The Movies, Books, Theater, Concerts, CDs Etc. I've Seen/Read So Far In 2014

Updated July 17, 2014

MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES

1. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) **
2. 20 Feet From Stardom **
3. The Wolf Of Wall Street ** 1/2
4. In The House (Ozon) ***
5. Laurence Anyways *** 1/2
6. The Angels' Share ***
7. Philomena **
8. Mad Love (1935 w Peter Lorre) *
9. Women In The Wind (1939 w Kay Francis) **
10. The Hunt *** 1/2
11. Happy People: A Year In The Taiga ***
12. The Painting ** 1/2
13. The Spectacular Now *** 1/2
14. Dallas Buyers Club * 1/2
15. Blue Jasmine ** 1/2
16. The Story Of The Last Chrysanthemum (1939) ***
17. The Harvey Girls (1946) * 1/2
18. Cairo Station (1958) *** 1/2
19. Hannah Arendt * 1/2
20. The Act Of Killing *** 1/2
21. To The Wonder ***/
22. No ***
23. American Hustle **
24. Stories We Tell ***
25. Only God Forgives ***
26. Computer Chess ** 1/2
27. The Past ***
28. Captain America: The Winter Soldier ***
29. Blue Ruin ***
30. X-Men: Days Of Future Past **
31. Snowpiercer ***
32. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes *** /
33. Vicious (UK TV series) **
34. Endeavour Series Two ** 1/2




BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

1. Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman ***
2. A King's Ransom by Sharon Kay Penman *** 1/2
3. Cinnamon Kiss by Walter Mosley ***
4. The Voyages Of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting **
5. Blonde Faith by Walter Mosley *** 1/2
6. God's Country by Percival Everett ***
7. The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman ***
8. Cruel As The Grave by Sharon Kay Penman ***
9. Dragon's Lair by Sharon Kay Penman ***
10. Prince Of Darkness by Sharon Kay Penman ***
11. This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz ****
12. Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick ***
13. Floors by Patrick Carman **
14. The Book Without Words by Avi ** 1/2
15. The Astonishing Life Of Octavian Nothing Volume I: The Pox Party ****
16. The Astonishing Life Of Octavian Nothing Volume 2: The Kingdom On The Waters ****
17. A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving ***
18. Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe ***/
19. The Noble Hustle by Colson Whitehead ***
20. Six Amendments by John Paul Stevens **
21. The Devil's Workshop by Alex Grecian ** 1/2
22. Three Brothers by Peter Ackroyd ***
23. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
24. Half Magic by Edward Eager ***
25. Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich **
26. The Three Emperors by William Dietrich ** 1/2
27. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon ** 1/2
28. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling ***
29. The Path To Power: The Years Of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro ****
30. The Land Of Steady Habits by Ted Thompson ***
31. Jack Of Spies by David Downing **
32. The Quick by Lauren Owen **
33. Enduring Courage:Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker... by John F. Ross ** 1/2
34. Playing By The Book by S. Chris Shirley * 1/2
35. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Carey ***/
36. Southern League: A True Story Of Baseball, Civil Rights.... by Larry Carlton ***
37. The Secret History by Donna Tartt *** 1/2
38. Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb ***/
39. The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm **
40. Cop Town by Karin Slaughter ***
41. The Spark and the Drive by Wayne Harrison *** 1/2
42. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr *** 1/2
43. Lucky Us by Amy Bloom ***
44. The Late Scholar (A Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane mystery) by Jill Paton Walsh ***
45. Neverhome by Laird Hunt ***/
46. A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre *** 1/2
47. The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman ***/
48. The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman ***/
49. Thieftaker by D.B. Jackson ** 1/2
50. The House Of The Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory ** 1/2
51. In The Kingdom Of Ice by Hampton Sides ***/
52. The Young World by Chris Weitz ***
53. Lincoln's Gamble by Todd Brewster ** 1/2
54. Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron ** 1/2
55. Fup by Jim Dodge *** 1/2
56. The Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein ** 1/2
57. Skink -- No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen ***/

 

THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS THEATER CONCERTS

1. Rodney King at Public Under The Radar (January 9, 2014) ***
2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (January 9, 2014) **
3. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (January 10, 2014)***
4. Hard Times (January 11, 2014) ** 1/2
5. I Could Say More (January 13, 2014) no stars
6. The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner (Jan 17, 2014) **
7. Machinal (w Rebecca Hall; Jan 21, 2014) ***
8. Outside Mullingar (w Debra Messing; Jan 24, 2014) ***
9. A Man's A Man (at CSC w music by Duncan Sheik) **
10. The Tribute Artist (Charles Busch) ** 1/2
11. Love and Information ** 1/2
12. Transport (at Irish Rep) **
13. Prince Igor (at the Met) **
14. The Bridges Of Madison County ** 1/2
15. Kung Fu (at Signature) **
16. Stage Kiss ***
17. Satchmo At The Waldorf ***
18. Antony And Cleopatra (at Public w Jonathan Cake) **
19. All The Way (w Bryan Cranston) ** 1/2
20. The Open House (Will Eno at Signature) ** 1/2
21. Wozzeck (at Met w Deborah Voigt, Thomas Hampson, Simon O'Neill) **
22. Hand To God ***
23. Tales From Red Vienna (w Nina Arianda) **
24. Appropriate (at Signature) *
25. Rocky * 1/2
26. Aladdin ***
27. Mothers and Sons **
28. Les Miserables *** 1/2
29. Breathing Time * 1/2
30. Cirque Du Soleil's Amaluna * 1/2
31. Heathers The Musical * 1/2
32. Red Velvet at St. Ann's Warehouse ***
33. Broadway By The Year 1940-1964 *** 1/2
34. A Second Chance **
35. Guys And Dolls (one night only at Carnegie Hall w Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Patrick Wilson) *** 1/2
36. If/Then * 1/2
37. The Threepenny Opera (w F. Murray Abraham) * 1/2
38. A Raisin In The Sun (w Denzel Washington) *** 1/2
39. The Heir Apparent (David Ives at Classic Stage Company) *** 1/2
40. The Realistic Joneses ***
41. Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill (w Audra McDonald) ***
42. The Library **
43. South Pacific at Papermill Playhouse ** 1/2
44. Violet ***
45. Bullets Over Broadway **
46. Of Mice and Men **
47. The World Is Round (at BAM) ***
48. Your Mother's Copy Of The Kama Sutra **
49. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (w Neil Patrick Harris) ***
50. The Cripple Of Inishmaan (w Daniel Radcliffe) ***
51. The Great Immensity * 1/2
52. Casa Valentina ** 1/2
53. Act One **
54. Inventing Mary Martin **
55. Cabaret (w Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams) ***
56. An Octoroon *** 1/2
57. Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging ***
58. Here Lies Love *** 1/2
59. Sixth Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition ***
60. Sea Marks * 1/2
61. A Time-Traveler's Trip To Niagara * 1/2
62. Selected Shorts: Neil Gaiman ***
63. Broadway By The Year: 1965-1989 ***
64. In The Park (Edgar Oliver) **
65. Daniel Kitson comedy extravaganza ** 1/2
66. Too Much Sun (Nicky Silver w Linda Lavin) * 1/2
67. The Essential Straight And Narrow ** 1/2
68. When We Were Young And Unafraid **
69. Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare in the Park w Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater) ***
70. Savion Glover's Om **
71. Broadway By The Year 1990-2014 ***
72. The Lion (one-man show Benjamin Scheuer) ***/
73. Holler If Ya Hear Me (Tupac Shakur musical) * 1/2
74. Cole Porter's The Ambassador Revue at Town Hall ** 1/2
75. Dubliners: A Quartet (the Greene Space of WNYC/WQXR) ***
76. The National High School Musical Theater Awards 2014 *** 1/2


CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS CDS (Only the CDs I've listened to thoroughly and with a strong emphasis on the ones I like, so don't think I love everything I listen to -- I just don't bother really listening to the ones I don't like more than once and don't think it's fair to rate on a cursory listen)

1. Bruce Springsteen -- High Hopes ** 1/2 /
2. Jimmer Podrasky -- The Would-Be Plans ***/
3. Suzanne Vega -- Tales From the Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles ***
4. Sharon Jones -- Give The People What They Want *** 1/2
5. Van Dyke Parks -- Song Cycled *** 1/2
6. Ronnie Milsap -- Summer Number Seventeen **
7. Drake Bell -- Ready Steady Go ***/
8. 5 Seconds Of Summer -- She's So Perfect EP **
9. Robert Cray -- In My Soul ***
10. Asia -- Gravitas **
11. Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison -- Our Year ***/
12. Michael Jackson -- Xscape **
13. The Grass Roots -- The Complete Dunhill and ABC Hit Singles ***
14. Beck -- Morning Phase *** 1/2
15. Daniella Cotton -- Woodstock EP ***/
16. Lone Justice -- This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes ***
17. The Feeling -- Boy Cried Wolf *** 1/2
18. Coner Oberst -- Upside Down Mountain ***
19. Ben Watt -- Hendra ***
20. Coldplay -- Ghost Stories ** 1/2
21. Dolly Parton -- Blue Smoke ***
22. David Crosby -- Croz * 1/2
23. Neil Young -- A Letter Home ***
24. The Black Keys -- Turn Blue ** 1/2
25. The Roots -- ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin ***
26. The Singers Unlimited -- (Almost) Complete **
27. Bettye Swann -- The Complete Atlantic Recordings *** 1/2
28. Hank Williams -- The Garden Spot Program ***
29. Kaiser Chiefs -- Education, Education, Education...War *** 1/2
30. Michele Stodardt -- Wide-Eyed Crossing ** 1/2
31. Sonny Rollins -- Road Show Vol. 3 ***
32. Withered Hands -- New Gods ** 1/2
33. R.E.M. -- Unplugged 1991-2001 The Complete Collection ***/
34. Afghan Whigs -- Do To The Beast **
35. Brian Eno and Karl Hyde -- Someday World *** 1/2
36. Damon Albarn -- Everyday Robots *** 1/2
37. Doc Watson -- The Definitive Doc Watson ***
38. Don Williams -- Reflections ** 1/2
39. Echo and the Bunnymen -- Meteorites **
40. Keith Jarrett -- Somewhere *** 1/2
41. Mary Love -- The Complete Modern and the Best of the Co Love Sides **
42. Lucky Peterson -- I'm Back Again **
43. Michael Bloomfield -- From His Head To His Heart To His Hands ***
44. Rodney Crowell -- Tarpaper Sky ** 1/2
45. St. Vincent -- St. Vincent ** 1/2
46. Bob Mould -- Beauty and Ruin ***/
47. Hamilton Leithauser -- Dark Hours *** 1/2
48. Henry Thomas -- Bull Doze Blues *** 1/2
49. The Belle Brigade -- Just Because ***/
50. Meaghan Smith -- Have A Heart ***
51. Nick Waterhouse -- Holly ** 1/2
52. Steve Moakler -- Wide Open **
53. Chris Robinson Brothers -- Phosphorescent Harvest **
54. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah -- Only Run **
55. Blondie -- Ghosts Of Download ** 1/2 (single "Sugar on the Side" is great)
56. The Brian Jonestown Massacre -- Revelation ** 1/2
57. Amy LaVere -- Runaway's Diary *** 1/2
58. Broken Records -- Weights and Pulleys **
59. Catie Curtis -- Flying Dream **
60. Craft Spells -- Nausea **
61. Curtis Stigers -- Hooray For Love ***
62. Everlife -- The End Of Everything ** (but song "Three Little Girls" pretty great)
63. Greg Ashley -- Another Generation Of Slaves *** 1/2
64. Blackbird Blackbird -- Tangerine Sky **




Updated July 17, 2014

Best Albums Of The Year -- The Master List

THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR

For people who always ask, "What are your favorite albums?" here's the answer. I start with my top pick from each year as a sort of uber list. No, it's not "the most important albums" period, just the album that meant the most to me from each year and usually that meant the album I played the most. Some years the choice was obvious, other times a few battled it out. But you could do worse as a music buff than making sure you listen to all my #1 picks. I follow this list with a breakdown of my favorite albums year by year.

