Best Ever Albums

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

RoundTheBend — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 18:12:18 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/16/2018 22:12

bobbyb5 wrote:

I used to think that I had such an overwhelming preference for the 70s for the simple reason that it's the decade when I was born and the First music I ever heard. But I notice that a lot of people younger than me who weren't even born yet often say that they agree.

I used to abhor the 70s when I thought it was just disco, soft rock, prog rock, and metal... then I found out many of my favorite albums were made in the 70s, so I'd probably concur.

I don't remember how I ranked or how decade game supported this idea, mostly out of curiosity that if the results even mattered past it being fun.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

RoundTheBend — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 18:09:35 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/16/2018 22:09

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

Edited it for the new cool format

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

60s: Albert Ayler
Spiritual Unity; The Hilversum Session; New York Eye and Ear Control; Spirits Rejoice; Bells; At Slug's Saloon; Lorrach/Paris 1966; The Village Concerts; Stockholm/Berlin 1966; European Radio Studio Recordings 1964; Copenhagen Live 1964
I almost wanted to put Coltrane up here. But, no one calls back to the past more than Ayler, with his twisted lullabies, military marches, and gospel tunes; no one looks ahead to the future more, as he was the primary American musician that emphasized pushing the boundaries of timbre and time that would continue to be the focus of jazz when musicians weren't fusing it with popular music or replaying bop idioms. There's a a lot of soulful playing in this decade, but it's hard to beat the emotional belting of Ayler.

70s: Steve Lacy or Evan Parker
Lapis; Flaps; The Crust; Saxophone Special; Scraps; Stabs; Dreams; Company 4; Trickles; Raps; Follies; Straws; Clangs; Lumps; The Owl; High, Low and Order; Clinkers; The Way; N.Y. Capers & Quirks; Troubles; Stamps; Mal Waldron with the Steve Lacy Quintet
Steve Lacy, who established himself in the '50s with a few exceptional traditional releases, would go on to wrestle with free playing in the '60s and revel in it by the '70s (almost a reflection of the path of jazz itself). A lot of times he still has heads, r&b roots, a rich "classic" tone, and some opera (?) influence can devolve into totally free playing. Still exploring his unending love for and fascination with Monk. Excellent solos through mid-size formats (but this would set the tone for his great large format works in the '90s). He really seems to represent an accounting for the past, present, and future.
or
The Topography of the Lungs; Saxophone Solos; Monoceros; Groupcomposing; Sequences 72 & 73; Pakistani Pomade; Song for Someone; Saxophone Special; At the Unity Theater; Spirits Rejoice (Louis Moholo's); Company1/2/5; Pierre Favre Quartet; The Music Improvisation Company; Duo (w/ Tristan Honsinger)
One of the original and primary innovators of free improvisation, Evan Parker participated in germinal '60s works for the music and would go on to really establish it through the '70s. By the end of the decade, his reputation for side-long breakneck, breathless extended-technique soloing was already there; microtones, multiphonics, air notes, tongue slapping, and key clicks all used generously. Completely changed the language of saxophone. If I had to choose one person to represent mastery over the instrument, it would be Evan Parker. Also plays well with others in small and mid-size formats.

80s: Cecil Taylor
Fly! (x5); It Is In The Brewing Luminous; The Eight; For Olim; Olu Iwa; In Berlin '88; Garden
Some great work with the classic Cecil Taylor Unit, his best recorded solo performance (demonstrating his developing eastern influence, the spoken poetry, longer sets, and cluster chaos that previous recordings don't capture), and a thorough and thoroughly exciting exhibition of collaborations via his Berlin residency.

90s: Anthony Braxton
Willisau (Quartet) 1991; Trio (London) 1993; Wesleyan (12 Altosolos) 1992; Charlie Parker Project 1993; Sextet (Istanbul) 1996; A Memory of Vienna; Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993; Compositions No. 10 & 16; Trillium R; Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997; Two Compositions (Trio) 1998; Three Orchestras (GTM) 1998; Sextet (Parker) 1993; Theory of Motion; Duet: Live at Merkin Hall N.Y.
Braxton reached the peak of his second great quartet's (w/ Crispell/Dresser/Hemingway) performance, the peak of playing the quartet format period, and the peak of synthesizing everything he had done previously. So, he dissolved the quartet and developed a new compositional language (ghost trance music) that would dominate his recordings through the '00s. Very interesting period with the peak quartet, infant GTM, a couple of great solo performances, his start at playing piano (to my knowledge), the beginning of his huge and almost too complex Trillium works, continued cubist takes on standards, and some other great performances speckled throughout ranging from small to very very large formats. He would have been considered a master by the end of the '70s; he should have been considered a demigod by the end of the '90s.

00s: Spring Heel Jack
Disappeared; Masses; Amassed; Live; The Sweetness of Water; Songs and Themes; Bombscare EP; Trio with Interludes (with Evan Parker, Mark Sanders); Acoustic Trio (with Eddie Prevost); Amplified Trio (with Han Bennink); and other Treader releases featuring only Coxon or Wales
Really interesting progression from rock to jazz and would go one to just constantly form supergroups of British jazz royalty. Like the second, instrumental coming of Talk Talk.

