Music: Best Albums of the Year Series: 2016-Now

[Saturated Fats]

1965: The Beatles - Rubber Soul
1966: The Beatles - Revolver
1967: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
1968: The Beatles - The White Album
1969: The Beatles - Abbey Road
1970: Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1971: Led Zeppelin - IV
1972: Neil Young - Harvest
1973: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
1974: Supertramp - Crime of the Century
1975: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
1976: Eagles - Hotel California
1977: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
1978: (TIE) The Police - Outlandos d'Amour / The Cars - The Cars / Van Halen - Van Halen
1979: Pink Floyd - The Wall
1980: AC/DC - Back in Black
1981: Rush - Moving Pictures
1982: Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
1983: Metallica - Kill 'em All
1984: Metallica - Ride the Lightning
1985: Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
1986: Metallica - Master of Puppets
1987: Guns 'n Roses - Appetite for Destruction
1988: Metallica - ...And Justice for All
1989: Pixies - Doolittle
1990: Megadeth - Rust in Peace
1991: Nirvana - Nevermind
1992: Alice in Chains - Dirt
1993: Nirvana - In Utero
1995: Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
1996: (TIE) Soundgarden - Down on the Upside // Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
1997: (TIE) Radiohead - OK Computer // Foo Fighters - The Color and the Shape
1998: (TIE) Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill // System of a Down - System of a Down
1999: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication
2000: Radiohead - Kid A
2001: The Strokes - Is This It
2002: Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
2003: The White Stripes - Elephant
2004: (TIE) Madvillain - Madvillainy // The Killers - Hot Fuss // Green Day - American Idiot
2005: Coldplay - X & Y
2006: Tool - 10,000 Days
2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
2008: (TIE) Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes // Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
2009: Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures
2010: The National - High Violet
2011: No definitive winner
2012: (TIE) Kendrick Lamar - good kidd, M.A.A.D. city // Deftones - koi no yokan
2013: The National - Trouble Will Find Me
2014: Behemoth - The Satanist
2015: Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

1994: Weezer - The Blue Album (16 votes)

Honestly a little surprised at this outcome - what with 1994 being one of the great years in popular music history. Weezer isn't a band that I've ever gotten much into, though I appreciate Pinkerton and elements of this album. I can appreciate and understand its popularity, though, and it's definitely an enjoyable work.

With that, we've covered each of the individual years from 1965-now, over the course of roughly 5 months. I'm proud and pleased of all of y'all for coming together on this, and making it a fun exercise. Special shoutouts to those of you who voted, commented, and interacted in every single thread - @Pranzo Oltranzista @plank @belair @WetcoastOrca @Mescaleroman @kook10 @Cas @Ouroboros @jamppardi @frisco @kihei @Ceremony @WeThreeKings @BigBadBruins7708 @Teemu @beowulf @ItsFineImFine @Mikeaveli and countless others - y'all know who you are. Cheers. Enjoy the last few threads.

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[plank]

