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One Album For Every Year You Are Alive

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David_Dovey:
(a.k.a. List Threads Are Pretty Cool Amirite?)

OK, so this is a thing that has been going around music blogs and I figured it might be nice to see what QC comes up with, although it may be slightly limited by the average age of posters here. Although, that being said that may be a good thing.

As the title says, pick one (try hard to keep it to one, folks) favourite, or meaningful, or significant album for every year you were alive. You can pick albums that you like now, albums that you liked then, or albums that you think you may have liked then, but didn't.

If you're looking for a hand, then Wikipedia has lists of albums released in each year (try searching for "[year] in music").

And hey, to keep this thread interesting to read, maybe discuss your choices a little. What years were hard to pick? What years were easy? Which albums didn't make the list, but you kind of wish they could've? If you're picking albums based on old preferences, have they stood the test of time?

David_Dovey:
THIS SHIT TOOK ME TWO AND A HALF HOURS

I'm gonna try to restrict myself to one album per artist, just for interest.
Also, I'm picking an album for 2008, and I thoroughly encourage you to do so as well.

1986- Metallica- Master of Puppets

Easy pick. My favourite album from what once was my favourite band. Probably the only Metallica album I still listen to on anything approaching a regular basis. Did face strict competition from "Licensed to Ill" by the Beastie Boys and "Reign in Blood" by Slayer, although I expect the Beasties will make an appearance later on in the list.

1987- Big Black- Songs About Fucking

The only competition was from "Appetite For Destruction" and "Surfing With The Alien," both of which I consider very solid albums, but don't hold any particular sentimental value for me. In the end I choose the Steve Albini album with the swear word in the title. Weak year for me in general.

1988- Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Would've faced stiff opposition from "...And Justice For All" by Metallica were it not for my little self-imposed rule- although I'm pretty sure it still would've come out on top. Nothing else of interest from this year.

1989- Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique

Argh Jesus. On another day it could've easily been "Repeater" by Fugazi. Incredibly tempted to break my own advisory and award a tie.

1990- Pantera- Cowboys From Hell

Another pretty dire year. Only other contender was "Painkiller" by Judas Priest.

1991- Rites of Spring- End on End

Technically not an actual album, but a compilation of an LP and an EP. But shit, 1991 is fairly barren for me. I don't like "Nevermind" and I'm not really a fan of "Loveless" either, so this is what I get.

1992- Rage Against The Machine- Rage Against the Machine

Not my first choice, but the old "one album per band" rule excludes "Vulgar Display of Power"- incidentally my preferred Pantera album.

1993- Fugazi- In On the Kill Taker

Not a charity pick. Probably flip-flops with "Repeater" as my favourite Fugazi album. "Undertow" by Tool and "Chaos A.D." by Sepultura the other contenders, but don't really touch "...Kill Taker" in my view

1994- Kyuss- Welcome to Sky Valley

I really expected 1994 to be a really hard year to pick, and it was. But not for the reasons I thought it would be. Nothing really jumped out at me here. There was "The Downward Spiral," there was "At Action Park," there was "Selected Ambient Works vol. 2," all fine albums to be sure, but none of them seemed like a defining pick. Maybe it's only because I listened to "...Sky Valley" today, but it seemed like the best of a mixed bunch.

1995- Dream Theater- A Change of Seasons

OK so this is an EP, and an EP with only one good track at that, but boy, what a track. And the other contenders- Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness & Orchid by Opeth- were nothing to really write home about for me.

1996- Tool- Ćnima

This is how this works. In 1996, Tool released an album that was good but not as good as the one they released in 2001. In 1996 Daft Punk released an album that was good but not as good as the one they released in 2001. The only thing I could decide was that I liked Tool's 1996 album better than Daft Punk's 1996 album. So they get this year, and the robots get 2001. Which is appropriate, I guess.

1997- Radiohead- OK Computer

This was originally going to be Spiritualized's "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" but I kicked it out so I could use another Spiritualized album later on. If I was counting comedy albums "Rant in E Minor" would've beaten both of them.

1998- Refused- The Shape of Punk to Come

Quite simply one of my favourite albums of all time. This year there was also "Hello Nasty" by the Beasties, "Amplifier Worship" by Boris, and "My Arms, Your Hearse" by Opeth

1999- Opeth- Still Life

So basically every year after this is ridiculously hard and I feel like making everything a ten way tie but I'm also anal retentive so here's the Opeth album I'm going to use. It also happens to be my favourite, which is good because it edges out my favourite Dream Theater, In Flames, Nine Inch Nails and Rage Against the Machine albums as well.

2000- Shellac- 1000 Hurts

Ask me again in a few days and I'll probably tell you "Brave New World" by Iron Maiden, or "Mer de Noms" or "The Art of Drowning" by AFI. Shellac takes it based on every single one of their albums being in the running in their respective years.

