodic qualities of Nada Surf coupled with the guitar playing of Gillard makes this just a fine powerpop album to listen to in the best tradition of Teenage Fanclub. Gold Sounds is the best track and the album enters my year chart at the 14th rank.

Starting Point Of The Royal Cyclopean (2016) by ESP Ohio
By this time Doug Gillard became a fixed member of GBV but not before he did a more private collaboration with Robert Pollard on again one of the many side projects of Pollard. In this form Pollard shows a bit more of the prog side of his music with slightly longer (although none is longer than 5 minutes and there are 16 tracks on a not too long album) and more ambitious songs and if they are sometimes somewhat weaker they are saved by the good guitar parts of Doug Gillard. Still a good album which enters at the 27th rank.

Round 19: 2015

dihansse — Wed, 3 Jun 2026 15:44:51 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/03/2026 19:44

Two albums of 2015 I listened to:

First and album (EP) I already know/own:

Saint Cecilia (2015) by Foo Fighters
The title track and The Neverending Sigh belong to the best work of Foo Fighters and Savior Breath is just an uppercut of a song. So overall a very good and too short EP/album which moves up from the 21st to the 3rd rank of the year.

And an album from my wishlist:

Lost Cities (2015) by Ed Kuepper
Especially via his work with The Saints and The Ants, Ed Kuepper is one of my musical heroes but his solo albums are fairly uneven and so is this one. Overall not bad but not a masterpiece either and it enters my year chart at the 65th rank.

Round 19: 2014 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 15:55:22 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/02/2026 19:55

Two albums of 2014 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

By Absence Of The Sun (2014) by Triggerfinger
A Belgian band which sounds a bit like QOTSA. It's not a bad band and not a bad album but I wouldn't recommend it as the Belgian band or the Belgian album to listen to. It moves up my year chart from the 70th to the 58th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Parade On (2014) by Doug Gillard
Another solo album by Doug Gillard and for once not completely satisfying: especially the middle section is rather dull, a bit atypical for the man. But still an overall good album which enters my year chart at the 35th rank.

Round 19: 2013 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Tue, 2 Jun 2026 15:41:31 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 06/02/2026 19:41

Just one more thing about 2013 relating to Death Of Samantha with this final album of theirs:

If Memory Serves Us Well (2013) by Death Of Samantha
This is a special album. They (of course I mean Johan Petkovic and Dough Gillard) released their last album in 1989 after which they both had a filled career in other bands but did do some reunion performances. They decided to do one more live show in 2011 and for that they had a live rehearsal in a studio in Cleveland which finally resulted in this compilation album released in 2013. So it's not the actual live show which was recorded but these "live" show without an audience. It contains about the whole legacy in 18 tracks of this great band and I really like the versions here and more than the original versions on the original albums which I had to get from Youtube anyway because they are not available on Apple Music. Both Petkovic' voice and Gillard's guitar really shine here and the sound quality is better and above all: this album just doesn't contain one bad song and should be heard more widely. BtW the version of Blood Creek here is fantastic.
So I don't do this often (ex. Substance by New Order is another example) but I decided to regard this album as thé album of Death Of Samantha and to discard the individual albums from my year charts. Yes: it's that good and gives that good a view of their entire career. This album enters at the 8th rank on my year chart (and I do think I should rank it higher in the future).

Re: Round 19: 2008 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

Johnnyo — Sun, 31 May 2026 13:18:16 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 05/31/2026 17:18

dihansse wrote:

Johnnyo wrote:

dihansse wrote:

Two albums of 2008 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Crossing Dragon Bridge (2008) by Steve Wynn
Allmusic calls this "Wynn's masterpiece". I'm a fan and I don't think so: his earlier work is so much better. Not that this is a bad album: it simply doesn't contain the ingenious songwriting and delivery I know from his older albums. It still climbs from the 59th to the 47th rank but this is still rather mediocre for a Steve Wynn album.