The forewarned long ass list

1. Courtney Marie Andrews - Honest Life(2016)
2. Erika Wennerstrom - Sweet Unknown(2018)
3. Purple Mountains - s/t(2019)
4. John Prine - The Tree of Forgiveness(2018)
5. Courtney Marie Andrews - May Your Kindness Remain(2018)
6. Son Volt - Notes of Blue(2017)
7. The Who - WHO(2019)
8. The Delines - The Imperial(2019)
9. Courtney Marie Andrews - Old Flowers(2020)
10. S.G. Goodman - Old Time Feeling(2020)
11. Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile - Lotta Sea Lice(2017)
12. Garcia Peoples - Cosmic Cash(2018)
13. Angel Olsen - My Woman(2016)
14. Pacific Range - High Upon the Mountain(2020)
15. Richmond Fontaine - You Can't Go Back if There's Nothing to Go Back to(2016)
16. Ry Cooder - The Prodigal Son(2018)
17. Bonny Light Horseman - s/t(2020)
18. Israel Nash - Lifted(2018)
19. Alejandro Escovedo - Burn Something Beautiful(2016)
20. Van Morrison - Three Chords and the Truth(2019)
21. Rose City Band - Summerlong(2020)
22. Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud(2020)
23. Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives - Way Out West(2017)
24. Trummors - Headlands(2017)
25. Strand of Oaks - Eraserland(2019)
26. The Nude Party - s/t(2018)
27. Glorietta - s/t(2018)
28. Mapache - s/t(2017)
29. Tedeschi Trucks Band - Signs(2019)
30. Sturgill Simpson - A Sailor's Guide to Earth(2016)
31. Jeff Tweedy - Warm(2018)
32. First Aid Kit - Ruins(2018)
33. Jake Xerxes Fussell - What in the Natural World(2017)
34. Caamp - By & By(2019)
35. Steve Earle & The Dukes - So You Wanna Be an Outlaw(2017)
36. Lucinda Williams - Good Souls Better Angels(2020)
37. Phosphorescent - C'est La Vie(2018)
38. Dead Man Winter - Furnace(2017)
39. JD McPherson - Undivided Heart & Soul(2017)
40. Wussy - Forever Sounds(2016)
41. Manx Marriner Mainline - Hellbound for Heaven(2019)
42. Jason Molina - Eight Gates(2020)
43. Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways(2020)
44. The Skiffle Players - Skifflin'(2016)
45. Richmond Fontaine - Don't Skip Out On Me(2018)
46. Neil Young - Hitchhiker(2017)
47. Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real - s/t(2017)
48. Damien Jurado - The Horizon Just Laughed(2018)
49. Roger Daltrey - As Long as I Have You(2018)
50. The Rolling Stones - Blue and Lonesome(2016)
51. One Eleven Heavy - Everything's Better(2018)
52. Angel Olsen - Phases(2017)
53. The Flesh Eaters - I Used To Be Pretty(2019)
54. John Mellencamp - Sad Clowns & Hillbillies(2017)
55. The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Something Else(2018)
56. Kacy & Clayton - The Siren's Song(2017)
57. Garcia Peoples - Nightcap at Wits' End(2020)
58. Son Volt - Live at the Orange Peel(2020)
59. The Black Keys - Let's Rock(2019)
60. Eilen Jewel - Gypsy(2019)
61. Bob Weir - Blue Mountain(2016)
62. Sturgill Simpson - Sound and Fury(2019)
63. Angel Olsen - All Mirrors(2019)
64. Peter Wolf - A Cure for Loneliness(2016)
65. Durand Jones & The Indications - American Love Call(2019)
66. William Tyler - Modern Country(2016)
67. Margo Price - Midwest Farmer's Daughter(2016)
68. Twain - Rare Feeling(2017)
69. Townes Van Zandt - Sky Blue(2019)
70. Angel Olsen - Whole New Mess(2020)
71. Mark Lanegan Band - Gargoyle(2017)
72. Trummors - Drop Out City(2020)
73. Wilco - Ode to Joy(2019)
74. Colter Wall - Songs of the Plains(2018)
75. Jason Molina - Live at La Chapelle(2020)
76. Neil Young - Homegrown(2020)
77. The Westies - Six On the Out(2016)
78. Jade Bird - s/t(2019)
79. Arlo McKinley - Die Midwestern(2020)
80. Kelsy Waldon - White Noise/White Lines(2019)
81. Birds of Chicago - Real Midnight(2016)
82. The Minus 5 - Of Monkees and Men(2016)
83. Cage the Elephant - Unpeeled(2017)
84. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - Live From The Ryman(2018)
85. Tyler Childers - Country Squire(2019)
86. Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass Vol. 1(2020)
87. Pearl Jam - Gigaton(2020)
88. Wussy - What Heaven is Like(2018)
89. Jake Xerxes Fussell - Out of Sight(2019)
90. Rhiannon Giddens - Freedom Highway(2017)
91. Tyler Childers - Purgatory(2017)
92. Snail Mail - Lush(2018)
93. Sarah Shook & The Disarmers - Years(2018)
94. The Record Company - Give It Back to You(2016)
95. Elizabeth Cook - Exodus of Venus(2016)
96. Bette Smith - The Good, The Bad and The Bette(2020)
97. Chris Shiflett - West Coast Town(2017)
98. Gospelbeach - Another Summer of Love(2017)
99. Wilco - Schmilco(2016)
100. Michael McDermott - Willow Springs(2016)

 

[Teemu]

Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
The xx - I See You
Fleet Foxes - Crack-Up
LCD Soundsystem - American Dream
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
Arcade Fire - Everything Now

What? I had kids.

 

[Cas]

Oof, five years at once?

Acolytes of Moros - The Wellspring (2019) - Do you like Reverend Bizarre? If you do, you'll like The Wellspring, which sounds like what In the Rectory-era Reverend Bizarre would have written if they had all been depressed.

Attic - Sanctimonious (2017) - Obvious King Diamond worship with a hefty dose of black metal riffing, which produces a killer concept album about a convent run by a psychopathic abbess.

Crypt Sermon - The Ruins of Fading Light (2019) - When I saw them at MDF2015, I thought of Dio teaming up with Candlemass. That still fits, but the Dio is turned down. This is epic doom metal for the 2010's, where the children of Candlemass have grown up and taken the style into darker depths while Candlemass has become something of a self-parody.

Eternal Champion - The Armor of Ire (2016) and Ravening Iron (2020) - Ravening Iron is going to get a ton of attention this year, partly because of the amazingly tone-deaf album art, but also because of the crushing epic heavy metal they exemplify. These albums are heavy, more mid-paced than thrashers (though they can get up to speed when they want), and are almost designed for audience participation. The opening track of Ravening Iron is going to be a crowd-pleaser - the joy of cranking it up and speeding down the highway is palpable.

Haunt - Burst Into Flame (2018), Mind Freeze (2020), and Flashback (2020) - A leader of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal scene, Haunt has been ludicrously prolific, releasing four LPs and two EPs over the last four years. Burst Into Flame is the best of these, but all feature the same combination of Trevor William Church's unique vocals with excellent riffs and guitar tone, the latter two incorporating some keyboards (but never letting those dominate the music, which remains resolutely guitar-centered). None of these songs overstays its welcome.

