Best Ever Albums

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Sun, 3 Aug 2014 12:47:09 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/03/2014 16:47

CLOSED

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Results are:

11: Silver & Gold by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 71

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10: Songs For Christmas by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 70

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8=: Enjoy Your Rabbit by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 61 (Tied with All Delighted People)

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8=:All Delighted People EP by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 61 (Tied with Enjoy Your Rabbit)

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6=: The BQE by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 49 (Tied with A Sun Came)

6=: A Sun Came by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 49 (The BQE)

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5:The Avalanche by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 47

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4:Seven Swans by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 29

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3: The Age Of Adz by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 23
First Place Votes: 2

2: Michigan by Sufjan Stevens
Points From Number 1: 19
First Place Votes: 3

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1:Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
First Place Votes: 6

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Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Sun, 3 Aug 2014 12:32:22 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/03/2014 16:32

Age Of Adz
Illinois
Seven Swans
All Delighted People
The Avalanche
Enjoy Your Rabbit!
Michigan
A Sun Came
The BQE

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

WindowAbove — Sat, 2 Aug 2014 17:11:37 GMT

Author: WindowAbove

Posted: 08/02/2014 21:11

Illinois
Age of Adz
Michigan
Seven Swans
Enjoy Your Rabbit
Avalanche
A Sun Came

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

junodog4 — Sat, 2 Aug 2014 14:38:03 GMT

Author: junodog4

Posted: 08/02/2014 18:38

NickVolos wrote:

^^^
Well said RM... �'� Don't give up on his EP... :)

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Sat, 2 Aug 2014 09:21:24 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/02/2014 13:21

24 Hour Notice!!!

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

NickVolos — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 07:20:15 GMT

Author: NickVolos

Posted: 07/31/2014 11:20

^^^
Well said RM... �'� Don't give up on his EP... 😄

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 06:10:18 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/31/2014 10:10

When I was obsessed with Red Sox baseball in the 2000s, we had a player named Manny Ramirez who was talented as fuck and arguably the best pure hitter of his generation. He was a natural. BUT, it was almost as if he was so fricking good that just playing the game straight like everyone else bored him. He was so bloody talented that we gladly put up with his idiosyncrasies and quirks and would just shrug that it was just “Manny being Manny.” But you always knew that he could have been an all time great and sure-fire Hall of Famer. He was the type of ball player who gave fans a fatal case of the if onlys…

Well that’s sort of how I approach Sufjan. A glitch electronica vanity project as his second album? yup. Label a SIXTY minute album an “EP”? Sure! Why not! And forget concept albums. So plebeian. Let’s just go for the concept discography! And then release yet another vanity project, this time an entirely instrumental orchestral musical piece, while everyone is waiting with bated breath for the follow up to your first commercial success? Sounds like a great idea! God know he’s talented as fuck, but Sufjan has me searching for a word more extreme than megalomania.

When I drop the needle down on every “proper” Sufjan album, I always have the same response - “This is going to be the best fucking album EVER!” And then at some point a patch of tedium hits (length may vary). Because they all pretty much scream “genius is about to happen” before screaming “where the fuck is the editor, can somebody just find me a goddamn editor”.

Go ahead! Tell me that he didn’t start his own record label - Asthmatic Kitty - just so he could do whatever the hell he wanted. At least he’s self-aware enough that he knows he’s a prima donna who feels that every whim should be recorded and given the multimedia DVD package. (tbh, the BQE album itself wasn’t bad at all.) Anyways, before anyone tries to edit this nonsense, here’s my list…

The Masterpiece
Michigan

The Consistent, Or, Neither of these is essential, But just super solid listens!
A Sun Came (His only album that sucks me in deeper as it progresses)
Seven Swans (Lacks the creative peaks of the best songs on Michigan, Illinois, & Age of Adz)

Almost Perfect - The Overlong, Or, One of these is essential for THE Indie Rock record collection, Take your pick!
Illinois
Age of Adz

The Vanity Projects
BQE (Oddly enough perhaps his most consistent album!!!)
Enjoy Your Rabbit

The Outtakes Album that should have been even longer!
Avalanches

As with most megalomaniacs, he exhausted me in the end so I gave up on his “EP” and those Christmas albums for now.