THE BEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME (MY #1 PICK FROM EACH YEAR 1924 TO THE PRESENT)

THE 2010s

KAISER CHIEFS -- Education, Education, Education and War (2014 -- work-in-progress)
JANELLE MONAE -- The Electric Lady (2013)
RUMER -- Seasons Of My Soul/Boys Don't Cry (2012)
FLEET FOXES -- Hopelessness Blues (2011)
THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- The Wild Hunt (2010)


THE 2000s

THE AVETT BROTHERS -- I And Love And You (2009)
WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS -- Two Men With The Blues (2008)
SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- 100 Days 100 Nights (2007)
CORINNE BAILEY RAE -- Corinne Bailey Rae (2006 -- tie)
JAMES HUNTER -- People Gonna Talk (2006 -- tie)
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Illinois (2005)
GREEN DAY -- American Idiot (2004)
THE WHITE STRIPES -- Elephant (2003)
NORAH JONES -- Come Away With Me (2002)
MANU CHAO -- Proxima Estacion: Esperanza (2001)
EMINEM -- The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)


THE 1990s

DAVID GRAY -- White Ladder (1999)
BILLY BRAGG AND WILCO -- Mermaid Avenue (1998)
RADIOHEAD -- O.K. Computer (1997)
BECK -- Odelay (1996)
THE MAVERICKS -- Music For All Occasions (1995 -- tie)
ALISON KRAUSS -- Now That I've Found You: A Collection (1995 -- tie)
JOHNNY CASH -- American Recordings (1994)
CASSANDRA WILSON -- Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993)
kd lang -- Ingenue (1992)
NIRVANA -- Nevermind (1991)
MADONNA -- The Immaculate Collection (1990)


THE 1980s

BEASTIE BOYS -- Paul's Boutique (1989)
PUBLIC ENEMY -- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)
DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT, EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Trio (1987)
PAUL SIMON -- Graceland (1986 -- tie)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume One (1986 -- tie)
BARBRA STREISAND -- The Broadway Album (1985 -- tie)
PREFAB SPROUT -- Steve McQueen aka Two Wheels Good (1985 -- tie)
U2 -- The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
R.E.M. -- Murmur (1983)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Nebraska (1982)
QUEEN -- Greatest Hits (1981)
JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO -- Double Fantasy (1980)


THE 1970s

THE CLASH -- London Calling (1979)
WILLIE NELSON -- Stardust (1978)
STEELY DAN -- Aja (1977)
STEVIE WONDER -- Songs In The Key Of Life (1976)
BOB DYLAN -- Blood On The Tracks/The Basement Tapes (1975)
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974)
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Catch A Fire/Burnin' (1973)
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Greatest Hits (1972)
JONI MITCHELL -- Blue (1971)
RANDY NEWMAN -- 12 Songs (1970 -- tie)
HARRY NILSSON -- Nilsson Sings Newman (1970 -- tie)


THE 1960s

THE BEATLES -- Abbey Road (1969)
VAN MORRISON -- Astral Weeks (1968)
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) (1967)
THE BEACH BOYS -- Pet Sounds (1966 -- tie)
BOB DYLAN -- Blonde on Blonde (1966 -- tie)
THE BEATLES -- Rubber Soul (1965)
STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO -- Getz/Gilberto (1964)
PATSY CLINE -- The Patsy Cline Story (1963)
RAY CHARLES -- Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music Vol 1 and 2 (1962)
BILL EVANS -- Sunday At The Village Vanguard/Waltz For Debby (1961)
ELLA FITZGERALD -- The Intimate Ella (1960)


THE 1950s

MILES DAVIS -- Kind Of Blue/Workin'/Porgy and Bess (1959)
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1 (1958)
LERNER AND LOEWE -- My Fair Lady Original Broadway Cast (1957)
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (1956)
FRANK SINATRA -- In The Wee Small Hours (1955)
DINAH WASHINGTON -- Dinah Jams (1954)
PEGGY LEE -- Black Coffee (1953)
VARIOUS ARTISTS/HARRY SMITH -- The Anthology Of American Folk Music (1952)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits (1951)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Decca Recordings (1944-1950) (1950)


THE 1940s

DJANGO REINHARDT -- Djangology 49 (1949)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits (1948)
WOODY GUTHRIE -- Songs To Grow On: Nursery Days aka For Mother And Child (1947)
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951) (1946)
BING CROSBY -- Merry Christmas (1945)
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- Oklahoma! (1944)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 (1943)
FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor (1942)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band (1941)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band/1937-1940 on Classics Label (1940)


THE 1930s

GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller (1939)
BENNY GOODMAN -- Benny Goodman At Carnegie Hall (1938)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 3-4 1936-1937 (1937)
ROBERT JOHNSON -- King Of The Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1 (1936)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Decca 1934-1954] (1935)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954] (1934)
BESSIE SMITH -- The Collection (1933)
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings (1932)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934] (1931)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930/1924-1930 on Classics Label (1930)


THE 1920s

CHARLEY PATTON -- King Of The Delta Blues (1929-1934) (1929)
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings (1928)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1927)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1926)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings (1925)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label (1924)





THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2014 (work-in-progress)

SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- Give The People What They Want
JIMMER PODRASKY -- The Would-Be Plans
THE PIXIES -- Indie Cindy
SUZANNE VEGA -- Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles
DRAKE BELL -- Ready Steady Go
KELLY WILLIS AND BRUCE ROBISON -- Our Year
BECK -- Morning Phase
THE FEELING -- Boy Cried Wolf
BETTYE SWANN -- The Complete Atlantic Recordings
KAISER CHIEFS -- Education, Education, Education and War
BRIAN ENO AND KARL HYDE -- Someday World
DAMON ALBARN -- Everyday Robots
BOB MOULD -- Beauty and Ruin
HAMILTON LEITHAUSER -- Dark Hours
HENRY THOMAS -- Bull Doze Blues
AMY LAVERE -- Runaway's Diary




THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2013

1-10ish
JANELLE MONAE -- The Electric Lady
DAVID BOWIE -- The Next Day
PAUL MCCARTNEY -- New
FRANK TURNER -- Tape Deck Heart
BOMBINO -- Nomad
LINDA THOMPSON -- Won't Be Long Now
ARCTIC MONKEYS -- AM
VAMPIRE WEEKEND -- Modern Vampires Of The City
JAMES COTTON -- Cotton Mouth Man
KEITH JARRETT -- Somewhere
PATTY GRIFFIN -- American Kid and Silver Bell


11-20
BOB DYLAN -- Another Self Portrait
THE LONE BELLOW -- The Lone Bellow
DAFT PUNK -- Random Access Memories
LORDE -- Pure Heroin(e)
EMINEM -- The Marshall Mathers LP2
JOHN MAYER -- Paradise Valley
KELLY WILLIS AND BRUCE ROBISON -- Cheater's Game
KODALINE -- In A Perfect World
PANIC! AT THE DISCO -- Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die
MAVIS STAPLES -- One True Vine

21-30
THE WATERBOYS -- Fisherman Box
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Electric
RHYE -- Woman
LAURA MVULA -- Sing To The Moon
BRAD PAISLEY -- Wheelhouse
THE MAVERICKS -- In Time
RON SEXSMITH -- Forever Endeavor
KING KRULE -- 6 Feet Beneath The Moon
MIDLAKE -- Antiphon

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Divided and United: Songs Of The Civil War

31-40

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ROOTS -- Wake Up Ghost
CAGE THE ELEPHANT -- Melophobia

GUY CLARK -- My Favorite Picture Of You

BASTILLE -- Bad Blood

ALLEN TOUSSAINT -- Songbook

DANNY BROWN -- Old

THE AVETT BROTHERS -- Magpie and the Dandelion
HOLLY WILLIAMS -- The Highway
KACEY MUSGRAVES -- Same Trailer, Different Park
LITTLE GREEN CARS -- Absolute Zero

41-48
BILLIE JOE ARMSTRONG AND NORAH JONES -- Foreverly
WILLIAM TYLER -- Impossible Truth
JASON ISBELL -- Southeastern
LINDI ORTEGA -- Tin Star
VAN DYKE PARKS -- Song Cycled
THE CIVIL WARS -- The Civil Wars
PREFAB SPROUT -- Crimson Red
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Inside Llewyn Davis
TIM CHRISTENSEN -- Pure McCartney





THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2012


1. RUMER -- Seasons Of My Soul/Boys Don't Cry (70s pop perfection)
2. BRANFORD MARSALIS -- Four MF's Playin' Their Tunes (hard-driving jazz; faultless)
3. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- There's No Leaving Now(inspiringly good Dylanesque rock)
4. FRANK OCEAN -- Channel Orange (state of the art soul)
5. PAUL BUCHANAN -- Mid Air (emotionally intense, late night confessions)
BILL FAY -- Life Is People (age+wisdom+piano+God)
6. JOHANN JOHANNSSON -- The Miners' Hymns (the film score of the year)
7. FIONA APPLE -- The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (pop artist at peak of her powers)
8. JAMEY JOHNSON -- Living For A Dream: A Tribute To Hank Cochran (all-star country hoedown)
9. DR. JOHN -- Locked Down (triumphant New Orleans music)
10. MUMFORD AND SONS -- Babel (flowering of Americana)
      THE LUMINEERS -- The Lumineers
      PIGPEN THEATRE CO. -- Bremen
      THE AVETT BROTHERS -- The Carpenter


11. KASEY CHAMBERS AND SHANE NICHOLSON -- Wreck And Ruin (world class folk-country-blues)
12. NAS -- Life Is Good (rap for grown ups)
13. LEONARD COHEN -- Old Ideas (magisterial pop)
14. JOSEPHINE -- Portrait (two English lasses with talent to burn)
      LIANNA LA HAVAS -- Is Your Love Big Enough
15. GRANT LEE-PHILLIPS -- Walking In The Green Corn (acoustic gem)
16. ANTIBALAS -- Antibalas (Fela Kuti lives!)
17. IRIS DEMENT -- Sing The Delta (comeback of the year)
      BOO HANS WITH DON FLEMONS -- Buffalo Junction
18. VIJAY AYER TRIO -- Accelerando (jazz piano)
      BRAD MEHLDAU -- Where Do You Start/Ode
19. THE HIVES -- Lex Hives (rock, by god)
      JAPANDROID -- Celebration Rock
      THE DOUGHBOYS -- Shakin' Our Souls
20. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Wrecking Ball (life in them old dogs yet)
      BOB DYLAN -- Tempest


21. CHRIS SMITHER -- Hundred Dollar Valentine (blues master)
22. DIANA KRALL -- Glad Rag Doll (digging deeper jazz talent)
23. ED SHEERAN -- + (thoughtful British pop)
24. KENDRICK LAMAR -- good kid, mA.A.d city (rap smarts)
25. MELODY GARDOT -- The Absence (singular voice heads to Brazil)
26. FATHER JOHN MISTY -- Fear Fun (Fleet Foxes redux, in a good way)
      DAMIEN JURADO -- Maraqopa
      LORD HURON -- Impossible Dreams
      BOY AND BEAR -- Moonfire
27. THE TIME JUMPERS -- The Time Jumpers (Western swing)
28. NEIL YOUNG AND CRAZY HORSE -- Psychedelic Pill/Americana (still kicking, still stinging)
29. WILLIAM TYLER -- Impossible Truth (guitar instrumental) (officially out March 2013)
30. BETTYE LAVETTE -- Thankful N' Thoughtful (soul survivor)


31. BILLY BRAGG AND WILCO -- Mermaid Avenue Volume 3 (unexpected gem from vault)
32. MICHAEL KIWANUKA -- Home Again (70s soul circa Bill Withers)
      MIGUEL -- Kaleidoscope Dream (70s soul circa Marvin Gaye)
33. REGINA SPEKTOR -- What We Saw From The Cheap Seats (quirky pop)
      NORAH JONES -- Little Broken Hearts (leaving jazz behind)
34. JACK WHITE -- Blunderbuss (eclectic; electric)
35. TAME IMPALA -- Lonerism (psychedelica redefined)
36. GREEN DAY -- Uno!/Dos!/Tres! (purging punk pop)
37. BRANDI CARLILE -- Bear Creek (an indie voice in the wilderness)
38. RAVI COLTRANE -- Spirit Fiction (jazz royalty, wearing the crown well)
39. JOHN MAYER -- Born And Raised (skip the interviews, play the music)
40. PUNCH BROTHERS -- Who's Feeling Young Now?/Ahoy (bluegrass expanded)
      JASON ALDEAN -- Night Train (country demanded)
     DWIGHT YOAKUM -- 3 Pears (rebel remanded)


41. BRIAN ENO -- Lux (genius in solo instrumental mode)
42. BRUNO MARS -- Unorthodox Jukebox (Michael Jackson's heir apparent)
43. SUZANNE VEGA -- Close Up Vol. 4: Songs Of Family (revealing catalog)
44. JAKE BUGG -- Jake Bugg (promising UK folkie)
45. BAND OF HORSES -- Mirage Rock (career best for rockers)
46. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- Love At The Bottom Of The Sea (miserablist pop)
47. BRYAN FERRY -- The Jazz Age (left turn instrumentals)
48. DAVID BYRNE AND ST. VINCENT -- Love This Giant (a rock giant shows signs of life)
49. DAMON ALBARN -- Dr. Dee (pastoral concept album about English eccentric)
50. KRIS KRISTOFFERSON -- Feeling Mortal (one foot in the grave country)


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2011


1. FLEET FOXES -- Helplessness Blues (CSN rocks out)
2. TOM WAITS -- Bad As Me (bohemian troubadour in top form)
3. KING CREOSOTE AND JON HOPKINS -- Diamond Mine (quirky concept album, gorgeously done)
4. GILLIAN WELCH -- The Harrow and the Harvest (simple, straightforward, striking folk)
5. TEDDY THOMPSON -- Bella / kd lang Sing It Loud
    RON SEXSMITH -- Long Player, Late Bloomer (pure pop by pure pros)
6. WYNTON MARSALIS AND ERIC CLAPTON -- Play the Blues
    BRANFORD MARSALIS AND JOEY CALDARAZZO -- Songs of Mirth and Melancholy (trad jazz)
7. GLEN CAMPBELL -- Ghost on the Canvas (haunting country pop)
8. BOMBINO -- Agadez (Tuareg rocks!)
    BOUBACAR TRAORE -- Mali Denhou (gentle African guitar)
    LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO -- Songs From a Zulu Farm (ecstatic and playful children's music)
9. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African American Gospel on 45 RPM (1957-1982) (lo-fi, high flying gospel that's so good you'll convert)
10. ADELE -- 21 (unstoppable soul diva)

***

11. GROUPLOVE -- Never Trust a Happy Song (raucous LA pop-rock)
12. PANIC! AT THE DISCO -- Vices and Virtues (sterling but overlooked pop-rock)
13. NICK LOWE -- The Old Magic (vintage wine, vintage bottle)
14. WILD FLAG -- Wild Flag (giving super groups a good name)
15. BRAD MEHLDAU -- Modern Music (dependably adventurous jazz trio)
      COLIN VALLON -- Rruger (bold EU trio following in Mehldau's wake)
16. JAY-Z AND KANYE WEST -- Watch the Throne (braggadocio taken to new heights)
17. BON IVER -- Bon Iver (stares down success with quiet confidence)
18. BALLAKE SISSOKO AND VINCENT SEGAL -- Chamber Music (delicate instrumentals)
19. PAUL SIMON -- So Beautiful or So What (mortality, musically)
20. BETH HART AND JOE BONAMASSA -- Don't Explain (the blues, thumpingly good)

***

21. PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND AND DEL MCCOURY BAND -- American Legacies (an institution finds new life via collaboration)
22. AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE -- When the Heart Emerges Glistening (quietly probing jazz)
23. JAMES BLAKE -- James Blake (trippy pop)
24. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Live From the Old Town School (folk's beating heart)
25. GIRLS -- Father, Son, Holy Ghost (interesting identity crisis)
26. TINARIWEN -- Tassili (bluesy, distinctive, campfire sing-alongs)
27. JOY FORMIDABLE -- The Big Roar (noisy pop)
28. DARI0 MARINELLI WITH JACK LIEBECK -- Jane Eyre soundtrack (the year's best score)
      MATTHEW COOPER -- Some Days Are Better Than Others (the year's best untraditional score)
29. THE CORAL -- Butterfly House
      THE MAGIC NUMBERS -- Runaway (pop, unimported, unrecognized)
30. PISTOL ANNIES -- Pistol Annies
      MIRANDA LAMBERT -- Four The Record (country's top gal and friends)