Hellripper - Coagulating Darkness (2017) and The Affair of the Poisons (2020) - Ripping, blistering speed metal just dripping with evil, Hellripper takes Venom and speeds it up, takes Motorhead and turns it outright evil, takes early Sodom and adds a hefty dose of technicality, takes Mercyful Fate's lyrics and removes the cartoonishness, and combines it all into a melange of wicked, evil black/speed metal meant for mosh pits.

Idle Hands - Don't Waste Your Time (2018) and Mana (2019) - Combining goth rock with heavy metal is now becoming a thing, and Idle Hands, now known as Unto Others after losing a trademark dispute, got a lot of attention for Mana, touring with King Diamond last year (I know because I went to a show and missed Idle Hands due to a mistake on the showtimes on the venue's site - still a great show, but I digress). Singer Gabriel Franco's vocals are a point of controversy - on the Don't Waste Your Time EP, he sings in a more conventional style, but altered his delivery for Mana to be deeper. Nonetheless, these are depressive songs about death, loss, and the pointlessness of existence, with a heavy edge.

Imperialist - Cipher (2018) - This one came to me mostly because of the artwork. Science fiction themes are not unusual in music, and this is fifty minutes of hard-hitting, sci-fi-themed black metal mixed with some death metal. It's not unique or innovative, but is monstrously heavy.

Judicator - The Last Emperor (2018) - Judicator combines the best elements of European power metal with the heaviness of the U.S. power metal scene. They crafted an excellent concept album about the Crusades that is technical, heavy, and also catchy, with soaring vocals, blistering guitars, and thundering drums. I haven't checked out the rest of Judicator's discography, but I know that at least one of their albums is legitimately available for free. Special guest appearance by Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian.

Khemmis - Hunted (2016) and Desolation (2018) - Khemmis is one of the leaders of the American post-stoner doom scene, writing heavy epic doom with a finger in the extreme metal scenes (mostly in the use of screamed/growled vocals for emphasis). Production is crystal-clear and the pace isn't as slow as doom often gets.

Khonsu - The Xun Protectorate (2016) - Khonsu plays black metal but with weird other influences, enough that I find it hard to describe, but everything fits. The Xun Protectorate is significantly more experimental than their previous album, with industrial music heavily featured. The guitar tone is incredibly sterile (almost as sterile as Thorns from 2001) which perfectly fits the album. Drums are programmed, but not obviously so.

Lord Vigo - Blackborne Souls (2017), Six Must Die (2018), and Danse de Noir (2020) - I found this band because Danse de Noir is a Blade Runner concept album, but which is also a marriage of goth rock and doom metal. The other two releases are more straightforward doom. Danse de Noir is the most interesting and I kind of hope this goth rock/metal hybrid scene keeps going, even though I'm not really a goth rock fan.

Pallbearer - Heartless (2017) and Forgotten Days (2020) - Pallbearer is carrying the torch for depressive traditional doom. Heavy, plodding, and muddy riffs with clean vocals and themes of loss (not necessarily death, and Forgotten Days reads as though written by someone cognizant that they are falling into dementia).

Progenie Terrestre Pura - oltreLuna (2017) - Space metal! Progenie Terrestre Pura writes surprisingly heavy atmospheric black metal with a futuristic theme. Production is crystal-clear, and keyboards and other sound effects are used but not to excess - moments of their albums sound like Mgla to me, so there's a strong heaviness to this that avoids the pitfalls of bands like Darkspace (which is just too atmospheric and never really pays off).

The Ruins of Beverast - Exuvia (2017) - Heavy black/death/doom metal, Exuvia is a monster of crushing atmosphere, like being trapped under a heavy rock and unable to escape for seventy minutes.

Satan's Hallow - Satan's Hallow (2017) - Sadly, this is the band's only release, but it's a monster. Heavy speed metal clearly written with both feet in the mid-80's, but without ignoring the heavy metal guitar developments of the 90's (in general, I think this is why I'm enjoying the NWOTHM - guitarists who love Judas Priest and Exciter and Saxon, but who also learned how to play by listening to Death and Morbid Angel). This album is meant to be blared out on the highway. Most of the band stayed together and created Midnight Dice, who have had some promising early releases but nothing close to Satan's Hallow.

Sleep - The Sciences (2018) - Sleep is a band that I think I like in theory more than in practice (despite never myself partaking in their herby muse - I guess I'm the stoner metal fan who has never been stoned), but The Sciences is heavy like a lead weight. "Sonic Titan" is not only a song's title, it's a fitting description of the entire album, and should be enjoyed at the highest volume you can stomach.

Smoulder - Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring (2019) - Like Visigoth, this is epic heavy metal, only with a woman fronting the band, and is just as good. Smoulder leans a bit more towards doom than Visigoth does.

