Musicwhore.org Music and memory

A decade ago, I wrote a series of entries ranking my favorite albums from 1985 to 2004. My collection has expanded greatly since then, particularly in the last five years. So I wanted to see what has changed in 10 years.

The 2016 list has actually undergone a revision, so this list consolidates the two entries, with some slight changes.

1. Sturgill Simpson, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth
2. Henryk Górecki, Symphony No. 4
3. MONO, Requiem for Hell
4. Solange, A Seat at the Table
5. A Tribe Called Quest, We Got It From Here … Thank You 4 Your Service
6. Perfume, COSMIC EXPLORER
7. Drive By Truckers, American Band
8. Shaprece, COALS
9. Cocco, Adan Ballet
10. Colvin & Earle, Colvin & Earle

Other favorites from the year:

• Utada Hikaru, Fantôme
• Ty Herndon, House on Fire
• Eluvium, False Readings On
• Santigold, 99 Cents
• Explosions in the Sky, The Wilderness
• Blood Orange, Freetown Sound
• Colin Stetson, Sorrow: A Reimagining of Gorecki’s Third Symphony
• John Adams, Scheherazade.2

The 10 favorites remain the same, while Utada Hikaru and Ty Herndon get bumped down. ANONHI, Pixies and De La Soul get bumped off completely.

I included Pixies because Head Carrier was an improvement over Indie Cindy, but it wasn’t stellar enough to hold onto its position. Albums by ANONHI and De La Sol were good, but over time, they couldn’t hold onto to their status as favorites.

As I mentioned before, lists from this decade probably won’t see much shifting, as my focus continues to move to exploring catalog. Most of the 2016 releases I bought after the year had passed were vinyl issues.

A Bruce Springsteen compilation accompanying the release of his autobiography did set me on a course to explore his earlier albums.

Tags: a tribe called quest, blood orange, cocco, colin stetson, drive-by truckers, eluvium, explosions in the sky, favorite edition, henryk gorecki, john adams, mono, perfume, rewind, santigold, shaprece, shawn colvin, solange, steve earle, sturgill simpson, ty herndon, utada hikaru