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 first half of the 2004 list has remained unchanged. The last half has undergone extensive revision.
Arcade Fire, Funeral
Eluvium, An Accidental Memory in Case of Death
Kicell, Mado Ni Chikyuu
Dylan Rice, Wandering Eyes
The Killers, Hot Fuss
Madvillain, Madvillainy
Loretta Lynn, Van Lear Rose
The Streets, A Grand Don’t Come for Free
Mindy Smith, One Moment More
STRAIGHTENER, LOST WORLD’S ANTHOLOGY
Other favorites from the year:
Pinback, Summer in Abaddon
SUPERCAR, ANSWER
Kanye West, The College Dropout
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Solfa
Bonnie Pink, Even So
Fuji Fabric, Fuji Fabric
Sacha Sacket, Shadowed
m-flo, Astromantic
The Butchies, Make Yr Life
Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters
ZAZEN BOYS, ZAZEN BOYS II
A lot of these revisions are retrospective. I listened to SUPERCAR’s ANSWER when it was reissued on vinyl, and I didn’t find the album as engaging as I originally thought. I’ve come to like Hot Fuss more as time has passed, and I don’t feel as much attachment to Van Lear Rose.
My growing appreciation for hip-hop means Madvillain and The Streets knock Quruli’s Antenna off the list entirely.
I’m still a bit skeptical about keeping Mindy Smith in the Favorite 10, or bumping STRAIGHTENER into the upper echelon. I picked up Pinback’s Summer in Abaddon from Goodwill out of curiosity, and I have a sense that in short time, it will nudge Smith or STRAIGHTENER down to the extended list.
As we go further back to the start of the Aughts, the extended list grows longer. A lot of great music came out at the start of the century. If the Internet hadn’t splintered the mass market, it might have been a galvanizing golden age of popular music.
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 Favorite Edition 2008 spurred this exercise to revisit lists from 10 years ago. While the Favorite 10 has only one change, the other favorites include a number of new discoveries.
Santigold, Santigold
MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS, MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGS
The Magnetic Fields, Distortion
Emmylou Harris, All I Intended to Be
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, World World World
Girl Talk, Feed the Animals
Sam Amidon, All Is Well
Leo Imai, Fix Neon
Nico Muhly, Mothertongue
Spangle call Lilli line, ISOLATION
Other favorites from the year:
Matt Alber, Hide Nothing
ZAZEN BOYS, ZAZEN BOYS 4
Utada Hikaru, HEART STATION
Perfume, GAME
Jennifer Koh, String Poetic
Janelle Monáe, Metropolis: The Chase Suite
Chris Walla, Field Manual
It took me a year and a half to get around to Santigold. I’m not sure why I hadn’t, and I can’t remember what finally spurred me to do so. I’m just glad I did. Chris Walla, unfortunately, must make way.
Perfume, Jennifer Koh and Janelle Monáe are retroactive entries, replacing hey willpower, Bob Mould and VOLA AND THE ORIENTAL MACHINE.
I must have really been tough on Utada Hikaru’s HEART STATION — it didn’t even rank at the time.
Competition for this list was tough. Matt Alber and ZAZEN BOYS could have squeezed into the Favorite 10, and even Janet Jackson and R.E.M. turned out some decent work that year. The cup runneth over.
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.
What I find most remarkable about the 2012 list is the number of albums listed under honorable mentions. The revised list has culled a lot of those titles. I probably listed so many because I didn’t feel passionate enough about any of them.
Solange, True
Santigold, Master of My Make-Believe
Jeremy Denk, Ligeti/Beethoven
… And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Lost Songs
Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE
Cody Chesnutt, Landing on a Hundred
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Landmark
ZAZEN BOYS, Stories
Tokyo Jihen, Shinyawaku
Duran Duran, A Diamond in the Mind
Other favorites from the year:
Scissor Sisters, Magic Hour
Roomful of Teeth, Roomful of Teeth
Gossip, A Joyful Noise
Tokyo Jihen, Tokyo Collection
TOUMING MAGAZINE, TOUMING MAGAZINE FOREVER
OBLIVION DUST, 9 Gates of Bipolar
Gaytheist, Stealth Beats
Cody ChesnuTT dislodges Scissor Sisters from the original list, and Frank Ocean jumps up a few spots. Otherwise, there are no remarkable changes.
If anything, 2012 has turned out to be something of a dud year. When I review my purchases in subsequent years, 2012 releases are scant, and most of the albums I bought that year only garner no more than a 3-star rating.
![[ZAZEN BOYS - Land]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ZAZENBOYSLand.jog_.jpg)
![[MF DOOM - MM..FOOD]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/MFDOOMMMFOOD2007281316_f.jpg)
![[Madvillain - Madvillainy]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/MadvillainMadvillainy2004167285_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Santigold - Santigold]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/SantigoldSantigold200852394_f-300x300.jpg)
![[Cody ChesnuTT - Landing on a Hundred]](https://musicwhore.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/CodyChesnuTTLandingOnAH58620_f-300x300.jpg)