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1. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate
2. Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda
3. James Brown - Love Power Peace (Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1971)
4. Goblin - Suspiria
5. The Residents - Meet the Residents
6. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
7. Stevie Wonder - Songs in the Key of Life
8. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie
9. Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats
10. Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner
11. Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
12. Popol Vuh - Aguirre
13. Keith Jarrett - The Köln Concert
14. David Bowie - Low
15. Alain Goraguer - La Planete Sauvage
16. Kraftwerk - The Man Machine
17. Throbbing Gristle - The Second Annual Report
18. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
19. Alice Coltrane - Eternity
20. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
21. The Velvet Underground - Loaded
22. Pink Floyd - The Wall
23. Musica Elettronica Viva - Leave the City
24. Jandek - Ready for the House
25. Charles Mingus - Let My Children Hear Music
26. Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day
27. Harold Budd - The Pavilion of Dreams
28. David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
29. Lou Reed - Transformer
30. Amon Düül II - Yeti
31. Throbbing Gristle - D.O.A. The Third and Final Report
32. Art Bears - Hopes and Fears
33. Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel
34. Faust - IV
35. The Beatles - Let It Be
36. The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh
37. The Residents - Eskimo
38. The Stooges - Raw Power
39. Evan Parker - The Topography of the Lungs
40. John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band
41. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly
42. Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
43. Can - Tago Mago
44. Comus - First Utterance
45. Bernard Fevre - The Strange World of Bernard Fevre
46. Archie Shepp - Attica Blues
47. Suicide - Suicide
48. Television - Marquee Moon
49. Tangerine Dream - Zeit
50. King Crimson - Red
51. The Clash - London Calling
52. Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports
53. Steve Reich - Music for 18 Musicians
54. Nick Drake - Pink Moon
55. Miles Davis - Bitches Brew
56. Neu! - Neu!
57. Wire - Chairs Missing
58. Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon
59. Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys
60. Can - Ege Bamyasi
61. Charlemagne Palestine - Strumming Music
62. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
63. James Brown - The Payback
64. Serge Gainsbourg - L'Histoire de Melody Nelson
65. The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
66. Taj Mahal Travellers - August 1974
67. Pink Floyd - Meddle
68. David Bowie - Heroes
69. Robert Ashley - Automatic Writing
70. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions
71. Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express
72. John Cale & Terry Riley - Church of Anthrax
73. Henry Cow - In Praise of Learning
74. Fripp & Eno - No Pussyfooting
75. Klaus Schulze - Cyborg

This year (starting from this point, that is), I am aiming to listen to at least 10 new albums every week. I am just keeping track with this journal thing.

Week 1 -- 25/1 - 31/1
1: Mahavishnu Orchestra -- The Inner Mounting Flame
2: Mahavishnu Orchestra -- Birds of Fire
3: John McLaughlin -- Extrapolation
4: Genesis -- Trespass
5: Frank Zappa -- Chungas Revenge
6: Robert Rich -- A Troubled Resting Place
7: Gentle Giant -- Gentle Giant
8: Jerry Garcia -- Compliments
9: Ravi Shankar -- The Sounds of India
10: The Allman Brothers Band -- The Allman Brothers Band
+: Yes -- The Yes Album

Week 2 - 1/2 - 7/2
1: Frank Zappa -- Weasels Ripped My Flesh
2: Frank Zappa -- Burnt Weeny Sandwich
3: Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Cosmo's Factory
4: Creedence Clearwater Revival -- Willy And The Poor Boys
5: Barclay James Harvest -- Barclay James Harvest
6: The United States of America -- The United States of America
7: Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies -- The American Metaphysical Circus
8: The Allman Brothers Band -- Eat A Peach *
9: Medeski, Martin and Wood -- Combustication
10: Jimmy Smith -- A New Sound - A New Star Vol. 2
+: Jimmy Smith -- Back At The Chicken Shack

Week 3 - 8/2 - 14/2
1: Jimmy Smith -- Groove Drops
2: Jimmy Smith -- At the Organ, Vol. 3
3: Dizzy Gillespie -- The Cool World
4: The Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Time Further Out
5: Charles Mingus -- Changes One
6: The Thelonious Monk Quartet -- Live At the Five Spot
7: Charles Mingus -- The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady
8: The Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Countdown: Time in Outer Space
9: The 13th Floor Elevators -- The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators
10: Wes Montgomery -- The Wes Montgomery Trio
+: Wes Montgomery -- Boss Guitar
+: Sandy Bull -- Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo
+: Grateful Dead -- American Beauty

