The Wily Filipino

You Want More Pointless Lists?

Favorite Release from Every Year Since 1970:

1970: The Beatles, Let It Be
1971: Pink Floyd, Meddle
1972: Stevie Wonder, Talking Book
1973: Paul Giovanni, The Wicker Man
1974: Tom Waits, The Heart of Saturday Night
1975: Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
1976: Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life
1977: Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True
1978: The Police, Outlandos d'Amour
1979: The Clash, London Calling
1980: The English Beat, I Just Can't Stop It
1981: The Police, Ghost in the Machine
1982: Roxy Music, Avalon
1983: U2, War
1984: The Smiths, Hatful of Hollow
1985: The Cure, The Head on the Door
1986: Anita Baker, Rapture
1987: 10,000 Maniacs, In My Tribe
1988: Pixies, Surfer Rosa
1989: Pixies, Doolittle
1990: Yo La Tengo, Fakebook
1991: Matthew Sweet, Girlfriend
1992: My Bloody Valentine, Loveless
1993: Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville
1994: Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand
1995: Eraserheads, Cutterpillow
1996: Guided by Voices, Under the Bushes under the Stars
1997: Teenage Fanclub, Songs from Northern Britain
1998: Puffy, JET CD
1999: Tom Waits, Mule Variations
2000: Guided by Voices, Hold on Hope
2001: Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
2002: Puffy, Nice.
2003: Dengue Fever, Dengue Fever
2004: Kanye West, The College Dropout
2005: Robert Pollard, Zoom

Notes:

1987 was hard, what with "The Joshua Tree," "Sign o' the Times," Alex Chilton's "High Priest," "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me" and "Franks Wild Years" being released that year as well.

1989 also saw "3 Feet High and Rising" and "Cosmic Thing."

1992: an easy choice, but "Slanted and Enchanted," Bettie Serveert's "Palomine," Guided By Voices' "Propeller" and Luna's "Lunapark" came out that year too. What a year.

1993: narrowly beating out "Rid of Me," "Frosting on the Beater" and Yo La Tengo's "Painful." Another amazing year.

1994: same year as "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain" and "Fumbling towards Ecstasy."

1995: same year as "Alien Lanes" and "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?"

1997: easy pick again, but it meant "I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One," "Ok Computer" and "Mag Earwhig" had to fall by the wayside.

I usually listen to music way after the critics have picked them on top 10 lists and so on, so 2005 will probably change.

I should also add that these albums aren't necessarily my favorites from their respective artists; "The Unforgettable Fire" (U2) and "Reggatta de Blanc" (The Police) are my favorites, but both were released during years crowded with talent.

Also, interestingly, only 14 of the 35 albums above were listened to by me the same year they came out. Obviously I wasn't listening to Pink Floyd when I was a year old, but the majority of the list are belated discoveries. Exactly three were purchased the day they were released (Waits, West and Pollard).

Posted by the wily filipino at February 18, 2006 03:01 PM