The Spirit Cabinet - Bloodlines (2020) - The only band I'd ever heard really combine heavy metal with black metal was Satan's Host, but The Spirit Cabinet showed up and comes close. They're a bit closer to doom than traditional heavy metal, but the singer sells this band - he has a unique accent I haven't heard before and can pull off some impressive shifts between clean and tortured vocals (the closer to this album is a particular throat-shredder).

Vader - Solitude in Madness (2020) - Vader is the band that gave the Eagles of Death Metal their name, but perhaps the Motorhead of death metal fits better. Vader releases pretty much the same album every two-three years, and its always a good version of the standard Vader formula of ludicrous speed and thrashing, crushing riffs.

Visigoth - Conqueror's Oath (2018) - Visigoth fits into more of the epic heavy metal vein, like a modern Manilla Road. This is sword-and-sorcery epic metal, played at a moderate pace with emphasis on the vocals.

Wayfarer - A Romance of Violence (2020) - This was my pick for best metal album of 2020. Atmospheric black metal with an emphasis on Americana, like Panopticon but without the anarchism. A Romance of Violence is a deconstruction of spaghetti westerns (a genre I actually enjoy greatly), and you can hear the Ennio Morricone underlying the riffs at times.

Yob - Our Raw Heart (2018) - Atmospheric post-stoner doom from one of the biggest stoner doom bands. Parts of this almost sound like someone combined shoegaze with doom, and it works.

...

I think I got carried away.

 

[Roo Returns]

A little bummed Weezer won 1994. I feel it's revisionist history. They were a cute band with those "nerdy guys" who put out a catchy record back then but their legend really wasn't a thing until they put out that third album and were playing arenas.

Last five years there's been a lot of great underground metal/noise/sludge/weirdness.

 

[MoreOrr]

My votes go to:

#1 Spirit - Depeche Mode
#2 Undefined - Simply Three

 

[kihei]

David Bowie--Blackstar
Philip Glass--Piano Etudes
Radiohead--A Moon-Shaped Pool
Beth Gibbons and the Polish National Radio Orchestra--Gorecki: Symphony 3 (Symphony of Sorrowful Songs)
Cuong Vu--Cuong Vu Trio Meets Pat Metheny
Jonny Greenwood--Junon
Vieux Farka Toure: Samba
Djavan--Vesuvio
Corrine Bailey Rae--The Heart Speaks in Whispers
Helene Grimaud--Water

Almost put the Billie Eilish's album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? at the bottom of the list because it is original and immediately impressive, but I just don't know how well her stuff is going to wear. So in limbo for a while.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Mostly hip-hop for me.

9/10:
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

8/10:
Aphex Twin - Collapse EP
Aesop Rock - The Impossible Kid
Aesop Rock & Tobacco - Malibu Ken
JPEGMAFIA - All My Heroes Are Cornballs
JPEGMAFIA - Veteran
Black Midi - Schlagenheim
A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service
Jockstrap - Wicked City
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana
MGMT - Little Dark Age
Injury Reserve - Floss
Pusha T - DAYTONA
Slowdive - Slowdive
.blacktunic - 1NE
Death Grips - Bottomless Pit

 

[Mescaleroman]

Aldous Harding - Party
Aldous Harding - Designer
Paul Weller - On Sunset
Bahamas - Earthtones
Mute Choir - Silent Conversations
James - Living In Extraordinary Times
Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger In The Alps
Nai Palm - Needle Paw

 

[Ceremony]

I voted for The National and Other. Sleep Well Beast took a while but it's good and I like it.

2016's best albums: Ghost Riding - RNDM, The Great Detachment - Wintersleep, Painting of a Panic Attack - Frightened Rabbit
2017's best albums: many, but I want to say A Black Mile to the Surface by Manchester Orchestra on its own to emphasise how important it is in my life and in culture in general, even if nowhere near enough people realise this.
2018's best albums: Art of Doubt by Metric, but really Dance Music by Mastersystem
2019 was Your Church On My Bonfire by Paws, I guess. SonicY (f*** your new name) you're Scottish, listen to this

 

[Oxbow Lakes]

Pusha T - DAYTONA
Schoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
Eevil Stöö - Iso Vauva Jeesus

Litku Klemetti & Tuntematon numero - Horror ’15
Kanye West - The Life of Pablo
Billy Woods & Kenny Segal - Hiding Places
Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Anderson .Paak - Malibu
Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva Is a Might Long Time

Not gonna lie, I’ve not found new good music too much recently. This is partly thanks to my sheer laziness when it comes to listening new music. Been digging through earlier decades way more lately.

 

[frisco]

Other:
Snake King-Rick Springfield
Western Stars-Bruce Springsteen
Bohemian Rhapsody Soundtrack-Queen
Letter To You-Bruce Springsteen
Once Upon A Time...In Hollywood Soundtrack-Various
Traces-Steve Perry

My Best-Carey

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Rose Elinor Dougall - Stellular (2017)

Has one weak track on it but other than that, quite a nice grower. Good mix of indie and pop rock. Only album I've loved in this time period unfortunately, I'd probably put Echoes In Blues by Australian band City Calm Down next, it sounds like a slightly more post-punk version of a The National album.