***

31. THE LOW ANTHEM -- Smart Flesh (brainy Americana)
32. CHARLIE HADEN AND QUARTET WEST -- Sophisticated Ladies (female singers, jazz swingers)
33. THE BLACK KEYS -- El Camino (rock, no fuss)
34. M83 -- Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (ambient pop)
35. ALISON KRAUSS AND UNION STATION -- Paper Airplanes
      JOHN HIATT -- Dirty Jeans and Mudslide Hymns (old dogs, old tricks, happily so)
36. BEASTIE BOYS -- Hot Sauce Committee, Part Two (feisty hip-hop from the old-timers)
37. BEN HOWARD -- Every Kingdom (gentle pop)
      MIKE BLOOM -- King Of Circles (warm singer-songwriter vibe for this solo debut)
38. VINICIUS CANTUARIA AND BILL FRISELL -- Lagrimas Mexicanas (two great guitars, one great voice equal haunting Latin music)/
39. THE GOURDS -- Old Mad Joy (rootsy celebration)
      MARC BROUSSARD -- Marc Broussard (bluesy rock)
40. SUZANNE VEGA -- Close-Up Volume 3: State Of Being (acoustic songs, electric songwriting)

***

41. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Those Shocking, Shaking Days: Indonesia Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock and Funk (1970-1978) (rock and roll knows no borders)
42. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Book of Mormon Original Cast Album (religiously funny)
43. DRAKE -- Take Care (emo-rap)
      SHABAZZ PALACES -- Black Up
44. BRAD PAISLEY -- This Is Country Music (yes it is)
      STEVE EARLE -- I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (determined, focused country)
45. MEGAFAUN -- Megafaun ('70s-ish rock)
46. FATOUMATA DIAWARA -- Fatou (Malian guitar talent combined with impeccable vocals)               KHAIRA ARBY -- Timbukto Traab (country to Diawara's city sound; not locale so much as the gritty, rawer feel)
47. HOUSTON PERSON -- So Nice (late period capper for understated jazz blower)
48. REAL ESTATE -- Days -- (shimmering indie pop)
49. EILEEEN JEWELL -- Queen of the Minor Key (sneakily impressive)
50. FRANK OCEAN -- nostalgia/ultra (backward/forward looking moody pop)



THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2010



1. THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH -- The Wild Hunt/Sometimes The Blues Is Just A Passing Bird (Dylanesque folk-rock)
2. PETER WOLF -- Midnight Souvenirs (raucous career peak)
3. ALI FARKA TOURE AND TOUMANI DIABTE -- Ali And Toumani (transcendent world music)
4. ARCADE FIRE -- The Suburbs (state of the art rock)
5. JANELLE MONAE -- The ArchAndroid
    ERYKAH BADU -- New Amerykah Part Two: Return of The Ankh (Prince-like funky soul pop craziness)
6. BUDDY GUY -- Living Proof (ferocious blues)
7. EMINEM -- Recovery
    KANYE WEST -- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (rap comebacks)
8. JOHN GRANT -- Queen Of Denmark
    MIDLAKE -- The Courage Of Others (gorgeous rock; British folk)
9. KEITH JARRETT AND CHARLIE HADEN -- Jasmine (sublime, beautiful jazz)
10. MUMFORD AND SONS -- Sigh No More (literate rock)

***

11. SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS -- I Learned The Hard Way (soul -- not retro, just timeless)
12. SUFJAN STEVENS -- All Delighted People EP (nutty rock)
13. ROBERT PLANT -- Band Of Joy (folk-rock, Fairport Convention via Nashville)
14. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Afrocubism (Buena Vista Social Club spliced with Malian pop)
15. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE -- Danger Days (anthemic rock)
16. TRACEY THORN -- Love and Its Opposite (adult pop)
17. PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND -- Preservation (an all-star album that actually works)
18. BRUNO MARS -- Doo-Wops And Hooligans
      ROBYN -- Body Talk (irresistible pop)
19. GORILLAZ -- Plastic Beach (genre-jumping rock)
20. NEIL YOUNG -- Le Noise (stomping folk)

***

21. CAROLINA CHOCOLATE DROPS -- Genuine Negro Jigs (trad, modern, country, folk, blues, unclassifiable)
22. ELIZABETH AND THE CATAPULTS  -- Other Side Of Zero (promising debut)
23. BEACH HOUSE -- Teen Dreams (alterna-pop)
24. JAMEY JOHNSON -- The Guitar Song (no fuss country)
25. BEST COAST -- Crazy For You (lo-fi Beach Boys pop)
26. BRENDAN JAMES -- Brendan James (a career peak)
27. THE BLACK KEYS -- Brothers (smart rock)
28. HOLE -- Nobody's Daughter (Courtney Love doesn't get any respect but deserves it)
29. CYRUS CHESNUTT - Journeys (trad jazz done with class)
30. SADE -- Soldier Of Love (smooth pop, never misses a beat)

***

31. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Classic Appalachian Blues (a rich vein of folk blues)
32. THE NATIONAL -- High Violet (moody rock sounds more like the Swans every day)
33. THE ROOTS -- How I Got Over (hip-hop for adults)
34. SUZANNE VEGA -- Close Up Vol 1: Love Songs (folk-pop)
35. ELTON JOHN AND LEON RUSSELL -- The Union (old friends, strong new music)
36. SHE AND HIM -- Volume 2 (girl group pop)
37. FOXES IN FICTION -- Swung From The Branches (swirly, headphone rock)
38. LIL BAND O' GOLD -- Lil Band O' Gold (New Orleans gem)
39. ELIZABETH MITCHELL -- Sunny Day (infectious kids' music)
40. LIONEL LUEKE -- Mwaliko (sophisticated jazz)

***

41. TOM JONES -- Praise And Blame (joyful gospel)
42. WILLIAM TYLER -- Behold The Spirit (terrific instrumental a la Fahey)
43. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Sound of Siam (eye-opening Asian pop)
44. VAMPIRE WEEKEND -- Contra (world pop)
      TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB -- Tourist History (if Vampire Weekend had a kid brother)
45. ELVIS COSTELLO -- National Ransom (rootsy rock from the genre-hopping savant)
46. 3 FERVENT TRAVELERS -- Time For Three (bluegrass taken out of the museum)
47. CORINNE BAILEY RAE -- The Sea (dark, vulnerable pop)
48. MEAGHAN SMITH -- The Cricket's Orchestra (refined pop)
49. DENNIS BROWN -- The Crown Prince Of Reggae: Singles 1972-1985 (incomplete but still great anthology)
50. CASSANDRA WILSON -- Silver Pony (jazz vocals, classy)
      BRIAN ENO -- Small Craft On A Milk Sea (electronic noodling)




THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2009


1. THE AVETT BROTHERS -- I And Love And You (Americana)
    REGINA SPEKTOR -- Far (quirky pop via Russian kitsch)
2. ELLA FITZGERALD -- Twelve Nights In Hollywood (swinging jazz vocalese)
3. MAXWELL -- BLACKsummers'night (Seventies soul)
4. WILLIE NELSON -- American Classic (Stardust II)
     ROSANNE CASH -- The List (the Great American Songbook, country style)
5. MADELEINE PEYROUX -- Bare Bones
    MELODY GARDOT -- My One And Only Thrill
    KRISTINA TRAIN -- Spilt Milk (songbirds, via Paris and Memphis)
6. MARK OLSON AND GARY LOURIS -- Ready For The Flood (Jayhawks redux)
7. MAYER HAWTHORNE -- A Strange Arrangement (blue eyed soul)
8. LOUDON WAINWRIGHT -- High, Wide And Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (hilarious, heartfelt blues)
9. THE XX -- The XX (boy-girl dynamics)
    GIRLS -- Album (quietly ambitious rock)
10. DUNCAN SHEIK -- Whisper House (the real twilight soundtrack)

***

11. NELLIE MCKAY -- Normal As Blueberry Pie: A Tribute To Doris Day (effortless old-fashioned pop)
12. THE BLACK CROWES -- Before The Frost...Until The Freeze (roots rock enlivened by a live audience)
13. BRAD PAISLEY -- American Saturday Night (country with a dash of humor)
14. ALLEN TOUSSAINT -- The Bright Mississippi (casual jazz brilliance)
15. PEARL JAM -- Backspacer (the sound of veterans waking up)
      GREEN DAY -- 21st Century Breakdown (worthy successor to American Idiot; really)
16. BASSEKOU KOUYATE -- I Speak Fula
      VIEUX FARKA TOURE -- Fondo (world class world music)
17. CONOR OBERST AND THE MYSTIC VALLEY BAND -- Outer South (Americana)
      ELLIOTT BROOD -- Mountain Meadows (Canadiana)
      LOW ANTHEM -- Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (evolutiona)
18. ALICIA KEYS -- The Element Of Freedom (tougher beats; same talent)
19. M WARD -- Hold Time (faithful pop)
20. RZA -- Afro Samurai: Resurrection
      RAEKWON -- Only Built For Cuban Linx...Part II (keeping the lights on for hip-hop)

***

21. JAMES HAND --  Shadow On The Ground (honky-tonk to its bone)
22. MONSTERS OF FOLK -- Monsters Of Folk (a super supergroup)
23. BRENDAN BENSON -- My Old, Familiar Friend (power pop)
24. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds AND Ghanaian Blues 1968-1981 (Soundways, the world music label du jour, delivers again)
25. MATTHEW SWEET AND SUSANNA HOFFS --  Under The Covers Vol. 2 (Seventies power pop done to perfection)
26. MIRANDA LAMBERT -- Revolution (a Nashville star)
      CLAIRE LYNCH -- Whatcha Gonna Do (bluegrass heaven)
27. PHOENIX -- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (college rock, but still good)
28. SUFJAN STEVENS AND OSSO -- Run Rabbit Run (instrumentals a la Glass)
29. ST. VINCENT -- Actor (quiet/loud/quiet/strange)
30. JAY-Z -- The Blueprint 3 (luxury hip hop)

***

31. JESSE WINCHESTER -- Love Filling Station (journeyman troubadour delivers)
32. PREFAB SPROUT -- Let's Change The World With Music (lost in the vaults gem)
33. GERAINT WATKINS -- In A Bad Mood (Randy Newman and Tom Waits' love child)
34. ELVIS COSTELLO -- Secret, Profane And Sugarcane (elder statesman can still deliver)
35. CHIP TAYLOR -- Yonkers NY (story-song oddity)
36. TORI AMOS --  Midwinter Graces (a holiday album for the ages)
37. DIANA KRALL -- Quiet Nights (Elvis's better half delivers again)
38. THE BLACK HOLLIES -- Softly, Towards The Light (psychedelic nuggets)
39. MIKA -- The Boy Who Knew Too Much (pure pop, with swagger)
40. RICKIE LEE JONES -- Balm In Gilead (return to form)



THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2008


1. WILLIE NELSON AND WYNTON MARSALIS -- Two Men With The Blues
    WYNTON MARSALIS -- Standards and Ballads
2. FLEET FOXES -- Fleet Foxes
    PETER BRODERICK -- Home
3. MAVIS STAPLES -- Live: Hope At The Holdout
4. TEDDY THOMPSON -- A Piece Of What You Need
    kd lang -- Watershed
5. DEL MCCOURY BAND AND VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Moneyland
6. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds And Nigerian Blues 1970-1976
    VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nigeria Disco Funk Special: The Sounds Of The Underground Lagos Dancefloor 1974-1979
7. KAISER CHIEFS -- Off With Their Heads
    THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS -- The Age Of The Understatement
8. BOZ SCAGGS -- Speak Low
9. ERYKAH BADU -- New Amerykah (4th World War) Part One
10. BON IVER -- For Emma, Forever Ago
      BON IVER -- Blood Bank

***

11. B.B. KING -- One Kind Favor
12. Q-TIP -- The Renaissance
      NAS -- Nas
13. PAUL WELLER -- 22 Dreams
14. JENNY LEWIS -- Acid Tongue
15. SAM ROBERTS -- Love At The End Of The World
16. KASEY CHAMBERS AND SHANE NICHOLSON -- Rattlin' Bones
17. SHE AND HIM -- Volume One
18. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- New Orleans Funk Volume 2
19. NEIL DIAMOND -- Home Before Dark
      JOAN BAEZ -- Day After Tomorrow
20. SANTOGOLD -- Santogold

***

21. SONNY ROLLINS -- Road Show Vol. 1
22. SOUTSIDE JOHNNY WITH LABAMBA'S BIG BAND -- Grapefruit Moon: The Songs Of Tom Waits
23. THE FRATELLIS -- Here We Stand
24. INARA GEORGE -- An Invitation with Van Dyke Parks
25. AL GREEN -- Lay It Down
26. LIONEL LOUKE -- Karibu
27. THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM -- The '59 Sound
28. CHARLIE HADEN -- Family And Friends: Rambling Boy
29. JAMES HUNTER -- The Hard Way
30. MARTHA WAINWRIGHT -- I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too

***

31. RICKY IAN GORDON AND MICHAEL KORIE -- The Grapes Of Wrath
32. VAMPIRE WEEKEND -- Vampire Weekend
33. OTIS TAYLOR -- Recapturing The Banjo
34. THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- Distortion
35. SHELBY LYNNE -- Just A Little Lovin'
36. BLACK MOUNTAIN -- In The Future
37. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The George Mitchell Collection Volumes 1-45
38. BILL HENDERSON -- Live At The Vic
      CASSANDRA WILSON -- Loverly
39. AIMEE MANN -- @#%&*! Smilers
40. JONAS BROTHERS -- A Little Bit Longer

