1505 replies to this topic

[Paul]

Amazing turnout this year. We had roughly 177 votes which makes me never want to look at a spreadsheet again. But it makes for some interesting results. These will probably come a little quicker than the singles results just because I don't need to upload audio, but I'll still pace them out so there is enough time to discuss. Also, this is a preemptive warning not to be a dick in this thread. #100 will be up in a few minutes. Also, I'm still waiting on a few blurbs. Please get them to me as soon as possible if you want them to go up with the results. Big thanks to everyone that has already gotten them to me. You're in for some good reading once we hit the top 40. SPOILERS 1 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver 2 Radiohead - In Rainbows 3 National, The - Boxer 4 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 5 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 6 Panda Bear - Person Pitch 7 Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala 8 Kanye West - Graduation 9 Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 10 Burial - Untrue 11 M.I.A. - Kala 12 Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer 13 Battles - Mirrored 14 Vampire Weekend - Blue CD-R 15 Feist - The Reminder 16 Caribou - Andorra 17 White Stripes, The - Icky Thump 18 Wilco - Sky Blue Sky 19 Dinosaur Jr. - Beyond 20 Field, The - From Here We Go Sublime 21 New Pornographers, The - Challengers 22 Akron/Family - Love Is Simple 23 Deerhunter - Crptograms 24 Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank 25 Stars Of The Lid - And Their Refinement Of The Decline 26 Josh Ritter - The Historical Consequences of Josh Ritter 27 Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha 28 King Khan and the Shrines - What Is?! 29 Good, The Bad & The Queen, The - The Good, The Bad & The Queen 30 Iron & Wine - The Shepard's Dog 31 Liars - Liars 32 Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends 33 Sunset Rubdown - Random Spirit Lover 34 Klaxons - Myths of The Near Future 35 Bright Eyes - Cassadaga 36 Besnard Lakes, The - The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horses 37 Okkervil River - The Stage Names 38 Alcest - Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde 39 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare 40 Shins, The - Wincing The Night Away 41 Kevin Drew - Spirit If… 42 Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder 43 Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals 44 Blonde Redhead - 23 45 Menomena - Friend Or Foe 46 Justice - † 47 Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity 48 Super Furry Animals - Hey Venus! 49 Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated 50 Explosions In The Sky - All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone 51 Beirut - The Flying Cup 52 High On Fire - Death Is This Communion 53 Witchcraft - The Alchemist 54 Field Music - Tones Of Town 55 Baroness - The Red Album 56 Wolves In The Throne Room - Two Hunters 57 Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living 58 Ween - La Cucaracha 59 Kings Of Leon - Because Of The Times 60 Jay-Z - American Gangster 61 Earthless - Rhythms From A Cosmic Sky 62 Studio - Yearbook 1 63 Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position 64 Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance 65 Pig Destroyer - Phantom Limb 66 Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger 67 Jesu - Conqueror 68 White Rainbow - Prism of Enternal Now 69 Thurston Moore - Trees Outside The Academy 70 Boxcutter - Glyphic 71 Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin 72 Eluvium - Copia 73 Clientele, The - God Save The Clientele 74 Blitzen Trapper - Wild Mountain 75 Fiery Furnaces, The - Window City 76 PJ Harvey - White Chalk 77 Neurosis - Given To The Rising 78 Twilight Sad, The - 14 Autumns & 15 Winters 79 Pantha Du Prince - This Bliss 80 Black Moth Super Rainbow - Dandelion Gum 81 Om - Pilgrimage 82 Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris 83 Bill Callahan - Woke On A Whaleheart 84 Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City 85 Radical Face - Ghost 86 Durrty Goodz - Axiom EP 87 Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works 88 !!! - Myth Takes 89 Neil Young - Chrome Dreams II 90 Cloud Cult - The Meaning of 8 91 Stars - In Our Bedroom, After The War 92 Between The Buried And Me - Colors 93 Bruce Springsteen - Magic 94 Grinderman - Grinderman 95 Freeway - Free At Last 96 Mark Sultan - The Sultanic Verses 97 Melt-Banana - Bambi's Dilemma 98 UGK - Underground Kingz 99 Aliens, The - Astronomy For Dogs 100 Dungen - Tio Bitar

[Pavement Ist Rad]

My blurbs are coming! You sexy, sexy man, you!

[MattDrufke]

Also, this is a preemptive warning not to be a dick in this thread.

Hmmmm.... whomever could you be talking about?

Bring the pain, Paul.

EDIT: I won't have my ass glued to this seat until after one or so, so take your time getting there.

