Playlist project #

Introduction #

Back around April 2020, in the first wave of coronavirus lockdowns when the world was full of uncertainty and strangeness, I was having frequent discussions over iMessage with my cousin back in Australia about music. I don’t remember precisely what triggered it, but at some point one of us had the idea to reflect on a different year in the history of recorded music every week. I wrote a Python one-liner to associate a random year between 1970 and 2010 to each of the forty upcoming weeks and we started building playlists, sharing recommendations. We later added the last decade, 2011-2020, and the years from 1962-1969 (but two per week for these years which we felt had a little less to discover).

Formally, the goal was to build a curated playlist of songs we like from each year, and if there’s time, order the playlist in an interesting way. I tried to keep it one song per album on the playlist, but there are some albums that I just didn’t know how to choose from. I gave myself an additional challenge of choosing a relevant playlist cover photo. I’ve been using characters from pop culture that have some sort of connection to the year; so Phil from Groundhog Day in 1993, or the Seinfeld cast at the Chinese restaurant in 1991.

I ended up with 59 playlists with a total of 4,459 songs on them, so an average of around 75 songs per year.

The project #

Three types of songs #

I noticed early on that there are usually three very interesting and very different categories of tracks which go into each playlist.

  1. Songs I already know and love and which already feature in my library of albums. Here the difficulty is to choose just one song from classic albums I really love from the year and which may have many tracks which mean a lot to me. Sometimes there is no choice but to put two songs from the same album on the playlist; as mentioned above, this is something of a faux pas. This also gave me a bit of a chance to clean out albums from my library that I really only like one track from, and just keep that track on the year playlist instead.
  2. Songs I recognise when I hear them but I don’t have in my library. For this I need to trawl lists of songs from the revelant year online, finding ones whose names seem familiar, listening to all sorts of things. There’s a very real pleasure in finding a song you never knew the name of but which brings back associations of the past. For me this is mostly songs that I heard on the radio when I was a kid.
  3. Songs I don’t know yet. For these I use lists as well, or conversations with my cousin who I’m talking everything over with, for recommendations from other people I know. This is the lowest priority but whenever I had time during the week I really loved taking a few hours to sit down and explore music I haven’t heard before from a specific year. You get to hear the “sound of the year” much clearer, the way certain influences get distilled into a specific time. What gives music from the ’80s its distinctive sound? What is “’70s music”?

Another really great side-effect of this project is talking to people in my life about years that were important to them and hearing the songs that meant something to them. It’s been especially meaningful talking to my Dad, to whom my taste in music owes a great debt, about his favourite bands and tracks and albums of the ’70s.

Apple Music #

I spent a lot of time in Apple Music over the last 55 weeks. Hundreds of hours. Most of this time was spent in the macOS version of Apple Music, which absolutely sucks, and I say this as an unashamed long-term Apple fanboy. It’s just extremely bad software that is really annoying to use. Clearly there aren’t enough “power users” like myself using it so much and creating pressure to make it better. My move to the M1 MacBook Air made it at least significantly faster and more responsive, but alas this was in week 52 of the project. The iOS app is fine but creating these playlists is definitely more of a desktop task.

Influence #

The trees (in a graph theory sense) of artists’ influences over other artists is very interesting and was something I paid a lot of attention to this year. Probably this would have been even clearer if we had done the project in strict chronological order, but I think if we’d done that I probably would have bailed at some point during the 80s. You can also notice very clearly which artists were “ahead of their time” because they stand out so drastically compared to what everyone else was doing that year.

Resilience #

Another interesting property of music through time is its resilience: how relevant does it remain, how aged does it sound decades later, how interesting and innovative does it appear with hindsight. Almost by definition, the project made me listen to very resilient and timeless music. I was trying to think whether the songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s that I really enjoyed and that still sound fresh today have anything in common, and I’m not sure I can pin it down, but there is definitely some quality that I look for in music, some sort of beauty that is very specific to me and to what I like to listen to, and that quality, whatever it is, is everywhere on these playlists. It makes me very happy to have preserved it for my future self.

Statistics and charts #

I generated some plots and high-level analysis of this project now it’s concluded. Luckily I had played with a Python library for manipulating iTunes library XML files in the past.

Gathering data # 

import pandas as pd
import plotly.express as px
from libpytunes import Library

l = Library("/Users/clinton/Documents/technical/playlist_project/full_lib.xml")
playlists = l.getPlaylistNames()
songs_by_year_names = [str(1960 + i) for i in range(0, 2022-1960)]
songs_by_year_idx = {}
for i, playlist in enumerate(playlists):
    if playlist in songs_by_year_names:
	songs_by_year_idx[i] = playlist

df = pd.DataFrame(columns=['year', 'track', 'artist', 'genre'])
years = []
tracks = []
artists = []
genres = []
for _, year in songs_by_year_idx.items():
    for song in l.getPlaylist(year).tracks:
	years.append(year)
	tracks.append(song.name)
	artists.append(song.artist)
	genres.append(song.genre)
df['year'] = years
df['track'] = tracks
df['artist'] = artists
df['genre'] = genres

Playlist length by year # 

df_by_year = df[['year', 'track']].groupby('year').agg('count').reset_index()
df_by_year.columns = ['Year', 'Number of tracks']
fig = px.bar(df_by_year, x="Year",
	     color_discrete_sequence =['#e3e2df']*len(df_by_year),
	     y='Number of tracks',
	     height=600
	    )
fig.update_layout(
    font_size=24,
    font_family="PT Serif",
    font_color='#e3e2df',
    plot_bgcolor='#343a40',
    paper_bgcolor='#343a40')

fig.show()

The plot below clearly shows a few interesting musical trends from my life.