***

41. THE CURE -- 4:13 Dream
42. DAVID BYRNE AND BRIAN ENO -- Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
      DAVID BYRNE -- Big Love: Hymnal
43. CONO OBERST -- Conor Oberst
44. NICK CAVE -- Dig Lazarus Dig!!!
      SIGUR ROS -- Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
      RON SEXSMITH -- Exit Strategy Of The Soul
45. ELBOW -- The Seldom Seen Kid
46. THE REAL TUESDAY WELD -- The End Of The World (Live)
47. THE RACONTUERS-- Consolers Of The Lonely
48. ANTONY AND THE JOHNSONS -- Another World EP
49. SUGARLAND -- Love On The Inside
      JAMEY JOHNSON -- That Lonesome Song
50. DANIELA COTTON -- Rare Child
      THE WHIGS -- Mission Control
      CORY CHISEL AND THE WANDERING SONS -- Cabin Ghosts



THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2007


1. SHARON JONES AND THE DAP-KINGS -- 100 Days 100 Nights (classic soul)
    VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Great Debaters Soundtrack (juke joint music)
2. PATTY GRIFFIN -- Children Running Through (career-capping Americana)
3. RADIOHEAD -- In Rainbows (the world-conquering pop they were born to make)
4. TINARIWEN -- Aman Iman: Water Is Life (desert rock)
5. ROBERT PLANT AND ALISON KRAUSS -- Raising Sand (adult pop)
6. THE WHITE STRIPES -- Icky Thump (bluesy, stomping rock n roll)
7. TERENCE BLANCHARD -- A Tale of God's Will (a requiem for Katrina) (melancholic jazz
    JONNY GREENWOOD -- There Will Be Blood (spooky, spine-tingling score)
8. AMY WINEHOUSE -- Back To Black (bruised retro soul)
9. STEVE EARLE -- Washington Square Serenade
    SUZANNE VEGA -- Beauty and Crimes (country and folk pop triumphs both, but don't call it a comeback)
10. JAMIE T -- Panic Prevention
    LIVESAVAS - Gutterfly (Brit rap; Seventies funk fantasia)


***

11. ARCADE FIRE -- Neon Bible (art rock a la Talking Heads)
12. ANDY BEY -- Ain't Necessarily So (searching jazz vocals)
13. FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE -- Traffic and Weather (pure pop)
      RON SEXSMITH -- Time Being (purer pop)
14. TABU LEY ROCHEREAU -- The Voice Of Lightness (floating, Al Green-like world music)
15. THE FEELING -- Twelve Stops and Home (Seventies AM radio)
      THE FRATELLIS -- Costello Music (raucous rock)
16. TEDDY THOMPSON -- Upfront and Down Low (dignified country classics)
      RICHARD THOMPSON -- Sweet Warrior (sterling rock)
      LINDA THOMPSON -- Versatile Heart (delicate folk pop)
17. BASSEKOU KUYATE AND NGONI BA -- Segu Blue (irresistible world music for people mourning Ali Farka)
18. HERBIE HANCOCK -- River: The Joni Letters (Mitchell done proud via jazz))
19. WILLIE NELSON, MERLE HAGGARD, RAY PRICE -- Last Of The Breed (country summit)         LEVON HELM -- Dirt Farmer (Lazarus-like revival)
      PORTER WAGONER -- Wagonmaster (classy send-off)
20. ARCTIC MONKEYS -- Favourite Worst Nightmare (jagged Brit pop)
      KAISER CHIEFS  -- Yours Truly, Angry Mob (spiky but smooth Brit pop)

***

21. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Roots Of Chica - Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru (garage rock via South America)
22. COMMON -- Finding Forever (rap for adults)
23. STEPHEN FRETWELL -- Man On The Roof (unheralded UK folk-pop)
24. BETTYE LAVETTE -- The Scene Of The Crime (steeped in wisdom soul)
      MARY WEISS -- Dangerous Game (old school pop, happily)
25. JOSH RITTER -- The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter (literate folk pop with a smile)
26. ANDY PALACIO AND THE GARIFUNA COLLECTIVE -- Watina
      PUERTO PLATA -- Mujer de Cabaret (both beautiful, vanishing traditions)
27. THE HIVES -- The Black and White Album (confident, swaggering rock)
28. DAVID BROMBERG -- Try Me One More Time
      JOHN HAMMOND  -- Push Comes To Shove (grizzled old white man blues)
     WATERMELON SLIM AND THE WORKERS - The Wheel Man (the blues, you fool)
29. ROBERT WYATT -- Comicopera (eccentric pop-jazz thingamajig)
30. THE REAL TUESDAY WELD -- The London Book Of The Dead (sneakily ambitious retro pop)

***

31. JOAN ARMATRADING -- Into The Blues (do call it a comeback)
32. THE MAGIC NUMBERS -- Those The Brokes (disappointing but good)
      DARREN HAYES -- This Delicate Thing We've Made (good but disappointing)
33. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN WITH THE SESSIONS BAND -- Live In Dublin (party in the barn music)
34. NICOLE ATKINS -- Neptune City (brooding, Orbison-like pop)
35. SERGIO AND ODAIR ASSAD -- Jardim Abandonado (telepathic classical guitar)
36. RAUL MALO -- After Hours (countrypolitan with velvet vocals)
37. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Company Original Broadway Cast (2007) (Sondheim, passionately)
38. KELLY WILLIS -- Translated From Love (country, smartly)
39. PANDA BEAR -- Person Pitch (Brian Wilson on LSD, if that's not redundant)
40. OVER THE RHINE -- Snow Angels (Christmas rock for NPR listeners)

***

41. JENS LEKMAN -- Night Falls Over Kortedala (Magentic Fields via Sweden)
42. IAN HUNTER -- Shrunken Heads (cock rock)
43. BEIRUT -- The Flying Cup Club
44. JUANES -- La Vida (fist-shaking rock)
45. THE HOLMES BROTHERS -- State of Grace (master class in the blues)
46. GLEN HANSARD AND MARKETA IRGLOVA -- The Swell Season (you know, those great songs from the movie Once)
47. RYAN ADAMS AND THE CARDINALS -- Follow The Lights (Americana, again)
48. JOHN CORIGLIANO -- Music For String Quartet (American classical)
49. DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER -- Red Earth: A Malian Journey (jazz meets Mali)
      ABBEY LINCOLN -- Abbey Sings Abbey (astringent jazz)
50. THE DONNAS -- Bitchin' (dumb, fun as hell Eighties rock)




THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2006


1. CORINNE BAILEY RAE -- Corinne Bailey Rae (tie)
    JAMES HUNTER -- People Gonna Talk
2. MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE -- The Black Parade
3. BOB DYLAN -- Modern Times
4. ARCTIC MONKEYS -- Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
5. MIDLAKE -- The Trials of Van Occupanther
6. ROSEANNE CASH -- Black Cadillac (tie)
    JOHNNY CASH -- American V: A Hundred Highways
7. SOLOMON BURKE -- Nashville
8. CAT POWER -- The Greatest
9. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions -- American Land Edition
10. DRAKE BELL -- It's Only Time

***

11. The LA'S -- BBC In Session
12. CANDI STATON -- His Hands (tie)
      CANDI STATON -- The Ultimate Gospel Collection
13. DUNCAN SHEIK -- White Limousine (tie)
      VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Spring Awakening Original Cast Recording
14. HOWARD TATE -- A Portrait Of Howard
15. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution In Sound
16. M. WARD -- Post-War
17. REGINA SPEKTOR -- Begin To Hope
18. TEDDY THOMPSON -- Separate Ways (tie)
      THE STROKES -- First Impressions Of Earth
19. TOUMANI DIANATE'S SYMMETRIC ORCHESTRA -- Boulevard De L'Independance
20. MUSE -- Black Holes and Revelations

***

21. ALI FARKA TOURE -- Savane
22. THE STREETS -- The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living
23. JAMES HAND -- The Truth Will Set You Free
24. IRMA THOMAS -- After The Rain
25. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Rough Guide To Latin-Arabia
26. VETIVER -- To Find Me Gone
27. CASSANDRA WILSON -- Thunderbird
28. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Grey Gardens Original Cast Recording
29. THE RACONTEURS -- Broken Boy Soldiers
30. LARRY LEVAN -- Journey Into Paradise...The Larry Levan Story

***

31. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Billy Elliot Original Cast Recording
32. RAHIM ALHAJ -- When The Soul Is Settled: Music Of Iraq
33. WOLFMOTHER -- Wolfmother
34. SMOKEY ROBINSON -- Timeless Love
35. CAST KING -- Saw Mill Man
36. LUPE FIASCO -- Food And Liquor (tie)
     THE ROOTS -- Game Theory
37. JOSH RITTER -- The Animal Years
38. MANA -- Amar Es Combatir
39.  STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Sweeney Todd Original Cast Recording
       STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Sunday In The Park With George 2006                    London Cast Recording
40. MATTHEW SWEET AND SUSANNA HOFFS -- Under The Covers Vol. 1

***

41. DIXIE CHICKS -- Taking The Long Way
42. ELVIS COSTELLO AND ALLEN TOUSSAINT -- The River In Reverse
43. THE FRATELLIS -- Costello Music
44. THE VINES -- Vision Valley
45. VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man Motion Picture Soundtrack
46. LINDA RONSTADT AND ANN SAVOY-- Adieu False Heart
47. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE -- Futuresex/LoveSounds
48. PAUL SIMON -- Surprise
49. BEIRUT -- Gulag Orkestar
50. NELLIE MCKAY -- Pretty Little Head



THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2005



1. SUFJAN STEVENS – Illinois (eclectic pop)
2.  RICHARD SWIFT – The Richard Swift Collection, Volume One (literate pop)
3. THE EELS – Blinking Lights and Other Revelations (suicidal pop)
4. AMADOU AND MARIAM – Dimanche a Bamako (world pop)
5. BETTYE LAVETTE – I’ve Got My Own Hell To Raise
    VARIOUS ARTISTS – I Believe To My Soul (soul)
6. THE WHITE STRIPES – Get Behind Me Satan (bluesy pop)
    BRIGHT EYES – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (folkie pop)
7. NEIL DIAMOND – 12 Songs (pop via Brill Building)
8. HANNA MCEUEN -- Hanna McEuen (country by way of Everly Brothers)
9. THE MAGIC NUMBERS – The Magic Numbers (60s pop via UK)
10. VARIOUS ARTISTS – Does Anybody Know I’m Here? Vietnam Through The Eyes of Black America (protest pop)
      VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm And Blues 1945-1970 Vol. Two

***

11. WOLF PARADE – Apologies to the Queen Mary
      CLAP YOUR HANDS, SAY YEAH -- Clap Your Hands, Say Yeah
      BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE -- Broken Social Scene
      MARAH – If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry (return of Talking Heads)
12. BILL CHARLAP AND SANDY STEWART  – Love Is Here To Stay (telepathic jazz duets)
13. LEWIS TAYLOR – Stoned (what Prince and Stevie Wonder used to be)
14. ALI FARKA TOURE AND TOUMANI DIABATE – In The Heart Of The Moon (world music)
15. FIONA APPLE – Extraordinary Machine (pop, the hard way)
16. HEARTLESS BASTARDS – Stairs and Elevators (rock n roll)
17. VARIOUS ARTISTS – Son Cubano NYC: Cuban Roots, New York Spices 1972-82 (salsa)
18. HARD-FI – Stars Of CCTV (British rock)
19. NEIL YOUNG – Prairie Wind (folk rock staring death in the face and smiling)
20. SUPERGRASS – Road To Rouen (under-appreciated rock)




THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2004

GREEN DAY -- American Idiot
JOHNNY CASH -- My Mother's Hymn Book
kd lang -- Hymns Of The 49th Parallel
BRIAN WILSON -- Brian Wilson Presents Smile
AMADOU AND MARIAM -- Dimanche a Bamako
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Night Train To Nashville: Music City Rhythm And Blues 1945-1970
NORAH JONES -- Feels Like Home
LEONARD COHEN -- Dear Heather
MORRISSEY -- You Are The Quarry
THE ROOTS -- The Tipping Point
LORETTA LYNNE -- Van Lear Rose
ANDY BEY -- American Song
THE STREETS -- A Grand Don't Come For Free
KONONO NO. 1 -- Congotronics
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- i
ELTON JOHN -- Peachtree Road
KANYE WEST -- College Dropout
WILCO -- A Ghost Is Born

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2003

THE WHITE STRIPES -- Elephant
JOHNNY CASH -- Unearthed
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT -- Want One
BOZ SCAGGS -- But Beautiful
OUTKAST -- Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Avenue Q (Original Cast Recording)
AMY WINEHOUSE -- Frank
FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE -- Welcome Interstate Managers
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Stumble Into Grace
THE STROKES -- Room On Fire
THE JAYHAWKS -- Rainy Day Music
MARIA MCKEE -- High Dive
JOE JACKSON -- Volume 4
ALICIA KEYS -- The Diary Of Alicia Keys
SUFJAN STEVENS -- Michigan
JUNE CARTER CASH -- Wildwood Flower

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2002

NORAH JONES -- Come Away With Me
WILCO -- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
ORCHESTRA BAOBAB -- Specialist In All Styles
BRIGHT EYES -- Lifted or The Story Is In The Soil Keep Your Ear To The Ground
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Music from The Singing Detective And More
BECK -- Sea Change
DIXIE CHICKS -- Home
LINDA THOMPSON -- Fashionably Late
SOLOMON BURKE -- Don't Give Up On Me
PETER WOLF -- Sleepless
JOHNNY CASH -- American IV: The Man Comes Around
EMINEM -- The Eminem Show
YOUSSOU N'DOUR -- Nothing's In Vain
RON SEXSMITH -- Cobblestone
TOM WAITS -- Alice/Blood Money
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. III
DAMON ALBARN -- Mali Music
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS -- Rings Around The World
COLDPLAY -- A Rush of Blood To The Head
THE ROOTS -- Phrenology
LINDA LEWIS -- Reach For The Truth: Best Of The Reprise Years 1971-1974)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Hairspray (Original Cast Recording)
THE VINES -- Highly Evolved
STEVE EARLE -- Jerusalem
THE STREETS -- Original Pirate Material
PHILIP GLASS -- The Hours
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT -- Poses
WEEZER -- Maladroit

