Category Archives: The List 08

The List, 2008 Preliminaries

It's been two years since I did my last 100 Favorite Albums post, so it's time to do a new one.

But first, the geeky preliminaries!

The last time round, I made the list by picking 120 or so records and painstakingly ordered them by-hand - I probably spent a week, on and off, sorting them. I posted them in batches of ten over the course of a few weeks, and I continued to arrange them as I posted each batch. Even the last batch wasn't set until I posted it.

I did this one a little differently...

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The List, 2008, #100-91

And so it begins: the first ten of the 2008 My Favorite 100 Albums list. Something like 17 new entries, and nothing's in the same spot as it was two years ago. Very exciting.

I rather like a lot of the videos I found for these albums (all 100). So be sure to check them out, if you can.

(also, for those paying close attention, note that this is a different 100-91 than was posted on Friday afternoon. things changed.)

100
Polvo 1992
Cor-Crane Secret
Polvo makes dissonant math rock as catchy as can be hoped for.
99
Stevie Ray Vaughan 1983
Texas Flood
Ricocheting around the blues box.
98
The Flaming Lips 1995
Clouds Taste Metallic
Playful and raucous psychedelic garage grunge with lyrics from outer space.
97
Black Sabbath 1971
Paranoid
Ozzy is the laziest lyricist ever. But everything else is fun.
96
Rolling Stones 1969
Let It Bleed
There will always be space in my in-dash CD-player, when you need a little coke and sympathy.
95
Peter Gabriel 1986
So
Such pretty songs. Lift your boombox high and proud.
94
Belly 1993
Star
Remember this, the next time you feed a tree.
93
Rogue Wave 2005
Out Of The Shadow
Neo-folkish lo-fi psyechedelic pop. Sewn up, perfect.
92
Scud Mountain Boys 1996
Massachusets
Country-flavored indie-pop melancholy.
91
REM 1982
Chronic Town
1,000,000; Stumble; Wolves, Lower; Gardening At Night; Carnival of Sorts

For extra geekiness, here's a little histogram that tracks the number of records on this list, so far, by the year they were released (in five-year intervals):

The List, 2008, #90-81

This is the second of installment (of ten) in the 2008 edition of my Top 100 All-time Favorite Records.

90
The Beatles 1965
Rubber Soul
Remember "She Loves You"? We're not that band any more.
89
The Doors 1967
Strange Days
When the still sea conspires an armor, and her sullen and aborted currents breed tiny monsters, the rest of the record is still OK.
88
Green Day 1995
Dookie
Bite your lip and close your eyes.
87
Replacements 1984
Let It Be
We could be great! But that sounds like work. Hey, look, Gary's Got A Boner!
86
Pink Floyd 1971
Meddle
Such a nice little record.
85
Cowboy Junkies 1996
Lay It Down
Fifty minutes of that beautiful lonely sinking feeling.
84
Sonic Youth 1987
Sister
Would be SY's best record, if their next wasn't even better.
83
U2 1987
The Joshua Tree
Still sounds great, though overplayed.
82
The Cure 1981
Happily Ever After
Faith + Seventeen Seconds. It's a double-shot of mope.
81
The Cure 1989
Disintegration
Oh, it's all so sad and monumental and bittersweet and, oh no, now I want to cry.

And the histogram now looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

The List, 2008, #80-71

Installment #3 of the 2008 version of my Top 100 Favorite Records list:

80
Son Volt 1995
Trace
Country-rock that doesn't suck! Take that, Molly Hatchet.
79
Megadeth 1986
Peace Sells .... But Who's Buying?
A sentimental favorite.
78
Slint 1991
Spiderland
Math is the coldest sound of all.
77
Sunny Day Real Estate 1994
Diary
I don't know what he's singing about, but he sure means it! How... emo.
76
Van Halen 1979
Van Halen
Atomic Punk! Eruption! Cheese!
75
Pixies 1989
Doolittle
Are they "Here Comes Your Man" or are they "Crackity Jones" ? They are both. They are Pixies.
74
Blonde Redhead 1995
La Mia Vita Violenta

Japanese girl yelps. Italian brothers cry. They drink distilled Sonic Youth.
73
The Police 1979
Regatta De Blanc
Reggae, but from white people! Pretty clever, Stingo.
72
The Cure 1987
Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me
Gloom, rage, hatred, kissing, dancing.
71
Andrew Bird 2007
Armchair Apocrypha
A walkin, talkin, whistlin, pluckin, strummin genius.