I've been a fan of Steve's since the early 80's and I'd agree with what you have said. Not a masterpiece by any stretch. Decent though

If I had to chose a SW studio album, discounting Dream Syndicate or Miracle Three I'd go for either

Kerosene Man (1990) by Steve Wynn

Or
Here Come The Miracles (2001) by Steve Wynn

My top three is:
1. My Midnight
2. Sweetness and Light
3. Here Comes The Miracles

All great album. Steve really is a rather underrated and under appreciated artist. Love his work

Round 19: 2013

dihansse — Sun, 31 May 2026 12:29:11 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/31/2026 16:29

Two albums of 2013 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Purgatory / Paradise (2013) by Throwing Muses
This a bit of an ambitious project: 32 tracks of which many are double down tracks (with a version 1 and 2) and many being filler. There's only one track I really like, Slippershell , and many of the tracks is what you can generally expect from a TM album without too much frills. So in short: this could have been a much better album if it would have been shorter but still one for my year chart but descending from the 17th to the 46th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Peace On Venus (2013) by Bardo Pond
And this is the opposite: only 5 tracks but maybe also a bit too long because the individual tracks are very long and winding with their typical droning sound. And again not an album with positive outliers but definitely a typical album for the band and entering my year chart at the 47th rank (ie just behind the TM album).

Round 19: 2012

dihansse — Thu, 28 May 2026 15:54:57 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/28/2026 19:54

Two albums of 2012 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Following Sea (2012) by dEUS
I'm a fan of this fantastic Belgian band but this is not their best album. Let's leave it at that and it moves up from the 60th to the 51st rank/

And an album from my wishlist:

The Shallows (2012) by I Like Trains
This critics of this album were not very positive but I like it very much. Although the baritone of the singer is not as deep as Matt Berninger's, the sound and the music of this album has some similarities with The National and has nothing of the postrock atmosphere of their other albums. So no wonder this album enters my year chart at the 25th rank.

Round 19: 2011 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Wed, 27 May 2026 16:17:06 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/27/2026 20:17

These are the albums of 2011 I listened to:

First two albums I already own/know because I had started with:

Suck It And See (2011) by Arctic Monkeys
I'm not a big fan of Arctic Monkeys but I can't deny that on most of their albums there are a good track or two on this one this is the opening track She's Thunderstorms. Otherwise not their worst album but it still moves down from the 54th to the 63rd rank.

And then I discovered that I should also cover that second Lifeguards album:

Waving At The Astronauts (2011) by Lifeguards
Because it is one of those Bob Pollard's side projects but here together with Doug Gillard and focused on rather psychedelic songs which on their first album Mist King Urth didn't really come out well but on this second album they just rock. The songs are somewhat longer than on your average GBV album which makes them more groovy and sometimes songs like have a sort of weirdness which emit some Pixies vibes. One of the better Robert Pollard (and Doug Gillard) albums and it moves up from the 20th to the 14th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Dragon Dicks (2011) by The High Strung
And at first I thought this was another Pollard side project because they have a lot of references to the early GBV albums but it is not. The songs are fairly basic and some of them not really good but I like the general vibe. he album enters at the 61st rank.

Round 19: 2010 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Tue, 26 May 2026 15:39:12 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/26/2026 19:39

Two albums of 2010 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Avi Buffalo (2010) by Avi Buffalo
The ultimate highlight on this album is what's It In For?, a wonderful gem of a song but this is also by far the best track. Not that the rest is bad, just not very memorable. But it goes up from the 79th to the 56th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Love & Desperation (2010) by Sweet Apple
Doug Gillard collaborated a lot with one of my musical heroes, Robert Pollard. John Petkovic collaborated with another musical hero of mine, J Mascis. And of course especially with this band with this album as their first. J Mascis was the drummer (not the main guitar player because a lot of tracks are dominated by some oversteered guitar playing clearly not in his style) and was the second voice. But the songs on which he did his typical guitar solos are the best of album and especially on Can't See You he really shines. And of course there are the Roxy Music references and to grasp this you only have to look at the album art. Overall a good album which enters my year chart at the 17th rank.