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

That's an amazing top-15 but I'm still not really happy with this list (too much stuff I know I haven't listened to yet), but that's what I've got... Take for granted that Zorn should be somewhere in there, but I haven't heard anything of his recent stuff. Same as usual, the HMs are in approx order, the curiosities are in no order.

1. Hepa-Titus, Void Manes & Mike Patton ‎– Suicide Is Painless (2016)
2. Keith Kouna – Bonsoir Shérif (2017)
3. Fred Frith Trio – Another Day In f***ing Paradise (2016) / Fred Frith Trio – Closer to the Ground (2018)
4. Red Fiction – Visions of the Void (2020)
5. Pharmakon – Contact (2017) (Devour (2019) is pretty good too, but Contact is the better album by a good margin – and I'd give an arm to get a hold of A Mixed Tape Made By Pharmakon)
6. Fred Frith & Darren Johnston – Everybody's Somebody's Nobody (2016)
7. Saez – Le Manifeste 2016-2019 : Ni dieu ni maître (2019) (huge project, tough to follow through, albums were released in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and the songs were rearranged into a quadruple album manifesto in 2019 – obviously uneven, but songs like Mon Européenne and Je suis are among my all-time favorites)
8. Scarlxrd ‎– Chaxsthexry (2017) / Scarlxrd ‎– 0000.Infinity (2019) (you've been warned: this is all kinds of dumb, but aggressive rap with death metal influenced vocals, it just sounds so good, I had to hold back not to put it even higher)
9. Merzbow, Keiji Haino & Balázs Pándi ‎– An Untroublesome Defencelessness (2016) (of my limited hearings of Merzbow's stuff post 2015, this one is my favorite by quite a margin, but there's so much material that it's most likely he has something even better to offer)
10. Fred Frith & Hans Koch – You are Here (2017)
11. Spike Orchestra – The Book Beri’ah Vol 3—Binah (2019) / Spike Orchestra – Splintered Stories (2020)
12. Chippendale, Gustafsson & Pupillo – Melt (2016)
13. Bright Eyes – Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was (2020) (very happy with this 'come back' album, nothing to do with the Mr. Bungle one, Persona Non Grata rivals with the very best Bright Eyes songs)
14. clipping. – Splendor & Misery (2016) (I know nothing about hip hop, and I don't know if this is supposed to appeal to fans of the genre, but it's brilliant)
15. Igorrr – Spirituality And Distortion (2020)

HMs:
Carla Bozulich – Quieter (2018)
Diamanda Galás ‎– All The Way (2017) (gotta hope it's not the last we've heard of her voice, but if it is, it's a nice quiet end to a unique career with very nice variations on some of her classics – there's a live companion album to this one that also got out in 2017, At Saint Thomas the Apostle Harlem, which is even better and gives more space to her amazing voice – and where she flashes her terrible, indecipherable French / De-Formation: Piano Variations (2020) is a pretty cool album if you're fan of Diamanda's distinctive piano, but you just end up wishing she'd sing a little)
Marc Ribot – Songs Of Resistance 1942 – 2018 (2018)
Josh T. Pearson – The Straight Hits! (2018)
Stuart A. Staples – Arrhythmia (2018)
Fred Frith, Evelyn Davis & Phillip Greenlief (Drone Trio) – Lantskap Logic (2018)
Zeus – Really Bad Music for Really Bad People: The Cramps as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G (2020)
Winged Serpents – Six Encomiums For Cecil Taylor (2018)
Bob Drake – Arx Pilosa (2016) / Bob Drake – L'Isola dei lupi (2018) (the guy's getting kinda old, and sometimes these later albums feel like they're aiming to be less crazy, but nah, they both have great Drake moments)
Mark Kozelek – Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites (2016)
Fred Frith, John Butcher & Theresa Wong – Quintillions Green (2016) (too bad this is uneven and has some pretty low lows, could have been amazing)
Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker (2016)
Yowie – Synchromysticism (2017)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Luciferian Towers (2017)
Tarkosia – Idiot Energy (2019)
Jute Gyte – Perdurance (2016)
Slauson Malone – A Quiet Farwell, Twenty Sixteen to Twenty Eighteen (2019)
Kaada & Mike Patton – Bacteria Cult (2016)
Fred Firth, Bruce Ackley, Henry Kaiser & Aram Shelton – Unexpected Twins (2019)
Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020)
Secret Chiefs 3 – The Book Beri'ah Vol 10—Malkhut (2019)
Ceramic Dog – YRU Still Here? (2018) (really uneven, some very high points, but far from CD's best stuff)
Mr. Bungle – The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo (2020) (always loved that you couldn't predict what they'd do next, so I guess I've been served... it's not bad, it's just nothing really special either, by very far their worst album – yeah sure the 80s throwback sound is kinda fun, and the inclusion of Lombardo and Scott is a nice touch, I guess I've been hoping for this reunion for so long and was expecting something else! – it still is a little special to me, being the last live show I've seen before the end of all things)
Jaimie Branch – Fly or Die (2017)
Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith – A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke (2016)
Fennesz – Agora (2019)
Tim Hecker – Konoyo (2018)
Ron Miles – I Am a Man (2017)
Hollywood Vampires – Rise (2019) (it's just so cool to hear Alice Cooper kinda freed from his whole act, Johnny Depp taking lead vocals on a few covers – something he didn't do on the first album – is pretty cool too)
Jefre Cantu-Ledesma – In Summer (2016)
Deadcross – Deadcross (2017 / Deadcross – Deadcross (2018 - EP)
Jean Leloup – L'étrange pays (2019)
tētēma – necroscape (2020)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree (2016) / Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Ghosteen (2019)
Bill Callahan – Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (2019)