There is a lot of variance in playlist length throughout the years, some of which was caused by how much time I had in a given week to build and curate the playlists, but there is a clearly visible rise in the early 90s when I become conscious enough of music to be able to remember things and have them stick in my mind throughout the years (I was born in 1988). The 70s have more songs than the 80s because my Dad played a lot of 70s music. Indeed, the project really reinforced my belief that the 80s were the worst decade for music. There is also a huge outlier in 2019, when I followed a new regimen for keeping up with new music that really worked, but I couldn’t keep it up in 2020 simultaneously with this project and parenting.

Songs by genre # 

df_by_genre = df[['genre', 'track']].groupby('genre').agg('count').reset_index()
df_by_genre.columns = ['Genre', 'Number of tracks']
df_by_genre = df_by_genre[df_by_genre['Number of tracks'] > 5].sort_values('Number of tracks')
fig = px.bar(df_by_genre.tail(20), x='Genre',
	     color_discrete_sequence =['#e3e2df']*len(df_by_genre),
	     y='Number of tracks'
	    )
fig.update_layout(
    font_size=24,
    font_family="PT Serif",
    font_color='#e3e2df',
    plot_bgcolor='#343a40',
    paper_bgcolor='#343a40')
fig.show()

I’m not sure how interesting this plot is to be honest, because Apple Music’s genre tags are pretty atrocious. But for what it’s worth, I listen to a lot of “Alternative”, Rock and Pop.

Songs by artist # 

df_by_artist = df[['artist', 'track']].groupby('artist').agg('count').reset_index()
df_by_artist.columns = ['Artist', 'Number of tracks']
df_by_artist = df_by_artist[df_by_artist['Number of tracks'] > 2].sort_values('Number of tracks', ascending=False).head(25)
as_org_table = [list(df_by_artist)] + [None] + df_by_artist.values.tolist()

No surprises (pun intended) in this list for me, which is a pretty accurate representation of my all-time favourite artists, and which should probably become my go-to answer when someone asks me “so what sort of music do you like?” The amount of Radiohead songs here is also a clear indication that I sometimes violated the one-track-per-album rule. And there’s a clear bias to artists with long careers in this list.

Artist Number of tracks
Radiohead 32
David Bowie 19
The Beatles 15
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 15
Bob Dylan 15
Paul Simon 14
R.E.M. 12
Bruce Springsteen 12
The Mountain Goats 12
Leonard Cohen 11
Joni Mitchell 11
Beck 11
Elton John 11
Kanye West 10
Tom Waits 10
Belle and Sebastian 10
Madonna 10
New Order 10
The Rolling Stones 10
Red Hot Chili Peppers 10
Björk 9
The National 9
The Decemberists 9
Oasis 9
Okkervil River 9

Best discoveries #

Here are my 25 favourite discoveries from the project.

  • James - Sometimes (1993)
  • Belly - Feed the Tree (1993)
  • America - Tin Man (1974)
  • Jackson Browne - For a Dancer (1974)
  • Fountains of Wayne - Hackensack (2003)
  • Travis - Re-offender (2003)
  • Vic Chestnut - Guilty By Association (1995)
  • Blind Melon - Galaxie (1995)
  • Little Feat - Willin’ (1972)
  • Died Pretty - D.C. (1991)
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash and YOung - Ohio (1971)
  • Guy Clark - L.A. Freeway (1975)
  • Loretta Lynn - The Pill (1975)
  • Squeeze - Up the Junction (1992)
  • The Stone Poneys - Different Drum (1967)
  • Paul Simon - The Obvious Child (1990)
  • a-ha - Manhattan Skyline (1986)
  • Tom Waits - Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis (1978)
  • Big Star - Blue Moon (1978)
  • Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You (1994)
  • Pete Drake - Forever (1964)
  • Devin the Dude - Doubie Ashtray (2002)
  • Jens Lekman - Forever Young, Forever Beautiful (2019)
  • King Krule - The Noose of Jah City (2011)
  • Cass McCombs - You Saved My Life (2009)

Companion playlists #

  • Here is a playlist of all my favourite tracks that I have discovered this year during the project.
  • Here is a playlist with my top 10 songs from each year organised in the random order we did the project in.