Week 4 - 15/2 - 21/2
1: Bill Evans -- New Jazz Conceptions
2: Simon & Garfunkel -- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
3: The Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Time Changes
4: Bill Evans -- Everybody Digs Bill Evans
5: Wes Montgomery -- Full House
6: Bob Dylan -- Nashville Skyline
7: The Band -- The Band
8: Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes -- Loaded For Bear-The Best of Ted Nugent and and Amboy Dukes
9: Traffic -- Mr. Fantasy
10: Donovan -- Sunshine Superman
+: Donovan -- Mellow Yellow

Week 5 - 22/2 - 28/2
1: Donovan -- What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid
2: Donovan -- Fairytale
3: Hamza El Din -- A Wish
4: Ravi Shankar -- The Teacher - Key Works 1960 - 1985
5: The Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Jazz Impressions of Japan
6: Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond -- THE DUETS
7: The Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Anything Goes
8: The Dave Brubeck Quartet -- Angel Eyes
9: Paul Desmond -- Bossa Antigua
10: Paul Desmond -- Bridge over Trouble Water

Week 6 - 1/3 - 7/3
1: Wes Montgomery -- Movin' Wes
2: Avishai Cohen -- Colours
3: Avishai Cohen -- Devotion
4: Cat Stevens -- Mona Bone Jakon
5: Booker T. & The M.G.'s -- Green Onions

Didn't make it this week. Waaay too busy. I'll make up for it next week

Week 7 - 8/3 - 14/3
1: Arlo Guthrie -- Hobo's Lullaby
2: Arlo Guthrie -- Running Down The Road
3: Robbie Basho -- The Seal of the Blue Lotus
4: Robbie Basho -- The Grail and the Lotus
5: Chet Baker -- The Collection

Ah, nuts. Next week.

Week 8 - 13/3 - 21/3
1: Yes -- Fragile
2: Dixie Dregs -- The Great Spectacular
3: Funkadelic -- Funkadelic
4: Yonder Mountain String Band -- Mountain Tracks: Volume One
5: Yonder Mountain String Band -- Mountain Tracks: Volume Two
6: Dixie Dregs -- Free Fall
7: Traffic -- John Barleycorn Must Die
8: Funkadelic -- Free Your Mind... And Your Ass Will Follow

I. MASTER | PIECES

rated 9.5/10

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Gruppen / Carré (1965)

Gruppen—composition for three orchestras and 109 musicians
serialism, spatial music, masterpiece

Gruppen listen at grooveshark.com


Karlheinz Stockhausen - Kontakte (1960)

Für elektronische Klänge, Klavier und Schlagzeug
electronic composition, serialism, spatial music, tape music, masterpiece

Kontakte Teil 1
Kontakte Teil 2


rated 9/10

John Coltrane - A Love Supreme (1964)

Four-movement mass. John Coltrane’s masterpiece.
avant-garde jazz, post-bop, modal jazz, concept album, masterpiece

A Love Supreme Part I: Acknowledgement
A Love Supreme Part II - Resolution
A Love Supreme, Part III: Pursuance
A Love Supreme, Part IV-Psalm


Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain (1960)

Programmatic compositions for orchestra, derived from spanish folklore.
Gil Evan’s masterpiece in composition, orchestration, and arrangement.
third stream, classical-jazz crossover, spanish folk crossover, concept album, masterpiece

Concierto de Aranjuez (adagio)
Solea


Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)

Six-part suite, written as a ballet. Mingus’ masterpiece in composition and orchestration.
orchestral jazz, post-bop, concept album, masterpiece

Track A - Solo Dancer
Track B - Duet Solo Dancers
Track C - Group Dancers
Mode D - Trio And Group Dancers
Mode E - Single Solos and Group Dance
Mode F - Group and Solo Dance


Carl Orff - ORFF: Carmina Burana (1968)

Scenic cantata in 25 movements, based on a medieval collection of poems.
Orff’s masterpiece as a 20th century composer who did not fit into the modernist mainstream.
historicist composition, scenic cantata, concept album, masterpiece

Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi: O Fortuna
In Taberna: II Olim lacus colueram



II. CUTTING-EDGE | RELEASES

rated 8/10 or 8.5/10

Anthony Braxton - For Alto (1969)

Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen (1968)
Suzanne

John Coltrane - Giant Steps (1960)

Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1969)
Bitches Brew

Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch (1964)
Hat And Beard · Out to Lunch

The Doors - The Doors (1967)
Light My Fire · End of the Night · The End

Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968)
In A Gadda Da Vida (17:02) (Iron Butterfly’s masterpiece)

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced (1967)
Purple Haze · Hey Joe · Foxey Lady ·
The Wind Cries Mary

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (1968)
Voodoo Child · Burning Of The Midnight Lamp ·
All Along The Watchtower

Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets (1968)
Let There Be More Light
Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun
A Saucerful of Secrets

Pink Floyd - Ummagumma (1969)
The members of Pink Floyd never valued this album as much as they should. Ummagumma is actually two different albums, one album of live versions of their repertoire, and one studio record of individual compositions and passages from their ’69 concert piece The Man & the Journey, spanning from avant-gardish piano pieces over psychedelic folk to musique concrète and noise.

A saucerful of secrets (live) (Pink Floyd’s masterpiece, best: Live in Pompeji)
Sysyphus, Part 2
Grantchester Meadows
Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict
The Grand Vizier's Garden Party, Part 2 - Entertainment


III. REMARKABLE | ALBUMS

rated 7.5/10

Amon Düül II - Phallus Dei (1969)
Phallus Dei · Kanaan · Dem Guten, Schönen, Wahren

Blind Faith - Blind Faith (1969)
Sea Of Joy · Do What You Like

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica
(1969)
Probably the most anarchic but intelligently concepted album in the realm of “rock”, influenced by free jazz.
eccentric, rhythm and blues, composed improvisation

Hair Pie: Bake 1 · Hair Pie: Bake 2
When Big Joan Sets Up

The Doors - Strange Days (1967)
Strange Days · You’re Lost Little Girl ·
When the Music Is Over

The Doors - Waiting for the Sun (1968)
Waiting for the Sun

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love (1967)

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin (1969)
Baby I’m Gonna Leave You

Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Whole Lotta Love

The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)
I Ain’t Got No Heart
[The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)
Astronomy Dominé · Interstellar Overdrive

The Rolling Stones - Out of Our Heads (1965)
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction · Play With Fire

The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet (1968)
Sympathy For The Devil

The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties Request
(1968)
2000 Light Years From Home

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
(1967)
Venus in Furs

The Who - Tommy (1969)
Underture · Pinball Wizard · I’m Free

rated 7/10


IV. HONORABLE | MENTIONS

rated 6.5/10

The Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) · Michelle · Girl

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds · Within You, Without You ·
A Day in the Life

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
I Am the Walrus · Strawberry Fields Forever · Penny Lane

Pink Floyd - More [Soundtrack] (1968)
Cymbaline

The Rolling Stones - Aftermath (1968)
Paint It Black

The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969)
You can’t always get what you want


rated 6/10

The Beatles - Revolver (1966)
Eleanor Rigby

The Beatles - The Beatles [White Album] (1968)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps · Blackbird · Yer Blues ·
Helter Skelter

The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)
Something · I Want You (She’s So Heavy) ·
Here Comes the Sun · You Never Give Me Your Money


this list is work in progress.

So after I did the '00 list I thought I would make this one just to see how they'd compare. I think that, in my opinion, it's fairly obvious that the 70's win... :P

00s:

1. Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum
2. Sigur Rós - ( )
3. Opeth - Blackwater Park
4. Ulver - Shadows of the Sun
5. Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors
6. Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye
7. Agalloch - The Mantle
8. Negură Bunget - Om
9. maudlin of the Well - Leaving your Bodymap
10. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven!
11. Deathspell Omega - Kenose EP
12. maudlin of the Well - Bath
13. Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli in Manet Aeternum: Chaining the Katechon EP
14. Weakling - Dead As Dreams
15. Ulver - A Quick Fix of Melancholy EP
16. Radiohead - Kid A
17. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia
18. Alcest - Souvenirs d'un autre monde
19. Sigur Rós - Takk...
20. Deathspell Omega - Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice


90s:

1. Opeth - Still Life
2. Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun
3. Radiohead - Ok Computer
4. Änglagård - Hybris
5. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler
6. Opeth - My Arms Your Hearse
7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Slow Riot for New Zero Kanada
8. Alice in Chains - Dirt
9. Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss
10. Jeff Buckley - Grace
11. My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
12. Portishead - Dummy
13. Godspeed You! Black Emperor -F♯A♯∞ [1995–1997]
14. Opeth - Morningrise
15. Ulver - Kveldssanger
16. Scott Walker - Tilt
17. Cynic - Focus
18. Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
19. Massive Attack - Mezzanine
20. Morte Macabre - Symphonic Holocaust


80s:

1. King Crimson - Discipline
2. Bacamarte - Depois Do Fim
3. Joy Division - Closer
4. David Bowie - Scary Monsters
5. Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
6. Metallica - Master of Puppets
7. Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell
8. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness
9. Dün - Eros
10. Shub-Niggurath - Les Morts Vont Vite
11. John Zorn - Naked City
12. Voivod - Nothingface
13. The Cure - Disintegration
14. Dead Can Dance- Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
15. The Cure - Pornography
16. Rush - Moving Pictures
17. Univers Zero - Uzed
18. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express
19. Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
20. Yezda Urfa - Sacred Baboon


70s:

1. Yes - Close to the Edge
2. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
3. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
4. King Crimson - Red
5. Black Sabbath - Paranoid
6. Pink Floyd - Animals
7. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
8. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin [IV]
9. Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
10. Deep Purple - Made in Japan (a live album, I know, but by far the best thing DP did)
11. Comus - First Utterance
12. King Crimson - Larks' Tongues In Aspic
13. David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
14. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
15. Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
16. Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts
17. Jethro Tull - Aqualung
18. Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per Un Amico (fucking HUGELY underrated record)
19. Camel - Moonmadness
20. Harmonium - Si on Avait besoin d'une cinquieme saison


60s:

1. King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King: An Observation by King Crimson
2. The Zombies - Odessey & Oracle
3. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left
4. The Beatles - Abbey Road
5. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
6. The Beatles - Revolver
7. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
8. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
9. Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced?
10. Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
11. The Doors - S/T
12. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
13. John Coltrane - A Love Supreme
14. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
15. Leonard Cohen - Songs of Leonard Cohen
16. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland
17. Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
18. Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
19. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
20. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

I had trouble sorting out The Beatles albums, sorry. And yep, The White album isn't going to TOUCH my top 20 of the 60s list!

kunalgoel's top albums (overall) 1. John Barry - Body Heat (783) 2. Erik Satie - After the Rain (585) 3. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Trout Mask Replica (574) 4. Jan Garbarek & The Hilliard Ensemble - Officium (542) 5. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Black Earth (507) 6. Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour L'échafaud (412) 7. Louis Armstrong - 49 Original Recordings (405) 8. Morton Feldman - Rothko Chapel + Why Patterns? (372) 9. Neil Young - Dead Man (324) 10. Jerry Goldsmith - Chinatown (321) 11. Miklós Rózsa - Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (318) 12. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (315) 13. John Lurie - Down By Law & Variety (307) 14. John Coltrane - Coltrane Plays The Blues (265) 15. Piero Umiliani - La ragazza dalla pelle di luna (251) 16. Jandek - Ready for the House (245) 17. Bohren & der Club of Gore - Sunset Mission (239) 18. John Lee Hooker & Miles Davis - The Hot Spot (226) 19. John Zorn - Naked City (220) 20. Philip Glass - Dracula (207) 21. John Coltrane - Giant Steps (206) 22. Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (203) 23. Charles Manson - LIE: The Love & Terror Cult (197) 24. Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats (196) 25. Anouar Brahem - Conte De L'Incroyable Amour (194) 26. Various Artists - Jazz for the Open Road (189) 27. Miles Davis - Anatomy Of A Murder (185) 28. John Zorn - The Book of Heads (169) 29. Duke Ellington - Anatomy of a Murder (167) 30. John Zorn - The Circle Maker (163) 31. Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny - Beyond The Missouri Sky (Short Stories) (153) 32. Quincy Jones - In the Heat of the Night/They Call Me Mr. Tibbs (149) 33. Nino Rota - Amarcord (147) 34. Various Artists - Jazz for the Quiet Times (145) 35. Set Fire to Flames - Sings Reign Rebuilder (145) 36. Fryderyk Chopin - Chopin Nocturnes (Disc 1) (142) 37. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (142) 38. Paul Bley - In the Evenings out There (142) 39. Lalo Schifrin - Bullitt (142) 40. Reiko Ike - Kokotsu no Sekai (137) 41. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe as Milk (137) 42. Brian Eno & David Byrne - My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (135) 43. Francis Lai - Bilitis (129) 44. Anthony Coleman - Disco By Night (129) 45. The Alan Parsons Project - Tales of Mystery and Imagination (128) 46. John Zorn - Filmworks XIV: Hiding and Seeking (128) 47. Anouar Brahem - Astrakan Café (128) 48. Jandek - Your Turn to Fall (127) 49. John Coltrane - Ballads (125) 50. Martial Solal - À Bout De Souffle (123)