Curiosities:
Suicidal Tendencies – World Gone Mad (2016) / Suicidal Tendencies – Still Cyco Punk After All These Years (2018) (Mike Muir and Dave Lombardo? It's not great, but it deserves a mention, and World Gone Mad is probably the song I've listen to the most since last March)
Nevermen – Nevermen (2016) (certainly interesting, but more fun than really good – and none of the original album comes close the remix of Mr Mistake by Boards of Canada – now that would have ranked above)
Sheena Ringo – Sandokushi (2019)
Tera Melos – Trash Generator (2017) (hate the vocals, but when he shuts up it's great)
The Pop Group – Honeymoon On Mars (2016) (I guess the intentions were cool, the result not so much)
Standing on the Corner – Red Burns (2017)
Yves Tumor – Safe in the Hands of Love (2018) (there's a uniqueness to it that's wonderful, but it's very uneven)
The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You (2020)
Rustin Man – Drift Code (2019) / Rustin Man – Clockdust (2020)
John Frusciante – Maya (2020)
Paul White – Everything You've Forgotten (2017)
Glass Animals – How to Be a Human Being (2016) (this is mostly good, mostly cool, just too soft-pop for me)
Brian Eno – Music for Installations (2018)
Yoko Ono – Warzone (2018) (you want to ear an older Yoko sing Imagine – I like her a lot, but the album as a whole is a little too blunt and misses its marks)
Nicolas Jaar – Sirens (2016)
King Buzzo with Trevor Dunn – Gift of Sacrifice (2020)
Ambrose Akinmusire – Origami Harvest (2018)
Beck – Hyperspace (2019)

 

[Saturated Fats]

There is a band called Hepa-Titus?

 

[Eisen]

A little bummed Weezer won 1994. I feel it's revisionist history. They were a cute band with those "nerdy guys" who put out a catchy record back then but their legend really wasn't a thing until they put out that third album and were playing arenas.

Last five years there's been a lot of great underground metal/noise/sludge/weirdness.

Their third album was a huge letdown after having had to wait for quite some time. It was not nearly as good as the first two.

 

[Roo Returns]

Their third album was a huge letdown after having had to wait for quite some time. It was not nearly as good as the first two.

Agreed it was the drizzling shits.

That Van Weezer single last year was so bad I almost punched my monitor.

Still, what their third album did should have no impact on their first album in 1994. There were much bigger and better albums then, they didn't play Woodstock 94, they weren't on any big national tours.

They were some nerdy band who used the Forest Gump CGI Technology and made a clever and catchy video with Buddy Holly. They were sort of underdogs because there was a lot of testosterone in that era of music.

Pinkerton didn't even do that well when it came out. It wasn't certified platinum until 2016. It had a good word of mouth but didn't start to get noticed until 1999-2000.

If Weezer was such a big band, there would have been more buzz for The Rentals earlier in 1996 who opened for Silverchair and RHCP.

All of these people who say they love Weezer etc. most of them were not listening to the Blue album in 1994 or Pinkerton in late 1996.

It's total revisionist history that the album is the best or had the biggest impact in 1994.

No one had a Weezer poster in their rooms but they sure as hell had a Kurt Cobain poster. STP, Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Boyz II Men, even The Lion King all had more of an impact that year.

 

[Eisen]

Agreed it was the drizzling shits.

That Van Weezer single last year was so bad I almost punched my monitor.

Still, what their third album did should have no impact on their first album in 1994. There were much bigger and better albums then, they didn't play Woodstock 94, they weren't on any big national tours.

They were some nerdy band who used the Forest Gump CGI Technology and made a clever and catchy video with Buddy Holly. They were sort of underdogs because there was a lot of testosterone in that era of music.

Pinkerton didn't even do that well when it came out. It wasn't certified platinum until 2016. It had a good word of mouth but didn't start to get noticed until 1999-2000.

If Weezer was such a big band, there would have been more buzz for The Rentals earlier in 1996 who opened for Silverchair and RHCP.

All of these people who say they love Weezer etc. most of them were not listening to the Blue album in 1994 or Pinkerton in late 1996.

It's total revisionist history that the album is the best or had the biggest impact in 1994.

No one had a Weezer poster in their rooms but they sure as hell had a Kurt Cobain poster. STP, Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Boyz II Men, even The Lion King all had more of an impact that year.