And the histogram for #100-#71 looks like this:

Next exciting installment will be out on Friday!

The List, 2008, #70-61

And here's the next installment of my 2008 Top 100 Favorite Records list.

The Lilys entry down there has my feeble attempt at a music video. As a video, it sucks, I know; but I just wanted to make something to look at while the song was playing.

70
The Police 1980
Zenyatta Mondatta
The studio solo from "Driven To Tears" is a thing of beauty.
69
Lilys 1994
A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns
The Near-Perfect EP.
68
ZZ Top 1973
Tres Hombres
"A haw haw haw!" Yes, exactly, haw haw.
67
Neil Young 1979
Live Rust
Sugar Mountain sounds like a nice place. I wish I was 4 again.
66
Rolling Stones 1972
Exile On Main Street
Keith sings "Happy" and that's all that matters.
65
Yo La Tengo 1995
Electr-O-Pura
Twelve years past, and I still don't know what "Tom Courtenay" is about, even though it's my favorite YLT song.
64
Nirvana 1991
Nevermind
Less dangerous than you might remember. But still entertaining!
63
Gillian Welch 1996
Revival
Her first record. A star is born.
62
The Doors 1967
The Doors
Does the day divide the night, or does the night divide the day? Which is to be master, is the question. To start off with your best record is both triumph and tragedy.
61
Pink Floyd 1977
Animals
He converteth me to lamb cutlets!

And the histogram for #100-#61 looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

Next exciting installment will be out on Monday!

The List, 2008, #60-51

Closing out the top half of my Top 100 All Time Favorites, 2008 version:

60
Beastie Boys 1992
Check Your Head
Not just rappers, they're a band with actual instruments!
59
Robyn Hitchcock 2004
Spooked
Gillian Welch and David Rawlings + Robyn = teh awesome
58
Sea And Cake 1994
Sea And Cake
Sea and Cake!
57
Wilco 2007
Sky Blue Sky
Wilco is better than your band. Just is. Sorry.
56
Yo La Tengo 1990
Fakebook
Yo La Tengo turns obscure 60's singles into obscure Yo La Tengo songs.
55
Alison Krauss & Union Station 1992
Every Time You Say Goodbye
Always reminds me of our first spring in North Carolina.
54
Beastie Boys 1989
Paul's Boutique
Take their word for it: it's good!
53
The Beatles 1966
Revolver
George gets three songs? Something is definitely going on here.
52
The Shins 2001
Oh, Inverted World
Unlike Zack Braff, it did not change my life, but "New Slang" really is a terribly catchy tune.
51
Paul Simon 1972
Paul Simon
Freed from the artistic shackles of Garfunkel, Simon bursts into song after wonderful song.

And the histogram for #100-#51 looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

Next exciting installment will be out on Wednesday!

The List, 2008, #50-41

We've turned the corner! The end is in sight!

Continuing in my Top 100 All-time Favorites for 2008...

50
The Colorblind James Experience 1987
The Colorblind James Experience
Have you ever been experienced? No, I mean a different Experience.
49
White Stripes 2001
White Blood Cells
Remember when they seemed fun and innocent?
48
Big Star 1974
Radio City
When Chris leaves, Alex gets squirrelly.
47
Fleetwood Mac 1975
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac!
46
Robyn Hitchcock 1990
Eye
Sprawling pretty acoustic clever.
45
Big Star 1972
#1 Record
Chris Bell and Alex Chilton: a song writing team too good to last.
44
Nirvana 1994
Unplugged
It's better than Nevermind because there are fewer layers of clear coat. "All Apologies" might be the best song ever.
43
Jimi Hendrix 1967
Are You Experienced
Yes.
42
Gillian Welch 2001
Time, The Revelator
Contains the best anti-music-pirating song I've ever heard.
41
Smashing Pumpkins 1991
Gish
One of those records that works best start-to-finish, in the dark, alone.

And the histogram for #100-#41 looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

Next exciting installment will be out on Wednesday Friday!