So, like every year, I make a 'Best Of' without ranking - listed in the order I heard them. They're simply what I feel are the very best albums of the year; more likely than not, they were listened to more than anything else.

Following that I've shared a list of albums entirely worthy of anyone's time, that didn't quite merit a "best of" designation.

And finally, a new segment: music I discovered in 2009 which was released prior, whether it's last year or 40 years ago. Listen to everything on this list to enrich your life.

BEST OF 2009:


Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion



I don't ascribe to revisionist history. You probably went apeshit for this album in January but talk shit now that your kid brother likes 'em. This is a great psychedelic pop album.

Bullion - Young Heartache



Incredible 'instrumental hiphop' although that term is sorely lacking here. This is the first dj-based music I've heard since The Avalanches seminal Since I Left You to give me even a remotely similar feeling. Pair it with his Get Familiar + Rude Effort single and you've got the sweetest half hour of 2009 music.

The Field - Yesterday and Today



Minimal techno blossoming into something altogether more wide-reaching and accessible, expanding the definition of what Kompakt records invokes. Touches of the Boredoms' tribal transcendence, trance-like trippiness, and unabashed pop music ooze out of this album's pores.

Fox Bat Strategy - Fox Bat Strategy



A decade+ old recording by the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me house band, curated and released by David Lynch himself. Think everything Lynchian: 50's pop, piles of reverb, spooky atmospherics, sweet / menacing lyrics, and a creaky, lived in demeanor that helps define this as utterly timeless. 1959, 2009, or 2059, these songs live in your dreams.

Fuck Buttons - Tarot Sport



Tribal noise drone dance trance whatever you want to call it. This is deeply affecting, gravitationally heavy dance music for a caveman rave or an asteroid collision. The most tangible elements of the past locked into a technicolor display of modern virtuosity. Hypnotizing.

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band - Between My Head and the Sky



A longtime hero of the art world returns with one of, if not the best album in her career, with a little help from her friends. Think John Lennon's post-Beatles experiments, psyched out kraut grooves straight out of Cologne in the 70s, New York post-punk, no-wave, disco-not-disco, and the most singular and influencial voice in recent history rolled into an adventurous lifetime-spanning collection of music with an energy that puts folks half, even a quarter of her age, to shame.

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic



Don't call it a return or comeback: this may be the Lips reclaiming their raucous early days as far as shaggy noise goes, but the album is both more experimental and more mature and accomplished than anything they've yet unleashed. Harkening back to the ragged psychedelic roots of their sound, using that as a base to jump through everything from their mid-90's carnival extravaganzas to the string-laden height of their musical growth (Zaireeka / Soft Bulletin), they've managed to round up every loose end possible while leaving a whole raft of new threads hanging, ready to pull out towards the future. Nothing in years has sounded this HUGE.

A Sunny Day in Glasgow - Ashes Grammar



Leapfrogging over their 2007 debut by miles, this Philly group synthesizes everything interesting they were known for (shoegaze sheen, noisey feedback twisting, wobbly synth lines and dreampop vocals) and spills forth this continuous dream of blasted pop tunes bubbling from post rock structures (or lack thereof) into the most hypnotically unified, dizzying rollercoaster of an album this year.

White Rainbow - New Clouds



Everything you know about dream music is taken into consideration, multiplied together, and promptly disregarded by this masterpiece. More than perhaps any LP in 2009, this one defines the year for me. So-called hypnagogic pop has nothing on the truly woozy mind-melting 4 tracks contained here. The review on my blog says everything I could say: http://optimisticunderground.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/new-clouds/ Basically, this is bliss on record. Clouds don't even begin to describe the effervescent joy White Rainbow rides here. Put it on low volume to set sail for dreamland, or crank it up to shake your house apart in a sun-worshipping frenzy.