Round 19: 2009 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Mon, 25 May 2026 15:13:49 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/25/2026 19:13

Two albums of 2009 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

My Old, Familiar Friend (2009) by Brendan Benson
I like his songs and his singing, nothing much more, nothing much less, and this album is no exception and it moves up from the 49th to the 21st rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Call From Restricted (2009) by Doug Gillard
And another of his solo albums I should have discovered a long time ago: guitar rock at its best with From What I've Done as the best track. Definitely in the same league as what he's doing with GBV but definitely doing his own thing here and the album enters my year chart at the 13th rank.

Re: Round 19: 2008 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Sun, 24 May 2026 16:02:55 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/24/2026 20:02

Johnnyo wrote:

dihansse wrote:

My top three is:
1. My Midnight
2. Sweetness and Light
3. Here Comes The Miracles

Re: Round 19: 2008 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

Johnnyo — Sat, 23 May 2026 11:26:49 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 05/23/2026 15:26

dihansse wrote:

Round 19: 2008 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

dihansse — Thu, 21 May 2026 15:54:20 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/21/2026 19:54

Two albums of 2008 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Crossing Dragon Bridge (2008) by Steve Wynn
Allmusic calls this "Wynn's masterpiece". I'm a fan and I don't think so: his earlier work is so much better. Not that this is a bad album: it simply doesn't contain the ingenious songwriting and delivery I know from his older albums. It still climbs from the 59th to the 47th rank but this is still rather mediocre for a Steve Wynn album.

And an album from my wishlist:

Haven't Slept All Year (2008) by Cobra Verde
I'm listening to both Cobra Verde (with John Petkovic at the helm) and the solo albums of Doug Gillard and while I think that the latter is an artist I'm really starting to discover and appreciate and should have done earlier I don't think the same about the Cobra Verde albums around this period. They do peruse different styles and are good at it but I miss the real spark. So all in all a good album and it still deserves its 31st rank but I expected more of this particular album.

Round 19: 2007

dihansse — Mon, 18 May 2026 16:14:03 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/18/2026 20:14

Two albums of 2007 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

The Shepherd's Dog (2007) by Iron & Wine
In hindsight not a very memorable album but they do go from the 66th to the 56th rank.

And an album from my wishlist:

Kapitulation (2007) by Tocotronic
Already the 4th album of this German band and I like them better and better. Maybe not very original but the fact that they sing in German with btw very good lyrics adds something extra to the very infectious songs and many songs have that je ne said pas quoi which makes them a bit special. Four of the tracks stand out even more and this album just enters my year chart at a whopping 4th rank. I can' t wait to hear more of them.

Re: Round 19: 2000

dihansse — Mon, 18 May 2026 16:07:24 GMT

Author: dihansse

Posted: 05/18/2026 20:07

Johnnyo wrote:

dihansse wrote:

Two albums of the year 2000 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

Two Against Nature (2000) by Steely Dan
Their comeback album after a long hiatus and there's two kinds of reactions to it by Steely Dan fans: misses the old magic and too cold or just as great as the old albums. And I tend to be of the second school: this is just another great and very jazzy one. Especially the closer West Of Hollywood stands out with very interesting sax work and just a very good song. I like it more than I thought when the album was released and it rises from the 64th to the 20th rank of 2000.

I'd go along with that. I think that this was a great album. maybe not quite up there with

Aja (1977) by Steely Dan

Or

Can't Buy A Thrill (1972) by Steely Dan

(But then very few albums are)

But still an excellent album which sits alongside their other albums very comfortably.

Of course I agree Johnnyo.

Re: Round 19: 2004 (theme John Petkovic/Doug Gillard)

Johnnyo — Mon, 18 May 2026 04:31:36 GMT

Author: Johnnyo

Posted: 05/18/2026 08:31

dihansse wrote:

Two albums of 2004 I listened to:

First an album I already own/know:

A Ghost Is Born (2004) by Wilco
I suppose YHF is a bit better than this album but both are classics in the best sense possible. Also this album is just filled with excellent tracks with Handshake Drugs as one if the greatest songs every written in my opinion. There are only a few tracks which keep this album from the absolute top with the overlong Less Than You Think as the best example. But this album just has to go from the 11th to the 2nd rank of the year (maybe I should revise Funeral which is now at the top 😈 ).

Probably me favourite Wilco album.

At Least That's What You Said is one of the great track one, side ones of all time.