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2001

MANU CHAO -- Proxima Estacion: Esperanza
RYAN ADAMS -- Gold 
BOB DYLAN -- Love And Theft
THE STROKES -- Is This It?
kd lang and TONY BENNETT -- A Wonderful World
RADIOHEAD -- Amnesiac
LEONARD COHEN -- Ten New Songs
SUZANNE VEGA -- Songs In Red And Gray
DOLLY PARTON -- Little Sparrow
THE WHITE STRIPES -- White Blood Cells
DIANA KRALL -- The Look Of Love
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 
MERLE HAGGARD -- Roots
WEEZER -- Weezer (The Green Album)
RON SEXSMITH -- Blue Boy
GILLIAN WELCH -- Time (The Revelator)
ELTON JOHN -- Songs From The West Coast
NEIL DIAMOND -- Three Chord Opera
HARRY CONNICK JR. -- 30
BEN FOLDS -- Rockin' The Suburbs

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2000

EMINEM -- The Marshall Mathers LP
RYAN ADAMS -- Heartbreaker
RADIOHEAD -- Kid A
JONI MITCHELL -- Both Sides Now
OUTKAST -- Stankonia
JOHNNY CASH -- American III: Solitary Man
THE BEATLES -- 1
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
SHELBY LYNNE -- I Am Shelby Lynne
D'ANGELO -- Voodoo
AIMEE MANN -- Bachelor No. 2
BILLY BRAGG AND WILCO -- Mermaid Avenue Vol. II
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Wild Party (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
THE JAYHAWKS -- Smile
MERLE HAGGARD -- If I Could Only Fly
NEIL YOUNG -- Silver and Gold
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Kings Of The Gospel Highway: The Golden Age Of Gospel Quartets
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Peace In The Valley: The Complete Gospel Recordings
TEDDY THOMPSON -- Teddy Thompson

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1999

DAVID GRAY -- White Ladder
MOBY -- Play
LINDA RONSTADT AND EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Western Wall
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- 69 Love Songs
THE ROOTS -- Things Fall Apart
STEVE EARLE AND THE DEL MCCOURY BAND -- The Mountain
EMINEM -- The Slim Shady LP
JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL -- Hedwig and the Angry Inch
DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT, EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Trio II
TOM WAITS -- Mule Varaiations
FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE -- Utopia Parkway
FIONA APPLE -- When The Pawn...
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Mock Tudor
DIXIE CHICKS -- Fly
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO -- Bitter
WILCO -- Summerteeth
DOLLY PARTON -- The Grass is Blue

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1998

BILLY BRAGG AND WILCO -- Mermaid Avenue
LUCINDA WILLIAMS -- Car Wheels On A Gravel Road
THE BETA BAND -- The Three E.p.'s
BOB DYLAN -- The Bootleg Series Vol. 4, Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert
BEASTIE BOYS -- Hello Nasty
THE MAVERICKS -- Trampoline
OUTKAST -- Aquemini
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968 (boxed set)
ELVIS COSTELLO -- Painted From Memory
DIXIE CHICKS -- Wide Open Spaces
RUFUS WAINWRIGHT -- Rufus Wainwright
AIR -- Moon Safari
MANU CHAO -- Clandestino
DAVID GRAY -- Lost Songs 95-98
SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES -- The Ultimate Collection
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN -- The Boy With The Arab Strap
KATE AND ANNA MCGARRIGLE -- The McGarrigle Hour
EVA CASSIDY -- Songbird
LAURYN HILL -- The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1997

RADIOHEAD -- O.K. Computer
BOB DYLAN -- Time Out Of Mind
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB -- Buena Vista Social Club
DOLLY PARTON -- The Essential Dolly Parton, Vol. 2
THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.  -- Life After Death
SUPERGRASS -- In It For The Money
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Beg, Scream and Shout! The Big Ol' Box of 60s Soul
WHISKEYTOWN -- Strangers Almanac
ALISON KRAUSS -- So Long So Wrong
RAY CHARLES -- Genius and Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection 
ADAM GUETTEL -- Floyd Collins
NICK CAVE -- The Boatman's Call
SINEAD O'CONNOR -- Gospel Oak EP
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- Legend
STEVE EARLE -- El Corazon
PREFAB SPROUT -- Andromeda Heights

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1996

BECK -- Odelay
RADIOHEAD -- The Bends
SUZANNE VEGA -- Nine Objects Of Desire
WILCO -- Being There
JOHNNY CASH -- Unchained
WEEZER -- Pinkerton
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN -- Tigermilk/If You're Feeling Sinister
NICK CAVE -- Murder Ballads
KATE AND ANNA MCGARRIGLE -- Matapedia
STEVE EARLE -- I Feel Alright
MARIA MCKEE -- Life Is Sweet
PHILIP GLASS -- The Secret Agent
MAXWELL -- Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Walking Wounded
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Doo Wop Box II
THE BLUE NILE -- Peace At Last
THE FUGEES -- The Score
BOZ SCAGGS -- Fade Into Light

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1995

THE MAVERICKS -- Music For All Occasions
ALISON KRAUSS -- Now That I've Found You: A Collection
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters
PJ HARVEY -- To Bring You My Love
OASIS -- (What's The Story) Morning Glory
THE JAYHAWKS -- Tomorrow The Green Grass
BLUR -- The Great Escape
D'ANGELO -- Brown Sugar
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Thunder Before Dawn: The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume Two/The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume Three: Freedom Fire
RON SEXSMITH -- Ron Sexsmith
BJORK -- Post
STEVE EARLE -- Train A Comin'
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Wreckin' Ball
CHRIS ISAAK -- Forever Blue
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On
ALANIS MORISSETTE -- Jagged Little Pill
DWIGHT YOAKUM -- Gone
CASSANDRA WILSON -- New Moon Daughter
PAUL WELLER -- Stanley Road
SUPERGRASS -- I Should Coco
AIMEE MANN -- I'm With Stupid
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH -- Carry On...Up The Charts
DOLLY PARTON -- The Essential Dolly Parton, Vol. 2
AL STEWART -- Between The Wars
BRIAN WILSON AND VAN DYKE PARKS -- Orange Crate Art
JERRY LEE LEWIS -- Young Blood
THE 6THS -- Wasps' Nests

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1994

JOHNNY CASH -- American Recordings
NAS -- Illmatic
GREEN DAY -- Dookie
NIRVANA -- Unplugged In New York
THE MAVERICKS -- What A Crying Shame
BLUR -- Parklife
HOLE -- Live Through This
OASIS -- Definitely Maybe
FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor
BEASTIE BOYS -- Ill Communication
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Doo Wop Box
BECK -- Mellow Gold/One Foot In The Grave
ROSEMARY CLOONEY -- Still On The Road
GRANDMASTER FLASH AND THE FURIOUS FIVE -- Message From Beat Street: The Best Of Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel and the Furious Five
MORRISSEY -- Vauxhall And I
THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. -- Ready To Die
PEARL JAM -- Vitalogy
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Passion (Original Cast Recording)
JEFF BUCKLEY -- Grace
WEEZER -- Weezer
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Amplified Heart
IRIS DEMENT -- My Life
CHARLIE HADEN QUARTET WEST -- Always Say Goodbye
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- The Charm Of The Highway Strip
ERIC DOLPHY -- Space-Age Bachelor Pad Music
JONI MITCHELL -- Turbulent Indigo
TONY BENNETT -- MTV Unplugged: Tony Bennett

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1993

CASSANDRA WILSON -- Blue Light 'Til Dawn
DWIGHT YOAKUM -- This Time
AIMEE MANN -- Whatever
PEARL JAM -- Vs.
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO -- Plantation Lullabies
ROSEMARY CLOONEY -- Do You Miss New York?
CHRIS ISAAK -- San Francisco Days
ARVO PART -- Te Deum
ELVIS PRESLEY -- From Nashville To Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters
JIMMIE DALE GILMORE -- Spinning Around The Sun
NIRVANA -- In Utero
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Mambo Kings Play Songs Of Love (compilation, not soundtrack)
PET SHOP BOYS -- Very
WU-TANG CLAN -- Enter The Wu-Tang
SHELBY LYNNE -- Temptation
TOM WAITS -- The Black Rider
TERENCE TRENT D'ARBY -- Symphony Or Damn
ZAP MAMA -- Adventures In Afropea
TONY BENNETT -- Steppin' Out
BOB DYLAN -- World Gone Wrong
ELVIS COSTELLO -- The Juliet Letters
COUNTING CROWS -- August And Everything After

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1992

kd lang -- Ingenue
R.E.M. -- Automatic For The People
ABBA -- Gold
LOS LOBOS -- Kiko
THE JAYHAWKS -- Hollywood Town Hall
ELVIS PRESLEY -- The King Of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete '50s Masters
MORRISSEY -- Your Arsenal
LYLE LOVETT -- Joshua Judges Ruth
TOM WAITS -- Bone Machine
CHARLIE HADEN QUARTET WEST -- Haunted Heart
NEIL YOUNG -- Harvest Moon
DR. DRE -- The Chronic
ERIC CLAPTON -- Unplugged
HENRYK GORECKI -- Symphony No. 3
ANNIE LENNOX -- Diva
LEONARD COHEN -- The Future
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Acoustic
BOB DYLAN -- Good As I Been To You
SHIRLEY HORN -- Here's To Life
TONY BENNETT -- Perfectly Frank
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM -- Out Of The Cradle
ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT -- 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days In The Life Of...
HARRY CONNICK JR. -- 25

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1991

NIRVANA -- Nevermind
U2 -- Achtung Baby
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Rumor And Sigh
RAY CHARLES -- The Birth of Soul (boxed set)
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Decca Recordings
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959 (1991 boxed set)
PEARL JAM -- Ten
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Beauty and the Beast Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
JIMMIE DALE GILMORE -- After Awhile
SHIRLEY HORN -- You Won't Forget Me
PHIL SPECTOR -- Back To Mono 1958-1969 (boxed set)
BARBRA STREISAND -- Just For The Record... (boxed set)
STEPHEN SONDHEIM -- Assassins Original Cast Recording
ARVO PART -- Miserere
BOB DYLAN -- The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 (Rare and Unreleased)
COLE PORTER/EVANS HAILE -- Fifty Million Frenchmen
ABBEY LINCOLN -- You Gotta Pay The Band


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1990

MADONNA -- The Immaculate Collection
PREFAB SPROUT -- Jordan: The Comeback
SINEAD O'CONNOR -- I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
PUBLIC ENEMY -- Fear Of A Black Planet
ROSEANNE CASH -- Interiors
HAPPY MONDAYS -- Pills And Thrills And Bellyaches
SUZANNE VEGA -- Days Of Open Hand
MUDDY WATERS -- The Chess Box
THE LA'S -- The La's
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Songs That Got Us Through WWII
THE GO-GO'S -- Greatest Hits
PET SHOP BOYS -- Behavior
WORLD PARTY -- Goodbye Jumbo
COWBOY JUNKIES -- The Caution Horses
MORRISSEY -- Bona Drag
THE FOUR TOPS -- Anthology
KATE AND ANNA MCGARRIGLE -- Heartbeats Accelerating
GEORGE MICHAEL -- Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1
MARION WILLIAMS -- Surely God Is Able
CARL STALLING -- The Carl Stalling Project, Music From Warner Bros. Cartoons 1936-1958
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- The Language Of Life
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Atlantic Soul Classics
TONY BENNETT -- Astoria: Portrait Of The Artist
EVANS HAILE/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Babes In Arms
BRIAN ENO AND JOHN CALE -- Wrong Way Up
NEIL YOUNG -- Ragged Glory
PEGGY LEE -- The Peggy Lee Songbook: There'll Be Another Spring
HARRY CONNICK JR. -- We Are In Love

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1989

BEASTIE BOYS -- Paul's Boutique
BOB DYLAN -- Oh Mercy
CHET BAKER -- Best Of Chet Baker Plays and Sings
THE STONE ROSES -- The Stone Roses
ORCHESTRA BAOBAB -- Pirates Choice
THE BLUE NILE -- Hats
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Will The Circle Be Unbroken Volume Two
DAWN UPSHAW -- Knoxville: Summer Of 1915
JUNGLE BROTHERS -- Done By The Forces of Nature
LAURIE ANDERSON -- Strange Angels
DE LA SOUL -- 3 Feet High And Rising
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Brazil Classics 1: Beleza Tropical Compiled By David Byrne
kd lang -- Absolute Torch And Twang
PAUL SIMON -- The Rhythm Of The Saints
DIONNE WARWICK -- The Dionne Warwick Collection: Her All-Time Greatest Hits (Rhino)
FRANK MORGAN -- Easy Living/Mood Indigo
MARIA MCKEE -- Maria McKee
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Black and Blue (Original Cast Recording)
LOU REED -- New York
PETER GABRIEL -- Passion: Music For The Last Temptation Of Christ
TRACY CHAPMAN -- Crossroads
MADONNA -- Like A Prayer
BONNIE RAITT -- Nick Of Time
HARRY CONNICK JR. -- When Harry Met Sally
LYLE LOVETT -- Lyle Lovett And His Large Band
DURAN DURAN -- Decade
RICKIE LEE JONES -- Flying Cowboys
DJIVAN GASPARYAN -- I Will Not Be Sad in This World
SOUL II SOUL -- Keep On Movin'
DAVID BYRNE -- Rei Momo
THE PIXIES -- Doolittle
NEVILLE BROTHERS -- Yellow Moon
NEIL YOUNG -- Freedom
ELVIS COSTELLO -- Spike

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1988

PUBLIC ENEMY -- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
kd lang -- Shadowland
U2 -- Rattle and Hum
COWBOY JUNKIES -- The Trinity Sessions
HAL WILLNER/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music From Vintage Disney Films
PEGGY LEE -- Miss Peggy Lee Sings The Blues
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Idlewild
THE POGUES -- If I Should Fall From Grace With God
LEONARD COHEN -- I'm Your Man
MORRISSEY -- Viva Hate
CHUCK BERRY -- The Chess Box
SADE -- Stronger Than Pride
JUNGLE BROTHERS -- Straight Out The Jungle
DWIGHT YOAKUM -- Buenos Noches From A Lonely Room
FRANKIE VALLIE AND THE FOUR SEASONS -- Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons 25th Anniversary Collection
CARMEN MCRAE -- Carmen Sings Monk
JOHN HIATT -- Slow Turning
SHIRLEY HORN -- Close Enough For Love
STEVE EARLE -- Copperhead Road
N.W.A. -- Straight Outta Compton
ARVO PART -- Passio
CASSANDRA WILSON -- Blue Skies
PHILIP GLASS -- The Thin Blue Line
TRACY CHAPMAN -- Tracy Chapman
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Irving Berlin Always
RODNEY CROWELL -- Diamonds and Dirt
TRAVELING WILBURYS -- Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1
ERIC B. AND RAKIM -- Paid In Full
HARRY CONNICK JR. -- 20
LYLE LOVETT -- Pontiac
PREFAB SPROUT -- From Langley Park To Memphis
CHRIS ISAAK -- Heart-Shaped World
TALK TALK -- Spirit Of Eden
HOTHOUSE FLOWERS -- People
PAUL MCCARTNEY -- Flowers In The Dirt
VAN MORRISON and THE CHIEFTAINS -- Irish Heartbeat
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Amnesia
THE EVERLY BROTHERS -- Some Hearts
R.E.M. -- Green
RANDY NEWMAN -- Land of Dreams
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO -- Journey Of Dreams
FAIRGROUND ATTRACTION -- The First Of A Million Kisses