Shackleton - Three EPs



Hearing about both the continued vitality and impending death of dubstep all year, it's easy to understand folks stepping back and ignoring the whole galaxy while the dust settles, content to pick up whatever pieces are left after the fact. Well fuck that laziness. Shackleton has done more to stretch the boundaries of the genre, incorporating nearly every active subgenre of electronic music in vogue this decade into a cavernously dubbed out sculpture of forward thinking chill out music. Play it to anyone thinking there's nothing new under the sun and watch the grins slowly creep up. Weed optional.

Dam-Funk - Toeachizown



Funk, through and through. This is the most futuristic album made by old school instruments made all year, if not the entire "oughts" decade. Dam-Funk has crafted such a singular and deep body of work here that it demands attention from anyone coming into near orbit with the massive (2CD, 5LP!) thing. Despite standing FAR outside any of the trendy genres 2009 had to offer, this album stands head and shoulders above anything your favorite blog went apeshit over - and because of this it will most likely be far more fondly recalled when the time comes to look back on these days. Get it now to hear what I mean. Or go back to your 'chillwave' acts which you'll be shitting on in a year's time.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Rifts



This one snuck up on me at the last second; in fact I'd only heard a track or two before the official end of 2009. Luckily I have the common decency to wait until the year is actually complete before sharing the best of it (ahem, every music magazine in existence) so a gorgeous bombshell of alien earworm fantasy like this can get the recognition it's due. A 2CD set collection the band's 3 LPs and various rarities, Rifts takes me on a trip through a wormhole filled with the best 80's soundtracks (think Thief, Blade Runner, Legend, etc etc etc) and minimalism/drone epics of the modern era, mixed through a lense orbiting Terry Riley, Ashra, Emeralds, and anyone else popping into your mind while reading this. Despite arriving at the tail end of the year (for me), this one colors the past 365 days as deeply as anything else on the list.

----------------------------------------------------

THE (VERY WORTHY) REST:

ROVO - Nuou

Boredoms - Super Roots 10

Dan Deacon - Bromst

The Durutti Column - Love in the Time of Recession

Hudson Mohawke - Polyfolk Dance

Coconot - Cosa Astral

Peter Bjorn and John - Living Thing

Shogun Kunitoki - Vinonaamakasio

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Eating Us

Dorian Concept - When Planets Explode

Dusty Kid - A Raver's Diary

Fever Ray - Fever Ray

Burial & Four Tet - Moth / Wolf Cub

Prefuse 73 - Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian

Meanderthals - Desire Lines

Subway - Subway II

J Dilla - Jay Stay Paid

Paul White - The Dreams of Paul White

Moby - Wait For Me

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue

Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas - II

Lunar Testing Lab - Seashore Blvd.

Ganglians - Monster Head Room

Yagya - Rigning

Tim Exile - Listening Tree

jj - jj n° 2

Nosaj Thing - Drift

Yo La Tengo - Popular Songs

The Very Best - Warm Heart of Africa

Flying Lotus - LA EP 3X3

Nudge - As Good As Gone

OOIOO - Armonico Hewa

The Antlers - Hospice

Oh No - Dr. No's Ethiopium

Flight of the Conchords - I Told You I Was Freaky

Eliot Lipp - Peace Love Weed 3D

The Gaslamp Killer - My Troubled Mind EP

Universal Studios Florida - Ocean Sunbirds

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon

Tim Hecker - An Imaginary Country

Tyondai Braxton - Central Market

Teebs - Teeps 09 Mix

Memory Tapes - Seek Magic

Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2

Emeralds - Emeralds

DJ /rupture - Solar Life Raft

Dr. Strangeloop - Are We Lost Mammals of an Approaching Transcendental Epoch?