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 23:20:17 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/31/2014 03:20

I love this man, yet I have three releases to go

1. Illinois
2. The BQE
3. The Age Of Adz
4. The Avalanche
5. All Delighted People EP
6. A Sun Came
7. Seven Swans

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

AlexZangari — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 22:56:33 GMT

Author: AlexZangari

Posted: 07/31/2014 02:56

Of what I've listened to:

1. Illinois
2. Seven Swans
3. The Age of Adz
4. Michigan

Illinois is in my top ten but I honestly don't care much for any of his other stuff :/

He is like my #1 music crush though.

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

meccalecca — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:38:20 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 07/30/2014 14:38

sp4cetiger wrote:

Yes. My wife starts listening to Christmas-music-only radio stations in November and it drives me up the wall.

Out of all the things to hate about working in retail when I was younger, I think the months of Christmas music was the worst, especially since it was like the same 20 songs on repeat.

I guess, at least Sufjan gave us like 6 hours of new xmas music

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:35:25 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/30/2014 14:35

meccalecca wrote:

crazy. But maybe it's just me since I really don't like christmas music unless it's like Christmas Eve

Yes. My wife starts listening to Christmas-music-only radio stations in November and it drives me up the wall.

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

meccalecca — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:32:32 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 07/30/2014 14:32

Skinny wrote:

I don't dislike either particularly, just probably slightly prefer the Christmas album.

crazy. But maybe it's just me since I really don't like christmas music unless it's like Christmas Eve

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Skinny — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:30:16 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 07/30/2014 14:30

meccalecca wrote:

It's hard to understand why people dislike Age of Adz so much, especially so much that they'd rank it below a christmas album

I don't dislike either particularly, just probably slightly prefer the Christmas album.

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

meccalecca — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 10:24:35 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 07/30/2014 14:24

Skinny wrote:

5. Songs for Christmas
6. The Age of Adz

It's hard to understand why people dislike Age of Adz so much, especially so much that they'd rank it below a christmas album

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

NickVolos — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 09:32:07 GMT

Author: NickVolos

Posted: 07/30/2014 13:32

1. Illinois
--------------------------
2. Michigan
3. The BQE
4. All Delighted People EP
--------------------------
5. Seven Swans
6. The Age of Adz
7. The Avalanche
8. A Sun Came
--------------------------
9. Enjoy Your Rabbit

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

mickilennial — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:56:01 GMT

Author: mickilennial

Posted: 07/28/2014 15:56

Michigan
Illinois
The BQE
A Sun Came
The Avalanche
Seven Swans
The Age of Adz
Enjoy Your Rabbit

John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Romulus
Say Yes! to Michigan
For the Windows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
Pittsfield

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Skinny — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:53:18 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 07/28/2014 15:53

1. Illinois
2. Sisyphus
3. Michigan
4. Seven Swans
5. Songs for Christmas
6. The Age of Adz

Don't know the rest well enough, and have no real motivation to listen anytime soon.

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

meccalecca — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 11:50:35 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 07/28/2014 15:50

Conveniently, I listened to Sufjan's discography a bunch last week (aside from the xmas albums).

The Age of Adz
Illinois
Seven Swans
Michigan
Avalanche
A Sun Came
Silver & Gold
The BQE
Follow Your Rabbit
Songs For Christmas

5 songs is really tough.

"Now That I'm Older"
"In The Devil's Territory"
"John Wayne Gacy, Jr."
"Impossible Soul"
"Come On! Feel the Illinoise!"

Re: CLOSED: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 20:43:30 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/28/2014 00:43

Michigan
Illinois
The Age of Adz
Seven Swans
Avalanche
A Sun Came
Follow Your Rabbit
The BQE

"For the Windows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti"
"John Wayne Gacy Jr"
"Detroit! Lift Up Your Weary Head!"
"He Woke Me Up Again"
"Rake"

Re: Let's Rank 14: Sufjan Stevens

Anonymous — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 18:14:57 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 07/27/2014 22:14

CubaZed wrote:

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A Sun Came by Sufjan Stevens

Gah. Whenever I go past this album I think it's SquishypuffDave.

Will listen to the couple of albus I haven't heard and then vote.