10s: Ken Vandermark
The Nows; Nine Ways to Read a Bridge; Resistance; Occasional Poems; Site Specific; Momentum 1: Stone; Momentum 2 & 3; Shelter; Wired for Sound; Trebuchet; All Directions Home; The Lions Have Eaten One of the Guards
Continuing the legacy of exploration and intellectualism in American jazz; anchored in traditional forms but not imprisoned by them by any means. Seems to be a focal point for great performance groups (e.g. momentum 1).

Very nice.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

RoundTheBend — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 18:07:39 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/16/2018 22:07

911Turbo wrote:

Love REM? who doesn't?
Their first 10 albums are incredible. The weakest one is Out of Time.

Murmur, Lifes Rich Pageant, Automatic for the people-- for me, are masterpieces
Reckoning, document, dead letter office, eponymous, fables of the reconstruction-- are 9.5/10
Green- 4/5

Truthfully, their best music was created in the 90's, but filled that spot with Neil Young (whom you dislike) and moved REM in 00's. They still were active making music but they were now, less essential.

Oh I actually really like Neil Young in certain ways. Deja Vu is one of my all time favorite albums (CSNY), and the Decade comp is mind blowingly good. I even kinda liked his anti-bush album living with war.

Just curious if you've checked out Accelerate. I think it's great. I think REMs worst work was Reveal... although it did give them their only #1 in Japan. hehe. Around the Sun has some fantastic stuff on it and some lackluster stuff on it (lackluster for REM is like some artists best efforts imo though).

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 12:35:25 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 06/16/2018 16:35

Edited it for the new cool format

Kool Keith Sweat wrote:

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

bobbyb5 — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 11:48:25 GMT

Author: bobbyb5

Posted: 06/16/2018 15:48

I used to think that I had such an overwhelming preference for the 70s for the simple reason that it's the decade when I was born and the First music I ever heard. But I notice that a lot of people younger than me who weren't even born yet often say that they agree.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

911Turbo — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 08:21:50 GMT

Author: 911Turbo

Posted: 06/16/2018 12:21

sethmadsen wrote:

Interesting pick for REM - are you an Accelerate fan? That might be in my top 3 for them. What's your favorite?

Re: super obvious winners when i went back through my rating

RoundTheBend — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 20:07:47 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/16/2018 00:07

craola wrote:

I like this approach.

Fiddy: Ray Charles
The Great Ray Charles Ray Charles 1957
Ray Charles Ray Charles 1957
Yes Indeed Ray Charles 1958
At Newport Ray Charles 1958
Yes Indeed Ray Charles 1958
What'd I Say Ray Charles 1959
The Genius Of Ray Charles Ray Charles 1959

Sitty: Beatles
Abbey Road The Beatles 1969
Yellow Submarine The Beatles 1969
The Beatles (The White Album) The Beatles 1968
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles 1967
Magical Mystery Tour The Beatles 1967
Revolver The Beatles 1966
Rubber Soul The Beatles 1965
Help! The Beatles 1965
Beatles For Sale The Beatles 1964
A Hard Day's Night The Beatles 1964
With The Beatles The Beatles 1963
Please Please Me The Beatles 1963

Setty: Pink Floyd
The Wall Pink Floyd 1979
Animals Pink Floyd 1977
Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd 1975
The Dark Side Of The Moon Pink Floyd 1973
Meddle Pink Floyd 1971
Atom Heart Mother Pink Floyd 1970

Aighty: U2
Rattle And Hum U2 1988
The Joshua Tree U2 1987
The Unforgettable Fire U2 1984
War U2 1983
Under A Blood Red Sky U2 1983
October U2 1981
Boy U2 1980

Nitty: R.E.M.
Up R.E.M. 1998
New Adventures In Hi-Fi R.E.M. 1996
Monster R.E.M. 1994
Automatic For The People R.E.M. 1992
Out Of Time R.E.M. 1991

Ottie: Radiohead/Beck tie
In Rainbows Radiohead 2007
Hail To The Thief Radiohead 2003
Amnesiac Radiohead 2001
Kid A Radiohead 2000

Modern Guilt Beck 2008
The Information Beck 2006
Guero Beck 2005
Sea Change Beck 2002

(midnight vultures was 99... but that'd round that off nicely)

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

craola — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 19:51:52 GMT

Author: craola

Posted: 06/15/2018 23:51

Tap wrote:

craola wrote:

The thing that gives me pause with Can is that their greatest work is centered around the beginning of the decade, seems like it would be better to cite an artist who delivered consistently from beginning to end. Though the 70's are weird and I think they may be the hardest decade to find someone like that with.