The List, 2008, #40-31

Here's the latest tenth of my Top 100 All-time Favorites list for 2008...

40
REM 1987
Dead Letter Office
Chill bumps appear and I am frozen in the web they weave as they reveal their innermost selves with the outpouring of their hearts. Oddities records are often excellent.
39
Rolling Stones 1968
Beggars Banquet
Tell me the voice of Mr Hankey isn't based on Mick's vocals on "Dear Doctor".
38
Rolling Stones 1978
Some Girls
The last great Stones record. I bought this for my stepfather one Xmas.
37
Spoon 2002
Kill The Moonlight
Spoon makes songwriting sound easy.
36
Joni Mitchell 1971
Blue
So smart and funny. I wish nobody would ever sing "River" again.
35
Liz Phair 1993
Exile In Guyville
Even when I was twenty-three. Even at thirty-seven.
34
Neutral Milk Hotel 1998
In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
A throbbing, wheezing, spitting, whirling, carnal, calliope ride.
33
Led Zeppelin 1975
Physical Graffiti
I could do without Kashmir.
32
The Beatles 1968
The Beatles (white album)
And now we're all going to do our own thing. And luckily for you, we're all good at it. Except that last bit.
31
Bob Dylan 1965
Highway 61 Revisited
Having proved that how you sing isn't important, he goes on to teach that what you sing might not be so important, either.

And the histogram for #100-#31 looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

Next exciting installment will be out on Wednesday Monday!

The List, 2008, #30-21

Starting the final week!
The latest installment of my Top 100 All-time Favorites list for 2008 looks like this:

30
King Crimson 1981
Discipline
Me and my uncle, playing Monopoly, eating crab legs. Me wondering if this was the Talking Heads. Go Belew! Go!
29
Gillian Welch 1998
Hell Among The Yearlings
Death, whiskey, morphine, winter, murder. Beautiful.
28
Led Zeppelin 1973
Houses Of The Holy
Where's that confounded title track?
27
Elliott Smith 1998
XO
Elliott, Elliott, Elliott. Sigh.
26
The Beastie Boys 1994
Ill Communication
B-Boys makin with the freak freak.
25
Pink Floyd 1975
Wish You Were Here
Wish you weren't so overplayed.
24
Spoon 2007
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Getting dangerously close to commercial appeal. But still fantastic.
23
Nick Drake 1972
Pink Moon
I too gave up a career in music in order to become a computer programmer.
22
REM 1984
Reckoning
"Time After Time" is my least favorite song, and "Little America" is my most favorite.
21
Andrew Bird 2005
Mysterious Production Of Eggs
Did he just say he wanted to drill a tiny hole into her head? Should I laugh?

And the histogram for #100-#21 looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

Next exciting installment will be out on Wednesday Wednesday!

The List, 2006, #20-11

We are nearing the end of the journey. So sad.

And here's the penultimate installment of my Top 100 All-time Favorites list for 2008 looks like this:

20
My Bloody Valentine 1991
Loveless
Mmmm! What's in this soup?! Guitars, drum samples and disembodied voices!
19
The Cure 1986
Standing On A Beach
The collection of B sides on the flip side of the cassette make a great, splintered, pink-eyed album.
18
The Shins 2003
Chutes Too Narrow
Catchycatchycatchycatchycatchycatchy!
17
Sea And Cake 1995
The Biz
It couldn't be better without being Nassau.
16
Robyn Hitchcock 1998
Storefront Hitchcock
Proving that the best Robyn is live Robyn.
15
Fleetwood Mac 1977
Rumors
Ridiculously good. Lindsey is god.
14
Sonic Youth 1988
Daydream Nation
The Exile On Main Street of dissonant guitar skronk.
13
Pink Floyd 1973
Dark Side Of The Moon
Don't be a hater. It really is amazing.
12
Pixies 1987
Surfer Rosa / Come On Pilgrim
Did Kim Deal really only sing lead on one Pixies song? Gigantically, yes. But Joey Santiago wins the world.
11
Cowboy Junkies 1988
The Trinity Sessions
So much lovely empty space between the brushes on that snare drum.

And the histogram for #100-#11 looks like this:

(release dates of records listed so far, grouped into five-year spans)

The top Ten will be posted this Friday! TiVo it, if you can't watch live!