| 5.0 classic |
| Billy Woods Aethiopes |
| My first woods album and still my favorite. woods covers so much ground (and sea) here and ties it all together (helped along by Preservation's fantastically moody beats and/or lack thereof) in such a compelling way. Lots of heavy topics but never didactic or overbearing. Man. This album is so good. |
| Joanna Newsom Have One on Me |
| Madvillain Madvillainy |
| Mount Eerie A Crow Looked at Me |
| it's reasonable not to like or want to listen to the kind of thing this is, but for what it is, it's perfect |
| Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea |
| The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2 |
| I don't give out 5s lightly, but while I can't call this a perfect album, I can't think of a single thing I'd change about it. The yawning spaces in the middle don't drag for me; they push the album's mystique up and leave it in a unique place. I love the way it's all jagged edges and seemingly half-finished tunes after those first three fully formed songs, and the production continues to amaze. |
| 4.5 superb |
| Big Boi Sir Lucious Left Foot |
| Buke and Gase Riposte |
| Buke and Gase General Dome |
| Chat Pile God's Country |
| Danny Brown XXX |
| Alternately over-the-top, terrifying, unhinged, disgusting, and exhilarating, sometimes all five at once, with appropriately oppressive production and even a story of sorts. A couple duds or painful tracks can't keep it from being an overwhelming success. |
| Erykah Badu New Amerykah Pt. One: 4th World War |
| Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel... |
| Future Islands In Evening Air |
| Janelle Monae The ArchAndroid |
| Laura Stevenson Wheel |
| Modest Mouse The Moon & Antarctica |
| Mount Eerie Now Only |
| Just about as perfect as A Crow Looked At Me, though "Earth" has never quite sat right with me and "Two Paintings" is a lesser "Soria Moria" that meanders a bit too much. But the wider focus and palette, and the slightly more abstracted philosophical musings, are kind of a relief and make this an easier and more diverse listen. |
| Okkervil River Black Sheep Boy |
| Pixies Doolittle |
| R.E.M. Automatic for the People |
| R.E.M. Monster |
| Scott Walker Tilt |
| Scott Walker The Drift |
| Shearwater The Great Awakening |
| Biggest grower of the last several years for me. Initially I was turned off by the slow, stately wash of it (especially after getting used to Animal Joy and Jet Plane and Oxbow, both pretty lively) but it really got its hooks in... and there are hooks. The lyrics are skeletal but a lot of lines stick with me. |
| The Decemberists Castaways and Cutouts |
| The Decemberists The Tain |
| Five songs in one, rock solid for all eighteen minutes. Stylistically varied, lyrically impressive, retells a Celtic epic myth, AND it's catchy as hell. |
| The Fiery Furnaces Blueberry Boat |
| The Mountain Goats We Shall All Be Healed |
| The Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree |
| The Mountain Goats Zopilote Machine |
| U2 Achtung Baby |
| Why? Alopecia |