[The Sheck]

On the woxy boards, we had 126 votes...and 628 albums that received points. Can't imagine how many were on your list, Paul. Buy that man a drink the next time you see him. Shit's more work than you can imagine.

[Paul]

#100.




Dungen - Tio Bitar

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "Now, three years after that album's first release, Dungen has issued Tio Bitar, album number four. Worth the wait? Well, bad news first: There's no "Panda". But then, it's a different, imperfect monster: Tio Bitar explores the mellower side of psychedelia, working largely as the dusk-backdropped counterpoint to the band's earlier fireworks. Dungen mastermind Gustav Ejstes has spent the past few years studying fiddle with a Swedish master, and while it adds another distinctive layer to the group's distinguished sound, its omnipresence lends the album a decidedly different feel. Perhaps the album's strangest attribute, though, is how even a few of the best songs here-- excluding, of course, tracks like "Gör Det Nu" or "Du Ska Inte Tro Att Det Ordnar Sig", on which the band unequivocally succeeds-- come off as something gorgeous in the background, rather than the in-your-hair, fist-pumping rockers Dungen seems to have intended." (7.0)

Ranked Highest By: Sid Hartha (#1)

Amazon Link

[Paul]

On the woxy boards, we had 126 votes...and 628 albums that received points. Can't imagine how many were on your list, Paul.

There were 1065 albums that received votes.

[The Sheck]

On the woxy boards, we had 126 votes...and 628 albums that received points. Can't imagine how many were on your list, Paul.

There were 1065 albums that received votes.

Christ. Can't imagine how long that took to tabulate.

[Paul]

#99.




The Aliens- Astronomy For Dogs

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: "The Happy Sun" (#81 UK), "Robot Man" (#151 UK)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "The album is full of such moments where sonic reference trumps songwriting, a problem that also sometimes befalls other recent purveyors of record-collector rock like Band of Bees and the Earlies (if I mention Girl Talk I might get fired). The Aliens skip from the close Cyrkle harmonies and Del Shannon guitar arpeggios of plaintive kiss-off "Tomorrow" to join Midlake's 70s soft-rock revival on long-haired piano whimper "Honest Again". Token krautrock droner "Only Waiting" exhales India-scented melodies until tripping into a hyperactive "I Am the Walrus"-meets-Psycho orchestral psyche-out. And so on." (4.7)

Ranked Highest By: cerebalcaustic (#1)

Amazon Link

[Paul]

#98.




UGK - Underground Kingz

US Chart Position: #1

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: "International Players Anthem (I Choose You) (feat. Oukast)" (#70)

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "Throughout Underground Kingz, Pimp and Bun wield their legacy like a club. They repurpose two rap classics, Too Short's "Life Is...Too Short" and Scarface's "The Fix" on "Life Is 2009" and "Still Ridin Dirty", songs that feature Too Short and Scarface, respectively. (The latter doesn't rap; he just shows up singing histrionic fake-gospel on the hook. It's awesome.) Other rap legends show up as well: Geto Boys bulldog Willie D snaps at region-dismissers on "Quit Hatin' the South". Houston depressive Z-Ro waxes elegiac on "Trill Niggas Don't Die". Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap, both old-school New York royalty, spit weathered threats all over Marley Marl's hard, simple track on "Next Up", and Pimp and (especially) Bun sound perfectly at-home alongside them. Most transcendently, the two trade verses with another legendary Southern duo, Outkast, on the gorgeous single "Int'l Players Anthem". Three 6 Mafia's DJ Paul and Juicy J throw enormous drums under a joyous loop of Willie Hutch's classic blaxploitation ballad "I Choose You", and Andre 3000's tender, lovestruck verse perfectly offsets Pimp C's megaton sneer. "Int'l Players Anthem" finds UGK in an uncharacteristically euphoric mood, and it just might by my favorite song of the year." (8.4)

Ranked Highest By: gil-scott heroin (#1)

Amazon Link

[James D]

I voted for Dungen. Very good album. They're one of these bands who are embracing the retro, kind of like Witchcraft have been doing although with added originality. Favourite tracks would be Familj and C Visar Vagen (2 and 4 respectively) . Plus, some of the stuff at the end album is pretty great aswell. Great start.

[Pavement Ist Rad]

UGK seems low.

I should have listened to Tio Bitar more.

Solid list, maybe!

[stignasty]

fish

[Paul]

#97.