It certainly didn't have the biggest impact at that time but in hindsight it did (the Blue Album, at least). It changed guitar rock back to some simpler lines. Yeah, Buddy Holly was the biggest hit but the sweater song was up there as well. And honestly, there is just no bad song on that album and it aged pretty well.

P.s. I bought both when they came out and I waited with anticipation for the third album. After listening to the third I never bought another Weezer album again.
I didn't have a Weezer poster hanging (I had Bubblegum Crisis, Gunbuster, Megazone 23, Hokoto no Ken, Macross, Dirty Pair hanging) but I didn't have band posters anyway.

And how Pinkerton failed is just inexplicable to me. It's the logical conclusion of the Blue Album.

 

[Roo Returns]

It certainly didn't have the biggest impact at that time but in hindsight it did (the Blue Album, at least). It changed guitar rock back to some simpler lines. Yeah, Buddy Holly was the biggest hit but the sweater song was up there as well. And honestly, there is just no bad song on that album and it aged pretty well.

P.s. I bought both when they came out and I waited with anticipation for the third album. After listening to the third I never bought another Weezer album again.
I didn't have a Weezer poster hanging (I had Bubblegum Crisis, Gunbuster, Megazone 23, Hokoto no Ken, Macross, Dirty Pair hanging) but I didn't have band posters anyway.

And how Pinkerton failed is just inexplicable to me. It's the logical conclusion of the Blue Album.

The thing is though, is it the best album from 1994? I don't think so.

I love Metallica and I'm not a Weezer fan, but Kill 'Em All is not the best album from 1983. No one heard of Kill 'Em All until they were on MTV a little in 1988 and then all the time from 1991-the end of music on that channel.

I'd argue guitar rock was already getting simpler. That started with The Pixies who along with Jane's Addiction were the v1.o of Alternative Rock.

Pinkerton failed because Rivers Cuomo didn't like it and the record labels didn't know how to promote it.

I get you didn't have a Weezer poster and neither did I, but that was when I was a teenager and going to the mall all the time. They weren't on anyones radar for cool. I'd say Bad Religion and The Offspring had more impact around that time than Weezer.

It's a very good album the first one, but it's revisionist history that it made a lot of noise in 1994.

 

[Ouroboros]

Was surprised by how much I had to choose from here. Some pretty good stuff in the last 5 years! Kept it to about a dozen per large genre cluster, and in rough order of preference...

Ambient/Drone/Electronic etc.

Autechre - The NTS Sessions 1-4 [IDM/Glitch/Drone/Experimental] [2018]
Abul Mogard - Above All Dreams [Drone/Ambient] [2018]
Harry Bertoia - Sonambient Complete Collection [Drone] [2016]
Korridor - End Of Cycle [Ambient/Industrial Techno] [2018]
Mark Fell and Will Guthrie - Infoldings/Diffractions [Electroacoustic/Gamelan] [2020]
Autechre - elseq 1-5 [IDM/Glitch/Experimental] [2016]
qebrus - ◙◙◙◙◙ [IDM/Flashcore/Glitch] [2017]
Abul Mogard - Works [Drone/Ambient] [2016]
Lionel Marchetti - Planktos [Musique Concrète/Ambient] [2020]
John Wall - M-B [Electroacoustic/Glitch/Musique Concrète] [2020]
Mayuko Hino - Lunisolar [Noise] [2018]
Grischa Lichtenberger - Spielraum/Allgegenwart/Strahlung [Glitch/IDM] [2016]
Ellen Fullman - In The Sea [Drone] [2020]
Skee Mask - Compro [Ambient Techno/IDM/Breakbeat] [2018]
Vladislav Delay - Rakka [Power Noise/Glitch] [2020]
Pedestrian Deposit - Dyers' Hands [Noise/Electroacoustic/Ambient] [2019]


Modern Classical/Romantic Classical etc.

Jakob Ullmann - Fremde Zeit Addendum 5 [Lukas Rickli] [Modern Classical/Drone] [2019]
Hermann Nitsch - Albertina Quartett [Koehne Quartet] [Modern Classical/Drone] [2019]
Sofia Gubaidulina - Sonnengesang [NDR Chor/Elbtonal Percussion] [Modern Classical] [2016]
Morton Feldman - Coptic Light; String Quartet and Orchestra [Arditti Quartet/Pomàrico] [Modern Classical] [2020]
Horațiu Rădulescu - Piano Sonatas & String Quartets I [JACK Quartet/Stephen Clarke] [Modern Classical] [2016]
Clara Iannotta - Earthing [JACK Quartet] [Modern Classical/Spectralism] [2020]
Carlo Gesualdo - Tenebrae [Graindelavoix/Schmelzer] [Madrigal/Renaissance Era] [2020]
Susan Alcorn - The Heart Sutra [Modern Classical/Folk] [2020]
Per Nørgård - Whirl's World [Ensemble Midvest] [Modern Classical] [2019]
Hannes Kerschbaumer - Schraffur [Klangforum Wien/Sterev] [Modern Classical] [2019]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Requiem [Freiburg Barockorchester/Jacobs] [Classical/Choral] [2017]