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1987

DOLLY PARTON, LINDA RONSTADT, EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Trio
U2 -- The Joshua Tree
PRINCE -- Sign O' The Times
SINEAD O'CONNOR -- The Lion and the Cobra
THE SMITHS -- Louder Than Bombs/Strangeways, Here We Come
GEORGE MICHAEL -- Faith
STING -- ...Nothing Like The Sun
THE REPLACEMENTS -- Pleased To Meet Me
JOHN MELLENCAMP -- The Lonesome Jubilee
PUBLIC ENEMY -- Yo! Bum Rush The Show
CHARLIE HADEN-- Quartet West
JENNIFER WARNES -- Famous Blue Raincoat
GUNS N' ROSES -- Appetite For Destruction
JOHN HIATT -- Bring The Family
SHIRLEY HORN -- I Thought About You
JAMES BROWN -- The CD of JB II
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Tunnel Of Love
SUZANNE VEGA -- Solitude Standing
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Into The Woods (Original Cast Recording)
ROY ORBISON -- In Dreams: The Greatest Hits
LYLE LOVETT -- Pontiac
ERIC B AND RAKIM -- Paid In Full
ROSEANNE CASH -- King's Record Shop
R.E.M. -- Document
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
PET SHOP BOYS -- Actually
LINDA RONSTADT -- Canciones De Mi Padre
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO -- Shaka Zulu
MEL TORME AND GEORGE SHEARING -- A Vintage Year
DEF LEPPARD -- Hysteria
10,000 MANIACS -- In My Tribe
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS -- Dancing With Tears In My Eyes
MICHAEL JACKSON -- Bad
BOBBY SHORT -- Guess Who's In Town: Bobby Short Sings The Songs Of Andy Razaf
BILLY IDOL -- Vital Idol
kd lang -- Angel With A Lariat

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1986

PAUL SIMON -- Graceland
THE SMITHS -- The Queen Is Dead
ELVIS COSTELLO -- King Of America/Blood and Chocolate
PRINCE -- Parade
R.E.M. -- Life's Rich Pageant
RUN D.M.C. -- Raising Hell
BEASTIE BOYS -- Licensed To Ill
LINDA RONSTADT -- Sentimental Reasons
CHRIS ISAAK -- Chris Isaak
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Live 1975-1985
PETER GABRIEL -- So
MADONNA -- True Blue
SAM COOKE -- The Man And His Music
TALK TALK -- The Color Of Spring
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Daring Adventures
THE EVERLY BROTHERS -- Born Yesterday
'TIL TUESDAY -- Welcome Home
WHAM! -- The Final
DAVID AND DAVID -- Welcome To The Boomtown
STING -- Bring On The Night
XTC -- Skylarking
STEVE EARLE -- Guitar Town
WORLD PARTY -- Private Revolution
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS -- Lonely Avenue
STEVE WINWOOD -- Back In The High Life

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1985

PREFAB SPROUT -- Steve McQueen aka Two Wheels Good (tie)
BARBRA STREISAND -- The Broadway Album (tie)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Indestructible Beat Of Soweto Volume One
KATE BUSH -- Hounds Of Love
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Les Miserables (Original London Cast Recording)
BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS -- It's The Talk Of The Town (and Other Sad Songs)
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Gospel At Colonus (1985 Philadelphia Cast)
JAMES BROWN -- The CD of JB
TOM WAITS -- Rain Dogs
STEELY DAN -- A Decade Of Steely Dan
JOHN MELLENCAMP -- Scarecrow
KATRINA AND THE WAVES -- Katrina and the Waves
PHILIP GLASS -- Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters
CHRIS ISAAK -- Silvertone
THE EVERLY BROTHERS -- Cadence Classics (20 Greatest Hits)
BOB DYLAN -- Biograph
R.E.M. -- Fables Of The Reconstruction
THE POGUES -- Rum, Sodomy and the Lash
SADE -- Promise
SANDY DENNY -- Who Knows Where The Times Goes (boxed set)
THE REPLACEMENTS -- Tim
U2 -- Wide Awake In America
EURYTHMICS -- Be Yourself Tonight
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- 30 Greatest Hits
THE WATERBOYS -- This Is The Sea
JIMMY BUFFETT -- Songs You Know By Heart
LINDA THOMPSON -- One Clear Moment
STING -- Dream Of The Blue Turtles
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Across A Crowded Room
LONE JUSTICE -- Lone Justice
JOHN FOGERTY -- Centerfield
DIRE STRAITS -- Brothers In Arms
BRYAN FERRY -- Boys And Girls
SUZANNE VEGA -- Suzanne Vega

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1984

U2 -- The Unforgettable Fire
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Legend
THE SMITHS -- The Smiths
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Born In The USA
PRINCE -- Purple Rain
LAURIE ANDERSON -- Mister Heartbreak/United States Live
MADNESS -- Keep Moving
RUN D.M.C. -- Run D.M.C.
DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES -- 20 Greatest Hits: Compact Command Performance
THE PRETENDERS -- Learning To Crawl
LEONARD COHEN -- Various Positions
SADE -- Diamond Life
LOS LOBOS -- How Will The Wolf Survive?
EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL -- Eden
TALKING HEADS -- Stop Making Sense
THE REPLACEMENTS -- Let It Be
THE BLUE NILE -- A Walk Across The Rooftops
JERRY LEE LEWIS -- 18 Original Sun Greatest Hits
TINA TURNER -- Private Dancer
THE EVERLY BROTHERS -- EB84
STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Sunday in the Park with George (Original Cast Recording)
JOE JACKSON -- Body and Soul
PREFAB SPROUT -- Swoon
R.E.M. -- Reckoning
LLOYD COLE AND THE COMMOTIONS -- Rattlesnakes
ELIZABETH COTTEN -- Live!
VAN DYKE PARKS -- Jump!
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Small Town Romance
BARRY MANILOW -- 2. A.M. Paradise Cafe
LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM -- Go Insane
BRIAN ENO AND HAROLD BUDD -- The Pearl

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1983

R.E.M. -- Murmur
U2 -- War/Under A Blood Red Sky
BILLY JOEL -- An Innocent Man
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Big Chill Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
THE ENGLISH BEAT -- What Is Beat?
EURYTHMICS -- Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)/Touch
TOM WAITS -- Swordfishtrombones
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Say Amen, Somebody (Original Soundtrack)
TALKING HEADS -- Speaking In Tongues
PHILIP GLASS -- Akhnaten
HALL AND OATES -- Rock And Soul Part 1: Greatest Hits
MADNESS -- Madness (US album)
THE POLICE -- Synchronicity
DEF LEPPARD -- Pyromania
RICHARD THOMPSON -- Hand Of Kindness
PAUL SIMON -- Hearts and Bones
CULTURE CLUB -- Colour By Numbers
BRYAN FERRY -- These Foolish Things
WILLIE NELSON AND MERLE HAGGARD -- Pancho and Lefty
BOB DYLAN -- Infidels
CYNDI LAUPER -- She's So Unusual
PINK FLOYD -- The Final Cut


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1982

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Nebraska
MICHAEL JACKSON -- Thriller
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- Shoot Out The Lights
ELVIS COSTELLO -- Imperial Bedroom
PHILIP GLASS -- Glassworks/Koyaanisqatsi
ROXY MUSIC -- Avalon
DONALD FAGEN -- The Nightfly
PAUL MCCARTNEY -- Tug Of War
VANGELIS -- Blade Runner
PETER GABRIEL -- Peter Gabriel (Security)
GEORGE WINSTON -- December
CHUCK BERRY -- The Great 28
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Dreamgirls (Original Broadway Cast Album)
STEVIE WONDER -- Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I
ABC -- The Lexicon Of Love
THE EAGLES -- Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2
PRINCE -- 1999
THE ENGLISH BEAT -- Special Beat Service
NEIL DIAMOND -- 12 Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
KING SUNNY ADE -- Juju Music
TOM WAITS -- One From The Heart
JOE JACKSON -- Night and Day
THE CLASH -- Combat Rock
SQUEEZE -- Singles: 45's And Under
DURAN DURAN -- Rio
DIRE STRAITS -- Love Over Gold
R.E.M. -- Chronic Town
BILLY JOEL -- Nylon Curtain


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1981

QUEEN -- Greatest Hits
SQUEEZE -- East Side Story
BRIAN ENO AND DAVID BYRNE -- My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
HALL AND OATES -- Private Eyes
RUSH -- Moving Pictures
ROLLING STONES -- Tattoo You
BLONDIE -- Best Of Blondie
ELVIS COSTELLO -- Trust/Almost Blue

GLENN GOULD -- A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations 1955 and 1981
WILLIE NELSON -- Greatest Hits (And Some That Will Be)
NEVILLE BROTHERS -- Fiyou On The Bayou
JOAN JETT -- Bad Reputation/I Love Rock 'n' Roll
LENA HORNE -- Lena Horne: The Lady And Her Music
KATE AND ANNA MCGARRIGLE -- French Record
DAVID BOWIE -- Changestwobowie
JOE JACKSON -- Jumpin' Jive
VANGELIS -- Chariots Of Fire

FRANK SINATRA -- She Shot Me Down

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1980

JOHN LENNON AND YOKO ONO -- Double Fantasy
THE ENGLISH BEAT -- I Just Can't Stop It
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Roses In The Snow
TALKING HEADS -- Remain In Light
U2 -- Boy
AC/DC -- Back In Black
THE PRETENDERS -- The Pretenders
ELVIS COSTELLO -- Get Happy!
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- The River
THE DOORS -- Greatest Hits
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Uprising
DAVID BOWIE -- Scary Monsters
STEVE WINWOOD -- Arc Of A Diver
PETER GABRIEL -- Peter Gabriel (3)
BILLY JOEL -- Glass Houses
STEVIE WONDER -- Hotter Than July
THE CLASH -- Sandinista!
BARBRA STREISAND -- Guilty
FRANK SINATRA -- Trilogy: Past Present Future
PRINCE -- Dirty Mind
KENNY ROGERS -- Greatest Hits

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1979

THE CLASH -- London Calling
TALKING HEADS -- Fear of Music
VAN MORRISON -- Into The Music
MICHAEL JACKSON -- Off The Wall
FLEETWOOD MAC -- Tusk
DAVID BOWIE -- Lodger
PEGGY LEE -- Close Enough For Love
PHILIP GLASS -- Satyagraha
AC/DC -- Highway To Hell
JOE JACKSON -- Look Sharp!
DONNA SUMMER -- On The Radio (Greatest Hits)
STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Sweeney Todd (Original Cast Recording)
RICKIE LEE JONES -- Rickie Lee Jones
LEONARD COHEN -- Recent Songs
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Blue Kentucky Girl
BUZZCOCKS -- Singles Going Steady
PINK FLOYD -- The Wall
MADNESS -- One Step Beyond...
GRAHAM PARKER -- Squeezing Out Sparks

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1978

WILLIE NELSON -- Stardust
FUNKADELIC -- One Nation Under A Groove
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits
ROLLING STONES -- Some Girls
TALKING HEADS -- More Songs About Buildings and Food
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Ain't Misbehavin' (Original Cast Recording)
ELVIS COSTELLO -- This Year's Model
EARTH WIND AND FIRE -- The Best of Earth Wind And Fire
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Darkness On The Edge Of Town
JACKSON BROWNE -- Running On Empty
BILLY JOEL -- 52nd Street
BARBRA STREISAND -- Greatest Hits Vol. 2
THE BAND/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Last Waltz
BRIAN ENO -- Ambient 1: Music For Airports
BIG STAR -- Third/Sister Lovers
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town
WARREN ZEVON -- Excitable Boy
BLONDIE -- Parallel Lines
BUDDY HOLLY -- 20 Golden Greats
DIRE STRAITS -- Dire Straits
KATE BUSH -- The Kick Inside
GERRY RAFFERTY -- City To City


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1977

STEELY DAN -- Aja
DAVID BOWIE -- Low/Heroes
FLEETWOOD MAC -- Rumours
MEAT LOAF -- Bat Out Of Hell
ELVIS COSTELLO -- My Aim Is True
MUDDY WATERS -- Hard Again
BILLY JOEL -- The Stranger
SEX PISTOLS -- Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols
JOHN WILLIAMS -- Star Wars Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
ELTON JOHN -- Greatest Hits #2
RAMONES -- Leave Home/Rocket To Russia
AL GREEN -- The Belle Album/Greatest Hits Vol. 2
WILLIE NELSON -- To Lefty From Willie
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Exodus
KATE AND ANNA MCGARRIGLE -- Dancer With Bruised Knee
MERLE HAGGARD -- A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today
PETER TOSH -- Equal Rights
PAUL SIMON -- Greatest Hits, Etc.
TONY BENNETT AND BILL EVANS -- Together Again
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Saturday Night Fever
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Luxury Liner
GLENN GOULD -- The Quiet In The Land (available on The Solitude Trilogy)

