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.
I had trouble coming up with a Favorite 10 of 1995, so I left it at nine. I’ve since had time to fill the remaining spot with an album I shouldn’t have let go.
- Emmylou Harris, Wrecking Ball
- The Klezmatics, Jews with Horns
- John Zorn/Masada, Hei
- Värttinä, Aitara
- Björk, Post
- Enya, The Memory of Trees
- Kronos Quartet, Performs Philip Glass
- Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill
- Tears for Fears, Raoul and the Kings of Spain
- Tracy Chapman, New Beginning
Other favorites from the year:
- Prince, The Gold Experience
- Bang on a Can All-Stars, Industry
- Janet Jackson, Design of a Decade, 1986-1996
- Fugazi, Red Medicine
- Radiohead, The Bends
- Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Brainbloodvolume
- John Zorn, Elegy and Kristallnacht
A year-end list at the time would have included Tracy Chapman, but New Beginning got cut in purge before the original list was compiled. It took the discovery of her second album, Crossroads, for me to revisit New Beginning and realizing what a mistake I’d made.
The Gold Experience is a surprising entry in the extended list. The era when Prince was known by the Love Symbol was a creatively fraught time, so it overshadows just how good The Gold Experience is.
I’ve attempted to explore Radiohead in the past few years to understand my general ambivalence to them. So far, The Bends is the only album I really like, which is of course an obvious choice. Modern classical musicians all seem to love them, which surprises me. Café Tacuba does far more interesting work.
Tags: alanis morissette, bang on a can, bjork, emmylou harris, enya, favorite edition, fugazi, janet jackson, john zorn, kronos quartet, masada, ned's atomic dustbin, prince, radiohead, rewind, tears for fears, the klezmatics, tracy chapman, varttina
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.
1996 was my final year in college, a year before I would earn the kind of disposable income that would go into building a music collection. While the Favorite 10 of 1996 remains mostly unchanged, the extended list includes many more discoveries I couldn’t afford to hear at the time.
- Soundtrack, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet
- Värttinä, Kokko
- Soundtrack, Robotech Perfect Collection
- Asylum Street Spankers, Spanks for the Memories
- Various Composers, Gay American Composers
- Original Cast Recording, Rent
- Marilyn Manson, Antichrist Superstar
- Everything But the Girl, Walking Wounded
- Shawn Colvin, A Few Small Repairs
- Robin Holcomb, Little Three
Other favorites from the year:
- Midnight Oil, Breathe
- Dead Can Dance, Spiritchaser
- Emmylou Harris, Portraits
- Kronos Quartet, Howl USA
- UA, 11
- Yen Town Band, Montage
- Neutral Milk Hotel, On Avery Island
- Aphex Twin, Richard D. James Album
- Weezer, Pinkerton
- Sleater-Kinney, Call the Doctor
- Clannad, Lore
- Café Tacuba, Avalancha de Exitos
I could actually add more titles from Wilco, Helmet, Gillian Welch, DJ Shadow and Amuro Namie to the extended list, but I haven’t lived with them as long as the ones I’ve already added.
I owned the Richard D. James album at one point. It was a promo from the student newspaper, but I was such a neophyte with EDM that I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. As it turns out nobody could really make heads or tails of it.
The original extended list didn’t include Lore because it had already fallen victim to a collection purge. I rediscovered the album after the death of Padraig Duggan.
Avalancha de Exitos was the first album by Café Tacuba I would encounter, but I wouldn’t purchase it till many years later. I borrowed it from a friend and liked it. But I stayed away from it because it’s a cover album of music of which I had no reference.
Tags: aphex twin, asylum street spankers, cafe tacuba, clannad, dead can dance, emmylou harris, everything but the girl, favorite edition, kronos quartet, marilyn manson, midnight oil, neutral milk hotel, rewind, robin holcomb, shawn colvin, sleater-kinney, soundtrack, ua, various composers, varttina, weezer, yen town band
I catalog my music purchases on Collectorz and Discogs, but they don’t give me a sense of change over time. So I’m noting them here weekly as well.
This past weekend was the annual Big Book Sale by the Friends of the Seattle Public Library, so I should have enough music to last me for weeks, right? Right.
Catalog
CDs
- Anita Baker, Giving You the Best That I Got
- Beastie Boys, Check Your Head
- Victor Borge, Live(!)
- Glenn Branca, Symphony No. 2: Peak of the Sacred
- Cameo, Word Up!
- Capercaillie, Secret People
- John Coltrane, Giant Steps
- John Coltrane, Meditations
- John Coltrane, My Favorite Things
- John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
- Eazy-E, Eazy-Duz-It
- Bill Evans Trio, Waltz for Debby
- Fugazi, End Hits
- Peter Gabriel, Shaking the Tree
- Guns N’ Roses, G N’ R Lies
- Heart, Bad Animals
- The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced?
- Ketsumeshi, Ketsunopolis 4
- LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out
- Milt Jackson and John Coltrane, Bags and Trane
- Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark
- Morrissey, The Best of Morrissey
- Mother Love Bone, Mother Love Bone
- Nirvana, Incesticide
- Robert Palmer, Clues
- Prince, Musicology
- R.E.M., Dead Letter Office
- Radiohead, The Bends
- Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine
- Einojuhani Rautvaara, Symphony No. 7: Angel of Light / Annunciations
- Sonny Rollins, Saxophone Colossus
- Roxy Music, Avalon (Remastered)
- Soundgarden, Ultramega OK
- Bruce Springsteen, The Rising
- They Might Be Giants, Flood
- TLC, Ooooooohhh… On the TLC Tip
- Värttinä, Seleniko
- Soundtrack, Pride and Prejudice
DVD
- Tokyo Jihen, Dynamite Out
Tags: anita baker, beastie boys, bill evans, bruce springsteen, cameo, capercaillie, eazy-e, einojuhani rautvaara, fugazi, glenn branca, guns n' roses, heart, jimi hendrix, john coltrane, johnny hartman, joni mitchell, ketsumeshi, ll cool j, milt jackson, morrissey, mother love bone, nirvana, peter gabriel, prince, purchase log, r.e.m., radiohead, rage against the machine, robert palmer, roxy music, sonny rollins, soundgarden, soundtrack, they might be giants, tlc, tokyo jihen, varttina, victor borge