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Today’s list that’s going around some blogs that I read: List the albums you like most from each year that you’ve been alive. It sounds simple, right? But in making a list like this, you realize things about yourself, like how Aerosmith’s peak for me came right around the year I was born, even though I didn’t really hear them until many years later. And how 2004 was something of a weak year for my personal canon, while 1989 was a really huge year for it, one where I had to pick between Like A Prayer, Doolittle, Cocked & Loaded, Full Moon Fever, and the album I finally wound up selecting. Anyway, peruse my list after the jump–Anthony made one too–and feel free to pick mine apart/make your own, although I should warn you that it took me a while to do. (I’m usually loath to use Wikipedia as a source, but its lists of album releases were helpful to cross-reference with Amazon, as were the Pazz & Jop rundowns on Robert Christgau’s site.) If people enjoy this exercise, maybe we’ll do singles lists next week! Or, hell, runners-up lists, since some of these “best” decisions were a lot harder than others.
1975 – Aerosmith, Toys In The Attic
1976 – Aerosmith, Rocks
1977 – Wire, Pink Flag
1978 – Van Halen
1979 – The Raincoats
1980 – Various artists, Wanna Buy A Bridge? comp
1981 – Motley Crue, Too Fast For Love
1982 – Michael Jackson, Thriller
1983 – Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Dazzle Ships
1984 – Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain
1985 – The Jesus & Mary Chain, Psychocandy
1986 – Janet Jackson, Control
1987 – Guns N’ Roses, Appetite For Destruction
1988 – Pixies, Surfer Rosa
1989 – Faith No More, The Real Thing
1990 – Mother Love Bone, Apple
(This is the point where things started getting tough, like three-solid-contenders-per-year tough.)
1991 – Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger
1992 – Unrest, Imperial ffrr
1993 – Afghan Whigs, Gentlemen
1994 – Pram, Helium
1995 – Helium, The Dirt Of Luck
1996 – Olivia Tremor Control, Music From The Unrealized Film Script Dusk At Cubist Castle
1997 – Built To Spill, Perfect From Now On
1998 – Pulp, This Is Hardcore
(Here the toughness subsides. Draw your own conclusions as to why.)
1999 – Mr. Bungle, California
2000 – PJ Harvey, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
2001 – Aveo, Bridge To The Northern Lights
2002 – Ikara Colt, Chat And Business
2003 – S Prcss, MNML
2004 – Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Please Describe Yourself
2005 – Celebration
2006 – Scritti Politti, White Bread, Black Beer
2007 – Siobhan Donaghy, Ghosts
2008 – Erykah Badu, New Amerykah Vol. 1
A thing to do. [bg5000]