Metal

Wagner Ödegård - Om Kosmos Och De Tolv Järtekn [Black Metal/Post-Punk] [2020]
Funereal Presence - Achatius [Black Metal] [2019]
Paysage d'Hiver - Im Wald [Black Metal/Ambient] [2020]
Wulkanaz - Wulkanaz [Black Metal/Punk] [2018]
Omegavortex - Black Abomination Spawn [Death Metal] [2020]
Bekëth Nexëhmü - De Glömdas Ursjälar [Black Metal/Ambient] [2016]
Teitanblood - The Baneful Choir [Death/Black Metal] [2019]
Nécropole - Nécropole [Black Metal] [2016]
Black Curse - Endless Wound [Death/Black Metal] [2020]
Spectral Voice - Eroded Corridors Of Unbeing [Death Metal] [2017]
Desolation Realm - Desolation Realm [Death Metal] [2018]
Krypts - Remnants Of Expansion [Death Metal] [2016]
Obliteration - Cenotaph Obscure [Death Metal] [2018]
Ulcerate - Shrines Of Paralysis [Death Metal/Atmospheric Sludge] [2018]
Virus - Memento Collider [Post-Metal/Post-Punk] [2016]
Jute Gyte - Oviri [Industrial Metal/Microtonal Classical] [2017]

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

It's a very good album the first one, but it's revisionist history that it made a lot of noise in 1994.

Did people who vote for Weezer did it because it made a lot of noise in 94? I honestly can't follow the point you're trying to make.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Magic Sword - all albums.

They're a great electronic synth group who brilliantly merges synth wave with electronic music. They somehow sound retro and futuristic at the same time.

Most people know 1 of their songs

 

[Mikeaveli]

The thing is though, is it the best album from 1994? I don't think so.

I love Metallica and I'm not a Weezer fan, but Kill 'Em All is not the best album from 1983. No one heard of Kill 'Em All until they were on MTV a little in 1988 and then all the time from 1991-the end of music on that channel.

I'd argue guitar rock was already getting simpler. That started with The Pixies who along with Jane's Addiction were the v1.o of Alternative Rock.

Pinkerton failed because Rivers Cuomo didn't like it and the record labels didn't know how to promote it.

I get you didn't have a Weezer poster and neither did I, but that was when I was a teenager and going to the mall all the time. They weren't on anyones radar for cool. I'd say Bad Religion and The Offspring had more impact around that time than Weezer.

It's a very good album the first one, but it's revisionist history that it made a lot of noise in 1994.

Other people obviously do think it's the best album of that year though, that's why they voted for it. That's just how these things go. Aside from the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Madvillain, and Kendrick Lamar records, every album that has won one of these polls has been one that I have no interest in. I even disagree with some of those picks, like Revolver over Pet Sounds and the White Album over Odessey and Oracle or The United States of America.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

With that, we've covered each of the individual years from 1965-now, over the course of roughly 5 months. I'm proud and pleased of all of y'all for coming together on this, and making it a fun exercise. Special shoutouts to those of you who voted, commented, and interacted in every single thread - @Pranzo Oltranzista @plank @belair @WetcoastOrca @Mescaleroman @kook10 @Cas @Ouroboros @jamppardi @frisco @kihei @Ceremony @WeThreeKings @BigBadBruins7708 @Teemu @beowulf @ItsFineImFine @Mikeaveli and countless others - y'all know who you are. Cheers. Enjoy the last few threads.

A big thanks to you for all of your work on this! It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve discovered some new bands and albums that I’ve added to my play list.
And thanks as well to all of the posters with such diverse tastes and a wealth of knowledge on bands I’ve never even heard of before but have given a listen to.
Cheers!

 

[MakeTheGoalsLarger]

All of these people who say they love Weezer etc. most of them were not listening to the Blue album in 1994 or Pinkerton in late 1996.

It's total revisionist history that the album is the best or had the biggest impact in 1994.

No one had a Weezer poster in their rooms but they sure as hell had a Kurt Cobain poster. STP, Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Boyz II Men, even The Lion King all had more of an impact that year.

I bought the CD back in the day and and have it 1A, 1B with Dookie. Dookie sure had way more impact but I don't see why it should mater.

If I understood correctly , the poll asked for our favorite albums now. I didn't think people were interested in knowing that my favorite album in 1991 was the TMNT 2 soundtrack because I didn't know any better.

Other people obviously do think it's the best album of that year though, that's why they voted for it. That's just how these things go. Aside from the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Madvillain, and Kendrick Lamar records, every album that has won one of these polls has been one that I have no interest in. I even disagree with some of those picks, like Revolver over Pet Sounds and the White Album over Odessey and Oracle or The United States of America.

It doesn't even mean people think it was the best album of the year. I voted for multiple albums that ended up getting the most votes, although they were absolutely not #1 on my list (all the Metallica albums, the white album to name a few).