2001- Daft Punk- Discovery

See the 1996 blurb.

2002- Boris- Heavy Rocks

I felt bad about not including "In Absentia" or "McLusky Do Dallas" or "Songs For the Deaf" or several others but I was basically planning to use Heavy Rocks no matter what year it was in.

2003- Atmosphere- Seven's Travels

Gets in based on sentimental value, mostly. Not to say it isn't an amazing album but it had some tough competition- as is the norm as we get to the more recent years.

2004- Killswitch Engage- The End of Heartache

Oh thank shit for that. Finally a relatively easy year for once. Apart from this, there was "The Human Equation," "The Empire Strikes First" by Bad Religion, "Leviathan" by Mastodon- a close second-, and "The Difference Between Me and You is that I'm Not on Fire" by mclusky. But aside from Leviathan, nothing really challenged.

2005- Parkway Drive- Killing With A Smile

Practically interchangeable with:
Ulver- Blood Inside/ Soulwax- Nite Versions/ Porcupine Tree- Deadwing/ Pure Reason Revolution- The Dark Third/ Karnivool- Themata/ Eleventh He Reaches London- The Good Fight For Harmony/ Death From Above 1979- You're A Woman, I'm a Machine/ Boris- Pink/ some other stuff probably. By a gigantic margin the most ridiculously difficult year to pick. I guess technically I still haven't. Argh.

2006- The Decemberists- The Crane Wife

A year with a lot of good albums, but nothing really jumping out at me except for this and "Blood Mountain" by Mastodon, who once again take a close second. "Crane Wife" edges over the line thanks to sentimental value.

2007- LCD Soundsystem- Sound of Silver

It's probably still a little too close to home to really make a good judgement on this, and I consider 2007 to be a banner year in Music That Makes Me Happy, so this was very hard. "Sound of Silver" takes it in a photo finish from Baroness' "The Red Album," and "Colors" by Between the Buried and Me, among others.

2008- SpiritualizedŽ- Songs in A&E

Currently front-runner for album of the year, and the one album out of my current list of this year's albums that I feel like I'd keep in the list if I made it again a few years down the track.


I'm not expecting anyone else to put as much work/thought/time into it as me but I sincerely hope someone else does this. People, make me feel like less of a complete wanker!

minkles:
1990: Pixies- Bossanova
1991: Pixies- Trompe Le Monde
1992: XTC- Nonsuch
1993: The Flaming Lips- Transmissions from the Satellite Heart
1994: Guided by Voices- Bee Thousand
1995: Radiohead- The Bends
1996: Belle and Sebastian- Tigermilk
1997: Radiohead- OK Computer
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel- In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
1999: The Flaming Lips- The Soft Bulletin
2000: Modest Mouse- The Moon and Antartica
2001: The Shins- Oh, Inverted World
2002: Spoon- Kill the Moonlight
2003: The New Pornographers- Electric Version
2004: Arcade Fire- Funeral
2005: The National- Alligator
2006: The Decemberists- The Crane Wife
2007: Radiohead- In Rainbows
2008: The Black Keys- Attack and Release

MobyDickhole:
^that is a really good list.
I might just use that one...

I just need to find an album for 1989...
Either
Slint- Tweez
or
Jesus and Mary Chain- Automatic

I think I'm gonna go with Slint.

imagist42:
David_Dovey: You realize Daft Punk's Homework was released in 1997?

Okay, since I wasn't really interested in music (like, at all) until I was 14, this is mostly going to be a list of music I like now that was released in earlier years.

1989: Pixies - Doolittle
1990: Sonic Youth - Goo
1991: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
1992: Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
1993: The Cranberries - Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?
1994: Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
1995: The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
1996: Belle & Sebastian - oh man is it ever so difficult to choose between Tigermilk and If You're Feeling Sinister
1997: Radiohead - OK Computer
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (close call with Elliott Smith's XO)
1999: The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
2000: Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
2001: The Strokes - Is This It
2002: I HATE THIS YEAR SO MUCH THERE IS JUST NO WAY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT, KILL THE MOONLIGHT and YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE URRRRRRRRGH
2003: NOOOOO LIFE HATES ME SO MUCH NOW THAT TRANSATLANTICISM, ELECTRIC VERSION and WHO WILL CUT OUR HAIR WHEN WE'RE GONE ARE ALL PITTED UP AGAINST EACH OTHER
2004: Arcade Fire - Funeral (or Franz Ferdinand's S/T, if I'm being honest with myself)
2005: Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary (I'm lucky I'm only counting LPs or I'd have a tough time reconciling with Voxtrot's Raised by Wolves EP)
2006: The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
2007: if I didn't say LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver some time-traveling version of myself (past or future) would lop off my head, and the paradox would be worth it
2008: Okkervil River - The Stand Ins

POSTSCRIPT: I hate minkles ever so much. I mean I knew most of my choices could be taken for granted but damn, son!

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