I agree. I was going through my favorites from the 70s, and it came down to CAN for their early 70s work vs. WEATHER REPORT, who probably has a better decade-long presence. I went with CAN mostly because I've been pretty obsessed with them lately. I was having the same inner conflict with CHARLES MINGUS, since my favorite work of his is mostly late 50s, early 60s and Let My Children Hear Music.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

TheHutts — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 19:49:40 GMT

Author: TheHutts

Posted: 06/15/2018 23:49

1960-1970: The Beatles
1965-1975: The Rolling Stones (lots of great stuff to choose from here - Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, The Kinks are all favourites too)
1970-1980: Joni Mitchell (although this decade is pretty ridiculous - Neil Young, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Yes)
1975-1985: Talking Heads
1980-1990: The Go-Betweens
1985-1995: Talk Talk
1990-2000: Pavement
1995-2005: Radiohead
2000-2010: LCD Soundsystem
2005-2015: Spoon (I find these more recent ones trickier as I'm still catching up with stuff)
2010-2020: Janelle Monae

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

PurpleHazel — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:31:34 GMT

Author: PurpleHazel

Posted: 06/15/2018 21:31

yocappy wrote:

I interpret "Best" as "Most Important/Influential".

1950-59: Best-Frank Sinatra, Favorite-Clifford Brown or Ike Turner
1960-69: Best-The Beatles, Favorite-Creedence Clearwater Revival or Velvet Underground

craola wrote:

Really like the formats of these two posts.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

Tap — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:30:33 GMT

Author: Tap

Posted: 06/15/2018 21:30

craola wrote:

super obvious winners when i went back through my ratings...

craola — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 17:21:47 GMT

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

yocappy — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:11:57 GMT

Author: yocappy

Posted: 06/15/2018 18:11

OP, great topic!
I interpret "Best" as "Most Important/Influential".

My picks are:
1950-59: Best-Frank Sinatra, Favorite-Clifford Brown or Ike Turner
1960-69: Best-The Beatles, Favorite-Creedence Clearwater Revival or Velvet Underground
1970-79: Best-David Bowie, Favorite-Big Star or Grateful Dead
1980-89: Best-Madonna, Favorite-Prince
1990-99: Best-Bjork, Favorite-Stereolab
2000-09: Best-Radiohead, Favorite-Calexico or Glossary
2010-current: Best-Kendrick Lamar, Favorite-Janelle Monae

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

RoundTheBend — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 22:23:15 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/15/2018 02:23

Puncture Repair wrote:

I stopped taking it seriously after you called Canada socialist.

To be fair, he's an American. Our left is basically the world's right.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

RoundTheBend — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 22:17:16 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 06/15/2018 02:17

911Turbo wrote:

Today it looks like this

1960's: the rolling stones
1970's: led zepplin
1980's: pink floyd
1990's: neil young
2000's: REM
2010's: the national

In a month or year from now, it could be totally different.

Interesting pick for REM - are you an Accelerate fan? That might be in my top 3 for them. What's your favorite?

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

YoungPunk — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 21:24:55 GMT

Author: YoungPunk

Posted: 06/15/2018 01:24

mdbaxter wrote:

1950s - Not too familiar with this decade but I like Miles Davis so Miles Davis
1960s - The Beatles
1970s - Pink Floyd
1980s - Also not too well versed in the 80s but I like The Smiths so The Smiths
1990s - Neutral Milk Hotel
2000s - Radiohead
2010s - Frank Ocean

Pretty basic when I look at it...

Its better than most imo

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

mdbaxter — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 18:23:49 GMT

Author: mdbaxter

Posted: 06/14/2018 22:23

1950s - Not too familiar with this decade but I like Miles Davis so Miles Davis
1960s - The Beatles
1970s - Pink Floyd
1980s - Also not too well versed in the 80s but I like The Smiths so The Smiths
1990s - Neutral Milk Hotel
2000s - Radiohead
2010s - Frank Ocean

Pretty basic when I look at it...

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

ars2458 — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 17:56:19 GMT

Author: ars2458

Posted: 06/14/2018 21:56

60's - The beatles (not a huge fan, but they really did dominate the decade)
70's - Led Zeppelin
80's - Talking Heads
90's - Pearl Jam (Radiohead #2)
00's - Sufjan Stevens (Radiohead #2)
10's - The National, Sufjan, The War On Drugs... its a bit hard to decide.

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

SleepDealer — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 16:09:48 GMT

Author: SleepDealer

Posted: 06/14/2018 20:09

1950s - Charles Mingus
1960s - Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention
1970s - Joni Mitchell
1980s - Yoshitaka Azuma
1990s - Stereolab
2000s - Broadcast
2010s - Sufjan Stevens

Re: Best / Favorite Artist for each Decade

911Turbo — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 14:52:15 GMT

Author: 911Turbo

Posted: 06/14/2018 18:52

Today it looks like this

1960's: the rolling stones
1970's: led zepplin
1980's: pink floyd
1990's: neil young
2000's: REM
2010's: the national

In a month or year from now, it could be totally different.