Boris - Japanese Heavy Rock Hits Vol. 3

Mos Def - The Ecstatic

Sweet Trip - You Will Never Know Why

Animal Collective - Fall Be Kind EP

King Midas Sound - Waiting For You

Sun Araw - Heavy Deeds

Mount Eerie - Wind's Poem

Black to Comm - Alphabet 1968

Grackle - Desert Acid EP

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NOT FROM 2009:

Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein

Shogun Kunitoki - Tasankokaiku

Dimlite - This Is Embracing

Steve Reich - Music For 18 Musicians

A.R. Rahman - Dil Se

Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

Billie Holiday - Lady In Satin

Caural - Mirrors for Eyes

Santo & Johnny - Santo & Johnny

Omar Khorshid - Rhythms of the Orient

Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul

Dif Juz - Soundpool

John Cale & Terry Riley - Church of Anthrax

Alice Coltrane - Transcendence

Boris - Flood

Bill Fay - Bill Fay

The Gaslamp Killer - I Spit On Your Grave

Z-Rock Hawaii - Z-Rock Hawaii

Manuel Göttsching - E2-E4

Blue Sky Black Death - Late Night Cinema

Bows - Cassidy

Have a Nice Life - Deathconsciousness

Tetsu Inoue - Ambient Otaku

William Basinski - El Camino Real

...and there are many more I'm forgetting at the moment, so this segment will most likely be appended soon.

Fipaj's top albums (6 months) 1. Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions (907) 2. The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers (647) 3. The First Barbarians - Live From Kilburn (476) 4. Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Alone in San Francisco (419) 5. Jeff Healey - Mess Of Blues (412) 6. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street (381) 7. Charles Mingus - Mingus Ah Um (377) 8. Van Morrison - Moondance (324) 9. Chuck Berry - Complete 50s Chess Recordings (314) 10. Miles Davis - The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 (298) 11. Bud Powell - The Scene Changes (296) 12. Thelonious Monk - Plays Duke Ellington (295) 13. The New Barbarians - Buried Alive (289) 14. Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (288) 15. Elmore James - Dust My Broom (267) 16. The Rolling Stones - Emotional Rescue (262) 17. Miles Davis - The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (261) 18. The Black Keys - Thickfreakness (241) 19. Miles Davis - The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel 1965 (230) 20. The Rolling Stones - Still Life (217) 21. Otis Rush - I Can't Quit You Baby (216) 22. The Black Crowes - Before the Frost (209) 23. Them - Angry Young Them (207) 24. Neil Young - Sugar Mountain Live At Canterbury House 1968 (205) 25. Bud Powell - Time Waits (201) 26. Bukka White - Parchman Farm Blues (183) 27. Charles Mingus - Mingus Plays Piano (180) 28. Faces - Five Guys Walk into a Bar... (179) 29. Jimmy Reed - You Don't Have To Go (175) 30. Magic Sam - All Your Love (174) 31. Muddy Waters - Chicago Blues (173) 32. Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (167) 33. The Rolling Stones - Tattoo You (161) 34. Jimi Hendrix - Band Of Gypsys (159) 35. Ian McLagan & The Bump Band - Never Say Never (154) 36. The Black Crowes - Until The Freeze (153) 37. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Free For All (146) 38. The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang (145) 39. Leadbelly - Midnight Special (144) 40. Little Richard - Long Tall Sally (144) 41. Jon Lord with the Hoochie Coochie Men - Live At The Basement (143) 42. Wayne Shorter - Adam's Apple (140) 43. Thelonious Monk - It's Monk's Time (140) 44. Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else (139) 45. Thelonious Monk Quartet With John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall (139) 46. Big Bill Broonzy - Whiskey And Good Time Blues (137) 47. T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday Blues (135) 48. Muddy Waters - The Complete Muddy Waters (135) 49. McCoy Tyner - Inception (134) 50. The Rolling Stones - Only When It's Frozen (131)

The 70's killed me! Sorry about that... I really just couldn't choose for a lot of these, sorry...

2009 - Still undecided... ( Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind, maudlin of the Well - Part the Second, Mastodon - Crack the Skye... ?)

2008 - Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale / Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli in Manet Aeternum: Chaining the Katechon EP

2007 - Deathspell Omega - Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum <- This year was about as good as the 70's but DSO came out on top. Special mention for Ulver...

2006 - Negură Bunget - Om / Agalloch - Ashes Against The Grain / The Ruins of Beverast - Rain Upon the Impure

2005 - Opeth - Ghost Reveries / Deathspell Omega - Kenose EP

2004 - Deathspell Omega - Si Monvmentvm Reqvires, Circvmspice

2003 - Kayo Dot - Choirs of the Eye / Opeth - Damnation

2002 - Sigur Rós - ( ) / Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors / Agalloch - The Mantle / Porcupine Tree - In Absentia <- Another great year!