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1976

STEVIE WONDER -- Songs In The Key Of Life
JAMES TAYLOR -- Greatest Hits
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL -- Chronicle Vol. 1 (20 Greatest Hits)
THE EAGLES -- Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)
PHILIP GLASS -- Einstein On The Beach
BOZ SCAGGS -- Silk Degrees
DAVID BOWIE -- Station To Station/Changesonebowie
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Rastaman Vibration
LINDA RONSTADT -- Greatest Hits
RAMONES -- Ramones
PETER TOSH -- Legalize It
WILLIE NELSON -- Red Headed Stranger
WARREN ZEVON -- Warren Zevon
RUSH -- 2112
AUGUSTUS PABLO -- King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown
BILLY JOEL -- Turnstiles
BLONDIE -- Blondie
THE ABYSSINIANS -- Satta Massagana


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1975

BOB DYLAN -- Blood On The Tracks/The Basement Tapes
FLEETWOOD MAC -- Fleetwood Mac
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- Born To Run
KATE AND ANNA MCGARRIGLE -- Kate And Anna McGarrigle
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Natty Dread/Live!
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- Pour Down Like Silver
PAUL SIMON -- Still Crazy After All These Years
JONI MITCHELL -- The Hissing Of Summer Lawns
TONY BENNETT AND BILL EVANS -- The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album
DOLLY PARTON -- The Best Of Dolly Parton Vol. 2
PARLIAMENT -- Mothership Connection
THE FOUR SEASONS -- The Four Seasons Story
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- A Chorus Line (Original Cast Recording)
AL GREEN -- Greatest Hits Vol. 1
BRIAN ENO -- Another Green World
PINK FLOYD -- Wish You Were Here
PEGGY LEE -- Mirrors
EMMYLOU HARRIS -- Pieces of The Sky/Elite Hotel
BARRY WHITE -- Greatest Hits, Volume 1
LINDA LEWIS -- Fathoms Deep
PATTI SMITH -- Horses
ART GARFUNKEL -- Breakaway


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1974


RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
THE BEACH BOYS -- Endless Summer
JONI MITCHELL -- Court And Spark
ELTON JOHN -- Greatest Hits
LINDA RONSTADT -- Heart Like A Wheel
GRAM PARSONS -- Grievous Angel
RANDY NEWMAN -- Good Old Boys
STEVIE WONDER -- Fulfillingness' First Finale
PHILIP GLASS -- Music in Twelve Parts
BIG STAR -- Radio City
CELIA CRUZ AND JOHNNY PACHECO -- Celia And Johnny
NEIL YOUNG -- On The Beach
BILL WITHERS -- +'Justments
BRIAN ENO -- Here Come The Warm Jets
CROSBY, STILLS AND NASH -- So Far
JACKSON BROWNE -- Late For The Sky
ROBERT WYATT -- Rock Bottom
NEIL DIAMOND -- 12 Greatest Hits
TOM WAITS -- The Heart Of Saturday Night
AL GREEN -- Explores Your Mind
SANDY DENNY -- Like An Old-Fashioned Waltz
SANTANA -- Santana's Greatest Hits
ROXY MUSIC -- Country Life
LORETTA LYNN -- Loretta Lynn's Greatest Hits Vol. 2
RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON -- Hokey Pokey
JIM CROCE -- Photographs And Memories: His Greatest Hits

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1973

BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS -- Catch A Fire/Burnin'
HARRY NILSSON -- A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night
PINK FLOYD -- The Dark Side Of The Moon
JOHN MARTYN -- Solid Air
DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES -- Anthology
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN -- The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle
STEVIE WONDER -- Innervisions
PAUL SIMON -- There Goes Rhymin' Simon
MARVIN GAYE -- Let's Get It On
THE TEMPTATIONS -- Anthology
PAUL MCCARTNEY -- Band On The Run
DAVID BOWIE -- Aladdin Sane
GRAM PARSONS -- GP
THE CARPENTERS -- The Singles 1969-1973
AL GREEN -- Call Me/Livin' For You
DOLLY PARTON -- My Tennessee Mountain Home
BOBBY SHORT -- Bobby Short Is C-R-A-Z-Y For Gershwin
JOHN DENVER -- Greatest Hits
MOTT THE HOOPLE -- Mott
BILLY JOEL -- Piano Man
THE FOUR TOPS -- 19 Greatest Hits

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1972

SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Greatest Hits
ROLLING STONES -- Exile On Main St.
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Will The Circle Be Unbroken
NICK DRAKE -- Pink Moon
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Harder They Come
NEIL YOUNG -- Harvest
STEVIE WONDER -- Music Of My Mind/Talking Book
DAVID BOWIE -- The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars
STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- A Little Night Music (Original Cast Recording)
RANDY NEWMAN -- Sail Away
FANIA ALL-STARS -- Live At The Cheetah Vol. 1-3
PAUL SIMON -- Paul Simon
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968
JONI MITCHELL -- For The Roses
AL GREEN -- Let's Stay Together/I'm Still In Love With You
BIG STAR -- #1 Record
SANDY DENNY -- Sandy
CURTIS MAYFIELD -- Superfly
ROY ORBISON -- All-Time Greatest Hits
THE FLATLANDERS -- More A Legend Than A Band
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- Amazing Grace
ROXY MUSIC -- Roxy Music
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- The Last Sessions
BILL WITHERS -- Still Bill
STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Follies (Original Cast Recording)
BOBBY SHORT -- Bobby Short Is Mad About Noel Coward
ELVIS PRESLEY -- He Touched Me
MOTT THE HOOPLE -- All The Young Dudes

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1971

JONI MITCHELL -- Blue
MARVIN GAYE -- What's Going On
CAROLE KING -- Tapestry
LED ZEPPELIN -- Untitled (Led Zeppelin IV)
BILL WITHERS -- Just As I Am
ROLLING STONES -- Sticky Fingers/Hot Rocks 1964-1971
ROD STEWART -- Every Picture Tells A Story
DAVID BOWIE -- Hunky Dory
PAUL MCCARTNEY -- Ram
DOLLY PARTON -- Coat Of Many Colors
THE DOORS -- L.A. Woman
GIL SCOTT-HERON -- Pieces Of A Man
LAURA NYRO -- Gonna Take A Miracle
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -- There's A Riot Goin' On
THE WHO -- Who's Next/Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy
MILES DAVIS -- Jack Johnson
CURTIS MAYFIELD -- Roots
JACKSON 5 -- Greatest Hits
JANIS JOPLIN -- Pearl
JOHN LENNON -- Imagine
HOWLIN' WOLF -- The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
DON MCLEAN -- American Pie
VAN MORRISON -- Tupelo Honey
HARRY NILSSON -- Nilsson Schmilsson
BOBBY SHORT -- Bobby Loves Cole Porter

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1970

RANDY NEWMAN -- 12 Songs (tie)
HARRY NILSSON -- Nilsson Sings Newman (tie)
THE GRATEFUL DEAD -- Workingman's Dead/American Beauty
BARBRA STREISAND -- Greatest Hits
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Bridge Over Troubled Water
JOHN LENNON AND THE PLASTIC ONO BAND -- Plastic Ono Band
VAN MORRISON -- Moondance
NEIL YOUNG -- After The Gold Rush
FRANK SINATRA -- Sinatra-Jobim
MILES DAVIS -- Bitches Brew
THE DOORS -- Morrison Hotel
GEORGE HARRISON -- All Things Must Pass
THE BEATLES -- Let It Be
NICK DRAKE -- Bryter Layter
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL -- Cosmo's Factory
JAMES TAYLOR -- Sweet Baby James
JONI MITCHELL -- Ladies Of The Canyon
STEPHEN SONDHEIM/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Company (Original Cast Recording)
GIL SCOTT-HERON -- Small Talk At 125th and Lenox
SANTANA -- Abraxas
DEREK AND THE DOMINOS -- Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs
JORGE BEN -- Forca Bruta
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -- Greatest Hits
ROD STEWART -- Gasoline Alley
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND -- Loaded
THE TEMPTATIONS -- Greatest Hits Vol. 2
EVIE SANDS -- Any Way That You Want Me
LED ZEPPELIN -- Led Zeppelin III
PAUL MCCARTNEY -- McCartney

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1969

THE BEATLES -- Abbey Road

THE BAND -- The Band
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL -- Green River/Willie and the Poor Boys/Bayou Country
FAIRPORT CONVENTION -- What We Did On Our Holidays/Unhalfbricking/Liege And Leaf
LED ZEPPELIN -- Led Zeppelin II
DUSTY SPRINGFIELD -- Dusty In Memphis
ROLLING STONES -- Let It Bleed
NICK DRAKE -- Five Leaves Left
CROSBY, STILLS AND NASH -- Crosby, Stills and Nash
SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE -- Stand!

NEIL YOUNG -- Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND -- The Velvet Underground

MILES DAVIS -- In A Silent Way
HARRY NILSSON -- Harry
JORGE BEN -- Jorge Ben
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART -- Trout Mask Replica
SANTANA -- Santana
PENTANGLE -- Basket Of Light
GLENN GOULD -- The Latecomers (available on The Solitude Trilogy)
ELVIS PRESLEY -- From Elvis In Memphis
KAREN DALTON -- It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Live 1969 (released 2008)

JOHNNY CASH -- At San Quentin

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1968

VAN MORRISON -- Astral Weeks
THE BEATLES -- The Beatles (The White Album)
JIMI HENDRIX -- Electric Ladyland
THE BAND -- Music From Big Pink
ARETHA FRANKLIN -- Lady Soul
THE BYRDS -- Sweethearts of the Rodeo/The Notorious Byrd Brothers/Greatest Hits
ROLLING STONES -- Beggars Banquet
HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS -- Christmas Album
THE DRIFTERS -- The Drifters' Golden Hits
FAIRPORT CONVENTION -- Fairport Convention
JOHNNY CASH -- At Folsom Prison
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Bookends
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND -- White Light/White Heat
THE RASCALS -- Time Peace: The Rascals' Greatest Hits
THE ZOMBIES -- Odessey and Oracle
THE KINKS -- The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY -- Cheal Thrills
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis (TV Special)
RANDY NEWMAN -- Randy Newman
THE EVERLY BROTHERS -- Roots
THE BEAU BRUMMELS -- Bradley's Barn
THE SMALL FACES -- Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
LORETTA LYNN -- Loretta Lynn's Greatest Hits
HARRY NILSSON -- Aerial Ballet


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1967

ARETHA FRANKLIN -- I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)
JIMI HENDRIX -- Are You Experienced/Axis: Bold As Love
THE BEATLES -- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
FRANK SINATRA -- Frances Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND -- The Velvet Underground And Nico
DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES -- Greatest Hits
LEONARD COHEN -- Songs Of Leonard Cohen
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt
LOVE -- Forever Changes
JEFFERSON AIRPLANE -- Surrealistic Pillow
MILES DAVIS -- Miles Smiles
GLENN GOULD -- The Idea Of North (available on The Solitude Trilogy)
BOBBIE GENTRY -- Ode To Billie Joe
BOB DYLAN -- John Wesley Harding
CARLOS PAREDES -- Guitarra Portuguesa
ROLLING STONES -- Between The Buttons
THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL -- The Best Of The Lovin' Spoonful
PINK FLOYD -- The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
THE DOORS -- The Doors/Strange Days
ELVIS PRESLEY -- How Great Thou Art
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Far East Suite
MERLE HAGGARD -- I'm A Lonesome Fugitive/Branded Man
THE BEATLES -- Magical Mystery Tour
GLEN CAMPBELL -- Gentle On My Mind/By The Time I Get To Phoenix
THE FOUR TOPS -- Greatest Hits
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Live From New York City, 1967 (released 2002)
SCOTT WALKER -- Scott
DORIS DAY -- The Love Album


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1966

THE BEACH BOYS -- Pet Sounds (tie)
BOB DYLAN -- Blonde on Blonde (tie)
THE BEATLES -- Revolver
ROLLING STONES -- Aftermath
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL -- Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
HERBIE HANCOCK -- Blow-Up Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
FRANK SINATRA -- Sinatra At The Sands
MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- Today!
THE TEMPTATIONS -- Greatest Hits
THE FOUR SEASONS -- 2nd Vault Of Golden Hits
ELIZABETH COTTEN -- Shake Sugaree
THE FOUR TOPS -- 19 Greatest Hits
KANDER AND EBB -- Cabaret Original Broadway Cast Recording
WILLIE BOBO -- Uno Dos Tres 1 2 3


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1965

THE BEATLES -- Rubber Soul
BOB DYLAN -- Highway 61 Revisited
BOB DYLAN -- Bringing It All Back Home
JOHN COLTRANE -- A Love Supreme
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- The Sound Of Music Original Soundtrack
B.B. KING -- Live At The Regal
OTIS REDDING -- Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul
FRANK SINATRA -- September Of My Years
MILES DAVIS -- The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel/E.S.P.
THE BYRDS -- Mr. Tambourine Man/Turn! Turn! Turn!
THE BEACH BOYS -- The Beach Boys Today!
PHIL SPECTOR -- Back To Mono 1958-1969 (boxed set)
THE BEATLES -- Help!
THE FOUR TOPS -- 19 Greatest Hits
FRED NEIL -- Bleecker and MacDougall
HERB ALPERT AND THE TIJUANA BRASS -- Whipped Cream and Other Delights
THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL -- Do You Believe In Magic\
WILLIE BOBO -- Spanish Grease
TONY BENNETT -- If I Ruled The World: Songs For The Jet Set

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1964

STAN GETZ AND JOAO GILBERTO -- Getz/Gilberto
BOB DYLAN -- Another Side Of Bob Dylan
THE BEATLES -- Beatles For Sale/A Hard Day's Night
TONY BENNETT -- When Lights Are Low
THE RONETTES -- Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes, Featuring Veronica
MUDDY WATERS -- Folk Singer
JOAN BAEZ -- Joan Baez 5
THELONIOUS MONK -- Solo Monk
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Jerome Kern Songbook/Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Johnny Mercer Songbook
BARBRA STREISAND -- The Third Album
HORACE SILVER -- Song For My Father
CHUCK BERRY -- St. Louis To Liverpool
ERIC DOLPHY -- Out To Lunch
BOB DYLAN -- The Times They Are A-Changin'
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Fiddler On The Roof Original Broadway Cast

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1963

PATSY CLINE -- The Patsy Cline Story
JOHN COLTRANE -- John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
JAMES BROWN -- Live At The Apollo
PHIL SPECTOR/VARIOUS ARTISTS -- A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records
PHIL SPECTOR -- Back To Mono 1958-1969 (boxed set)
BOB DYLAN -- The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
DEXTER GORDON -- Our Man In Paris
MILES DAVIS -- Quiet Nights
THE BEATLES -- Please Please Me
BARBRA STREISAND -- The Barbra Streisand Album/The Second Barbra Streisand Album
THELONIOUS MONK -- Monk's Dream
SAM COOKE -- Night Beat
THE SWAN SILVERTONES -- Blessed Assurance
THE BEATLES -- With The Beatles
ROSEMARY CLOONEY -- Love
DEAN MARTIN -- Country Style/Dean "Tex" Martin Rides Again

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1962

RAY CHARLES -- Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music Vol 1 and 2
DUKE ELLINGTON -- Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins/Duke Ellington And John Coltrane
PHIL SPECTOR -- Back To Mono 1958-1969 (boxed set)
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Howlin' Wolf (Rocking Chair Album)
TONY BENNETT -- Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall/I Left My Heart In San Francisco
SAM COOKE -- The Best Of Sam Cooke
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Twelve Nights In Hollywood
CHARLES MINGUS -- New Tijuana Moods
DINAH WASHINGTON -- Drinking Again
THE SWAN SILVERTONES -- Savior Pass Me Not
DEXTER GORDON -- Go!