Melt-Banana- Bambi’s Dilemma

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

All Music Review: "Even when at their most accessible, Melt Banana is still one of the more challenging punk rock outfits in recent history, and with their seventh full-length studio album the band that harnessed chaos to perfection in 2003's Cell-Scape continues to make music that is as thoroughly outrageous and dizzyingly hilarious as ever. While Bambi's Dilemma may not cohere as a whole quite as effectively as Cell-Scape did -- at times it feels like the missing link between that album and their previous release Teeny Shiny -- it does have moments of manic brilliance that are sure to please longtime fans and perhaps even win over a few converts. Whereas Cell-Scape operated on an almost sci-fi level thanks to the introduction of more electronic elements into the band's sound, Bambi's Dilemma largely goes back to the basics by stripping the sound back down to its roots (with the notable exception of the hypnotic "Type: Ecco System" of course). It seems that by previously experimenting with their sound the band was able to grow and expand, but don't mistake maturity for selling out because despite the "Rock Banana" moments scattered throughout Bambi's Dilemma, the band never misses a chance to catch the listener off guard with a little well-placed insanity. Perhaps nowhere on the album is this point better displayed than in "Dog Song," a tune that's sure to have listeners tapping their toes before it explodes into one of the most ear-splitting verses ever recorded. A decent introduction for newcomers and a somewhat unexpected surprise for longtime fans, Bambi's Dilemma proves without question that while they may well have the ability to craft the catchiest pop song imaginable, Melt Banana will never miss an opportunity to twist that perfection into something wholly unexpected. As with most of the releases in Melt Banana's catalog Bambi's Dilemma will likely take a few listens to truly sink in, but when the album finally clicks most will likely agree that it was well worth the effort." (3.5/5)


Ranked Highest By: Bruegel (#3)

Amazon Link

[Paul]

#96.




Mark Sultan- The Sultanic Verses

US Chart Position: n/a

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "The Sultanic Verses' 12 tracks are part-rockabilly, part-garage rock, and soaked in late 50s fuzz; Sultan runs Sultan Records from his hometown of Montreal-- he's released a handful of garage rock masterpieces from bands like the Deadly Snakes and the Daylight Lovers-- and he's clearly well-versed in both the limitations and potential euphoria of his chosen genre. Here, Sutlan plays pretty much everything himself, and the clamor consists of jangly, distorted guitar and thick, scratchy vocals. While it all starts to sound a tiny bit familiar after awhile, it's still a glorious mess (the fact that only two songs ever manage to break the three-minute mark certainly helps). "Something Wrong" is a vaguely off-kilter homage to imperfection ("There's something wrong/ No matter what I do/ I'm much too civilized/ There's something wrong with you," Sultan cackles) with a weirdly lilting chorus and a bouncy guitar melody. "Warpath" is a slightly less friendly offering: the track sounds like it was written to accompany a pocketknife throwdown at the drive-in soda fountain-- think black leather jackets and blue jeans tangling into each other, girls slipping in puddles of pomade and strawberry milkshake. "Unicorn Rainbow Odyssey" (which has already been covered by Atlas Sound, the alias of Deerhunter frontman Bradford Cox) channels Phil Spector's early work with girlgroups like the Ronettes and the Crystals; "100 Little Women" is a spare-- if echoing-- singalong ("100 little women/ let's rock!")." (7.5)

Ranked Highest By: Pavement Ist Rad(#2)

Amazon Link

[Pavement Ist Rad]

Like I said, solid list.

It's all downhill from here.

[James D]

Melt-Banana! This is an incredible album. I think I had it #4. One of the best pop albums of this year, even though its technically metal. Seriously. The amount of hooks in this is ridiculous. Shame to see it so low.

[red]

More people need to listen to Mark Sultan, obvs.

[Soundscape]

sucks I have to head out soon as I was looking fwd to this. I'm flying down to the Cactus state today. So far tho, I'm striking out.

[James D]

I've havn't heard Mark Sultan. Whats it like?

[Paul]

#95.




Freeway - Free At Last

US Chart Position: #42

UK Chart Position: n/a

Charting Singles: n/a

Acclaimed Music Ranking: n/a

Pitchfork Review: "Freeway's first album since 2003, Free at Last unsurprisingly often nods to the salad days of Roc-A-Fella, with the MC frequently decorating his verses with Sigel and Jigga quotes. "This Can't Be Real" catches you up to speed ("They say Free's nekkid/ He won't sell another record/ Y'all talkin' reckless!") with enough ambivalence to rise above rumor mongering, and on single "Roc-A-Fella Billionaires"-- a maddeningly catchy tribute to outlandish buying-- you can hear the difference between new money's hunger and the shit-eating satisfaction of CEO wealth as Jay-Z simply flips his "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" flow while detailing his spending habits ("I just copped me of all things/ A professional ball team")." (7.7)

Ranked Highest By: jigga (#2)

Amazon Link