2001 - Opeth - Blackwater Park / maudlin of the Well - Leaving your Bodymap / Bath

2000 - Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven! / Weakling - Dead As Dreams / Porcupine Tree - Lightbulb Sun / Ulver - Perdition City

1999 - Opeth - Still Life

1998 - Opeth - My Arms, Your Hearse

1997 - Emperor - Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk / Radiohead - OK Computer / Godspeed You! Black Emperor - F♯A♯∞

1996 - Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood / Burzum - Filosofem / Katatonia - Brave Murder Day

1995 - Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways / Meshuggah - Destroy Erase Improve / Ulver - Kelvdssanger

1994 - Ulver - Bergatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler / Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse / Jeff Buckley - Grace / Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas

1993 - Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss / Cynic - Focus / Slowdive - Souvlaki

1992 - Alice in Chains - Dirt / Änglagård - Hybris

1991 - My Bloody Valentine - Loveless / Atheist - Unquestionable Presence / Death - Human

1990 - Naked City - Naked City / Psychotic Waltz - A Social Grace / Atheist - A Piece of Time / Lustmord - Heresy

1989 - The Cure - Disintegration / Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness / Voivod - Nothingface

1988 - Metallica - ...And Justice for All

1987 - Dead Can Dance - Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun

1986 - Metallica - Master of Puppets

1985 - Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

1984 - Arvo Pärt - Tabula Rasa / Metallica - Ride the Lightning

1983 - Bacamarte - Depois Do Fim

1982 - King Crimson - Beat / Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast / Rush - Signals <- Pretty freaking bad year.

1981 - King Crimson - Discipline

1980 - Black Sabbath - Heaven and Hell

1979 - Pink Floyd - The Wall

1978 - Rush - Hemispheres (I can't believe I had to give Rush that year... Shows how mediocre the year was)

1977 - Pink Floyd - Animals

1976 - Rainbow - Rising / Camel - Moonmadness / Van der Graaf Generator - Still Life

1975 - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

1974 - King Crimson - Red

1973 - Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

1972 - Yes - Close to the Edge

1971 - To hard to choose just 1... see below.

1970 - Black Sabbath - Paranoid / Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

1969 - King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King: An Observation by King Crimson / The Beatles - Abbey Road

1968 - The Zombies - Odyssey and Oracle

1967 - The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (but also Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Leonard Cohen, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, etc.)

1966 - The Beatles - Revolver (special mention to Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa)

1965 - The Beatles - Rubber Soul / John Coltrane - A Love Supreme / Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

1964 - The Beatles - Hard Day's Night (only because it's the only album I've ever heard from this year. It's a pretty mediocre album...)

1963 - Charles Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady

1962 - John Coltrane - Olé Coltrane

1961 - Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds

1960 - Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain

1959 - Miles Davis - Kind of Blue


So hard to choose for some of those!!! Look at the amazingness the 70's produced!

1975 - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here / Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti / Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks / Van der Graaf Generator - Godbluff / Queen - A Night at the Opera / Frank Zappa - One Size Fits All / Camel - The Snow Goose / Black Sabbath - Sabotage / Steve Hackett - Voyage of the Acolyte ... And more.

1974 - King Crimson - Red / Yes - Relayer / Camel - Mirage / Magma - Köhntarkösz / Focus - Hamburger Concerto ... and way more!

1973 - Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon / King Crimson - Larks' Tongue in Aspic / Genesis - Selling England by the Pound / The Who - Quadrophenia / Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath / Mahavishnu Orchestra - Birds of Fire / Magma - Mekanïk Destruktïw Kommandöh ... and so many more!!!

1972 - Yes - Close to the Edge / Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick / David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars / Nick Drake - Pink Moon / Deep Purple - Machine Head / Genesis - Foxtrot / Wishbone Ash - Argus / Premiata Forneria Marconi - Per un Amico / etc ... Ugh, another insanely amazing year!!!

1971 - Led Zeppelin - IV / Pink Floyd - Meddle / Yes - Fragile / Jethro Tull - Aqualung / John Lennon - Imagine / Comus - First Utterance / Van der Graaf Generator - Pawn Hearts / The Who - Who's Next / Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink / Yes - The Yes Album / Genesis - Nursery Crime ... AMAZING YEAR!!!

1969 - King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King: An Observation by King Crimson / The Beatles - Abbey Road / Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left / Led Zeppelin - I & II / Frank Zappa - Hot Rats ... etc.

Jake