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1961

BILL EVANS -- Sunday At The Village Vanguard/Waltz For Debby
JUDY GARLAND -- Judy At Carnegie Hall
JOHN COLTRANE -- My Favorite Things/Coltrane Jazz
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Twelve Nights In Hollywood
RAY CHARLES -- The Genius Sings The Blues/The Genius After Hours/Ray Charles and Betty Carter/Genius + Soul = Jazz
MILES DAVIS -- Steamin'
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Harold Arlen Songbook
DEXTER GORDON -- Dexter Calling
JAMES BROWN -- James Brown Presents His Band
EDITH PIAF -- Greatest Hits
JACK TEAGARDEN -- Mis'ry and the Blues
JOAN BAEZ -- Joan Baez 2
THELONIOUS MONK -- Thelonious Monk With John Coltrane
DINAH WASHINGTON -- The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury Vol. 7 (1961)
ORNETTE COLEMAN -- This Is Our Music/Free Jazz
ABBEY LINCOLN -- Straight Ahead
FRANK SINATRA -- Ring-a-Ding-Ding!
ART BLAKEY -- Art Blakey and the Jazz Passengers
ROSEMARY CLOONEY -- Rosie Solves The Swingin' Riddle!

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1960

ELLA FITZGERALD -- The Intimate Ella (released in 1990)
JOHN COLTRANE -- Giant Steps
MUDDY WATERS -- Muddy Waters At Newport 1960
DAVE BRUBECK -- Time Out
ETTA JAMES -- At Last!
ELVIS PRESLEY -- His Hand In Mine/50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong Golden Records Vol 2
JAMES BROWN -- Think
EDITH PIAF -- Greatest Hits
MEL TORME -- Swings Schubert Alley/Back In Town
THE ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHOIR UNDER THE DIRECTION OF PROFESSOR ALEX BRADFORD -- Shakin' The Rafters
ART BLAKEY -- A Night In Tunisia
JOAN BAEZ -- Joan Baez
FATS DOMINO -- They Call Me The Fat Man...Antoine "Fats" Domino -- The Legendary Imperial Recordings
ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST -- Camelot
DINAH WASHINGTON -- The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury Vol. 6 (1958-1960)
MILES DAVIS -- Sketches Of Spain
ANITA O'DAY -- Anita O'Day And Billy May Swing Rodgers And Hart
ERIC DOLPHY -- Outward Bound/Out There

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1959

MILES DAVIS -- Kind Of Blue/Workin'/Porgy and Bess
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Ella Fitzgerald Sings The George and Ira Gershwin Songbook
BUDDY HOLLY -- The Buddy Holly Story
HARRY BELAFONTE -- Belafonte at Carnegie Hall
CHUCK BERRY -- Chuck Berry Is On Top
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Billie Holiday on Verve 1945-1959 (1991 boxed set)
FATS DOMINO -- They Call Me The Fat Man...Antoine "Fats" Domino -- The Legendary Imperial Recordings
ORNETTE COLEMAN -- The Shape Of Jazz To Come
RAY CHARLES -- The Genius of Ray Charles
THE SWAN SILVERTONES -- The Swan Silvertones
CHARLES MINGUS -- Ah Um/Mingus Dynasty
DINAH WASHINGTON -- What A Diff'rence A Day Makes!
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Moanin' In The Moonlight
BILL EVANS -- On Green Dolphin Street
LITTLE RICHARD -- His Greatest Hits
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK -- Black Orpheus
ABBEY LINCOLN -- Abbey Is Blue
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- The Sound Of Music Original Broadway Cast
FRANK SINATRA -- Come Dance With Me!/Live In Australia with The Red Norvo Quintet
DUKE ELLINGTON -- Anatomy Of A Murder
ANITA O'DAY -- Anita Swings Cole Porter With Billy May
STEPHEN SONDHEIM/JULE STYNE -- Gypsy Original Broadway Cast
PEGGY LEE -- Beauty and the Beat

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1958

ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis' Golden Records Vol. 1
ELLA FITZGERALD -- The Irving Berlin Songbook/Porgy and Bess/Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert
MILES DAVIS -- Relaxin'/Milestones
FRANK SINATRA -- Come Fly With Me/Frank Sinatra Sings For Only The Lonely
BILL EVANS -- Everybody Digs Bill Evans
CHUCK BERRY -- The Great 28
DUKE ELLINGTON -- Black Brown And Beige
BUDDY HOLLY -- Buddy Holly
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- Lady In Satin
THE PLATTERS -- The Magic Touch: An Anthology
JOHNNY MATHIS -- Johnny's Greatest Hits
ELIZABETH COTTEN -- Freight Train And Other North Carolina Folk Songs And Tunes
THE EVERLY BROTHERS -- Songs Our Daddy Taught Us
NAT KING COLE -- St. Louis Blues
DINAH WASHINGTON -- The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury Vol. 5 (1956-1958)
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- Louis Under The Stars
CHET BAKER -- (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen To You
CANNONBALL ADDERLEY-- Somethin' Else
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1957

LERNER AND LOEWE -- My Fair Lady Original Broadway Cast
JOHN COLTRANE -- Blue Train
ELLA FITZGERALD -- Sings The Rodgers And Hart Songbook/Daydream: The Duke Ellington Songbook/Ella and Louie Again
MILES DAVIS -- Cookin'/Miles Ahead
FATS DOMINO -- They Call Me The Fat Man...Antoine "Fats" Domino -- The Legendary Imperial Recordings
RAY CHARLES -- Ray Charles

ART PEPPER -- Meets The Rhythm Section
BUDDY HOLLY -- The "Chirping" Crickets
THELONIOUS MONK -- Brilliant Corners/Monk's Music/W John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall
BING CROSBY -- Bing With A Beat
LAMBERT HENDRICKS AND ROSS -- Sing A Song Of Basie
LITTLE RICHARD -- Here's Little Richard
ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST -- West Side Story
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis' Christmas Album

NAT KING COLE -- After Midnight
CHRIS CONNOR -- Chris Connor Sings The George Gershwin Almanac Of Song
LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- I've Got The World On A String
ANITA O'DAY -- Anita Sings The Most
DENNY MARTIN -- Exotica
JUDY GARLAND -- Alone
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960

FRANK SINATRA -- Sinatra '57 In Concert/Close To You/Where Are You?/Christmas Dreaming
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- Cinderella TV Soundtrack
COLEMAN HAWKINS -- The Hawk Flies High

TONY BENNETT -- The Beat Of My Heart

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1956

ELLA FITZGERALD -- Sings The Cole Porter Songbook/Ella and Louis
DUKE ELLINGTON -- Ellington At Newport
FRANK SINATRA -- Songs For Swingin' Lovers!
ELVIS PRESLEY -- Elvis Presley/Elvis
PEGGY LEE -- Black Coffee (12 inch version)
CHUCK BERRY -- The Great 28
THE PLATTERS -- The Magic Touch: An Anthology
BING CROSBY -- Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings
FATS DOMINO -- They Call Me The Fat Man...Antoine "Fats" Domino -- The Legendary Imperial Recordings
ROSEMARY CLOONEY -- Blue Rose
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- Lady Sings The Blues
MEL TORME -- Sings Fred Astaire
JUDY GARLAND -- Judy
CHET BAKER -- Sings
DINAH WASHINGTON -- Dinah!/In The Land Of Hi-Fi/The Swingin' Miss "D"
ANITA O'DAY -- Anita aka This Is Anita
VIC DAMONE -- That Towering Feeling

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1955

FRANK SINATRA -- In The Wee Small Hours
ELVIS PRESLEY -- The Sun Sessions
BING CROSBY -- Merry Christmas (LP version)
GLENN GOULD -- A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations 1955 and 1981
COUNT BASIE -- April In Paris
THE PLATTERS -- The Magic Touch: An Anthology

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1954

DINAH WASHINGTON -- Dinah Jams/After Hours With Miss "D"
FRANK SINATRA -- Songs For Young Lovers/Swing Easy!
ELVIS PRESLEY -- The Sun Sessions
JUNE CHRISTY -- Something Cool
MILES DAVIS -- Walkin

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1953

PEGGY LEE -- Black Coffee (10 inch version)
DAVE BRUBECK -- Jazz At The College Of The Pacific
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1952

VARIOUS ARTISTS/HARRY SMITH -- The Anthology Of American Folk Music
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits
FRED ASTAIRE -- The Astaire Story
DINAH WASHINGTON -- The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury Vol. 2 (1950-1952)
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960
DUKE ELLINGTON -- Ellington Uptown
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- Greatest Hits

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1951

HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits
HOWLIN' WOLF -- Smokestack Lightning: The Complete Chess Masters 1951-1960
EDITH PIAF -- Greatest Hits

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1950

BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Complete Decca Recordings (1944-1950)
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits
FRANK SINATRA -- Dedicated To You/Swing and Dance With Frank Sinatra
EDITH PIAF -- Greatest Hits

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1949

DJANGO REINHARDT -- Djangology 49
DINAH WASHINGTON -- The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury Vol. 1 (1946-1949) FRANK SINATRA -- Frankly Sentimental
HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- South Pacific

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1948

HANK WILLIAMS -- 40 Greatest Hits
DINAH WASHINGTON -- The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury Vol. 1 (1946-1949) 

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1947

WOODY GUTHRIE -- Songs To Grow On: Nursery Days
FRANK SINATRA -- Songs By Sinatra
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951)

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1946

BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951)
FRANK SINATRA -- The Voice of Frank Sinatra
EDITH PIAF -- Greatest Hits
THE INK SPOTS -- The Ultimate Collection (1939-1951)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1945

BING CROSBY -- Merry Christmas
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951)
WOODY GUTHRIE -- The Asch Recordings Vol. 2
RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- Carousel Original Broadway Cast 
HARRY JAMES -- The Essence Of Harry James

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1944

RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN -- Oklahoma!
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933-1944
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
WOODY GUTHRIE -- The Asch Recordings Vol. 1
THE INK SPOTS -- The Ultimate Collection (1939-1951)
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- Greatest Hits
HARRY JAMES -- The Essence Of Harry James

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1943

DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
BING CROSY AND THE ANDREWS SISTERS -- Their Complete Recordings Together (1939-1951)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- Greatest Hits
HARRY JAMES -- The Essence Of Harry James

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1942

FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 9 1940-1942 (get remastered boxed set)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller
HARRY JAMES -- The Essence Of Harry James

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1941

DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band
FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller
WOODY GUTHRIE -- Columbia River Collection

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1940

DUKE ELLINGTON -- The Blanton-Webster Band/1937-1940 on Classics Label
DJANGO REINHARDT -- Swing In Paris (1936-1940)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller
THE INK SPOTS -- The Ultimate Collection (1939-1951)
FRANK SINATRA AND TOMMY DORSEY-- The Song Is You! 1940-1942 on RCA Victor
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 8 1939-1940 (get remastered boxed set)
WOODY GUTHRIE -- Dust Bowl Ballads

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1939

GLENN MILLER -- The Essential Glenn Miller
DJANGO REINHARDT -- Swing 39: Jazz In Paris
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 7 1938-1939 (get remastered boxed set)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1937-1940 on Classics Label
COUNT BASIE -- The Complete Decca Recordings 1937-1939
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
THE INK SPOTS -- The Ultimate Collection (1939-1951)

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1938

BENNY GOODMAN -- Benny Goodman At Carnegie Hall
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 5-6 1937-1938 (get remastered boxed set)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1937-1940 on Classics Label
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
COUNT BASIE -- The Complete Decca Recordings 1937-1939

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1937

BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 3-4 1936-1937 (get remastered boxed set)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1937-1940 on Classics Label
ROBERT JOHNSON -- King Of The Delta Blues Singers Vol. 2
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
COUNT BASIE -- The Complete Decca Recordings 1937-1939
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1936

ROBERT JOHNSON -- King Of The Delta Blues Singers Vol. 1
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 2 1936 (get remastered boxed set)
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
EDITH PIAF -- Greatest Hits
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1935

BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Decca 1934-1954]
BILLIE HOLIDAY -- The Quintessential Billie Holiday Vol 1 1933-1935 (get remastered boxed set)
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1934

BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934; Decca 1934-1954]
CHARLEY PATTON -- King Of The Delta Blues (1929-1934)
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings


THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1933

BESSIE SMITH -- The Collection
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934]
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1932

THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings
BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934]

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1931

BING CROSY -- Bing Crosby: His Legendary Years (1931-1957) [Brunswick 1931-1934]
THE MILLS BROTHERS -- The 1930's Recordings

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1930

DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930/1924-1930 on Classics Label

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1929

CHARLEY PATTON -- King Of The Delta Blues (1929-1934)
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930/1924-1930 on Classics Label



THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1928

MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT -- Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1927

LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings
DUKE ELLINGTON -- The OKeh Ellington 1927-1930
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1926

LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1925

LOUIS ARMSTRONG -- The Complete Hot Five And Seven Recordings
DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 1924

DUKE ELLINGTON -- 1924-1930 on Classics Label