1962-3 #

Week starting Monday 2020-11-23

Best songs #

  • Gene Pitney - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
  • Patsy Cline - She’s Got You
  • Andy Williams - Moon River
  • Skeeter Davis - The End of the World
  • Bobby Pickett - Monster Mash
  • Beach Boys - Surfin’ USA
  • Bob Dylan - Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright
  • The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
  • Bob Dylan - Blowing in the Wind
  • The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There

1964-5 #

Week starting Monday 2020-10-05

Best songs #

  • Pete Drake - Forever
  • The Kinks - You Really Got Me
  • Little Anthony and the Imperials - Goin’ Out Of My Head
  • Bob Dylan - It Ain’t Me Babe
  • Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
  • The Righteous Brothers - You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling
  • Simon and Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
  • Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
  • The Lovin’ Spoonful - Do You Believe in Magic?
  • The Beatles - Michelle

1966-7 #

Week starting Monday 2020-08-10

Best songs #

  • The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin'
  • Bob Dylan - Just Like a Woman
  • Nina Simone - Four Women
  • The Rolling Stones - Paint It, Black
  • The Supremes - You Can’t Hurry Love
  • Leonard Cohen - Suzanne
  • Love - Alone Again Or
  • Nico - These Days
  • The Stone Poneys - Different Drum
  • Arlo Guthrie - Alice’s Restaurant Massacree

1968-9 #

Week starting Monday 2021-03-15

Best albums #

  • The Beatles - s/t (White Album)
  • Joni Mitchell - Clouds

Best songs #

  • The Byrds - Hickory Wind
  • The Doors - Touch Me
  • The Beatles - Blackbird
  • Otis Redding - (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay
  • Harry Nilsson - Everybody’s Talkin'
  • The Band - The Weight
  • Joni Mitchell - The Gallery
  • Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)
  • Simon and Garfunkel - The Boxer
  • Canned Heat - Goin’ Up the Country

Best discoveries #

  • Tom T Hall - That’s How I Got To Memphis
  • Nick Drake - Time Has Told Me

1970 #

Week starting Monday 2020-06-08

Best albums #

  • The Beatles - Let it Be
  • Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
  • Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day
  • Joni Mitchell - Ladies of the Canyon
  • David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World

Best songs #

  • David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World
  • Black Sabbath - Iron Man
  • Elton John - Your Song
  • Joni Mitchell - Woodstock
  • Vashti Bunyan - Swallow Song
  • Neil Young - After the Gold Rush
  • James Taylor - Fire and Rain
  • The Doors - Roadhouse Blues
  • Cat Stevens - Father and Son
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Ohio

Best discoveries #

  • Nick Drake - Bryter Layter
  • Ringo Starr - Beaucoups of Blues
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Ohio
  • Melanie - Lay Down

1971 #

Week starting Monday 2021-03-01

Best albums #

  • Carole King - Tapestry
  • David Bowie - Hunky Dory
  • Joni Mitchell - Blue

Best songs #

  • Carole King - Tapestry
  • David Bowie - Life on Mars?
  • Don McLean - Vincent
  • Leonard Cohen - Famous Blue Raincoat
  • Carpenters - Superstar
  • John Prine - Sam Stone
  • Joni Mitchell - River
  • Elton John - Tiny Dancer
  • Paul and Linda McCartney - Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey
  • John Denver - Poems Prayers and Promises

Best discoveries #

  • Yes - Roundabout
  • Loudon Wainwright - Motel Blues

1972 #

Week starting Monday 2020-05-18

Best albums #

  • David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
  • Lou Reed - Transformer
  • Nick Drake - Pink Moon
  • Little Feat - Sailin’ Shoes
  • Joni Mitchell - For the Roses

Best songs #

  • Can - Vitamin C
  • Bill Withers - Lean on Me
  • Neil Young - Heart of Gold
  • Arlo Guthrie - The City of New Orleans
  • Lou Reed - Andy’s Chest
  • Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes
  • Paul Simon - Duncan
  • David Bowie - Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide
  • Elton John - Daniel
  • Little Feat - Willin'

Best discoveries #

  • Townes van Zandt - Pancho and Lefty
  • Jim Croce - Operator
  • Haparvarim - The boxer (Hebrew cover)

1973 #

Week starting Monday 2020-07-13

Best albums #

  • David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
  • Gram Parsons - GP
  • John Cale - Paris 1919
  • Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin’ Simon
  • Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
  • Tom Waits - Closing Time

Best songs #

  • Albert Hammond - The Free Electric Band
  • Billy Joel - Piano Man
  • Pink Floyd - Brain Damage
  • John Cale - Paris 1919
  • Steve Miller Band - The Joker
  • Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
  • Paul Simon - Something So Right
  • Jackson Browne - These Days
  • Gram Parsons - A Song For You

Best discoveries #

  • Linda Ronstadt - Willin
  • Can - Moonshake
  • T-Rex - 20th Century Boy
  • Jackson Browne - These Days
  • Lynyrd Skynrd - Tuesday’s Gone

1974 #

Week starting Monday 2020-04-27

Best albums #

  • Jackson Browne - Late to the Sky
  • Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark
  • Big Star - Radio City
  • Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony
  • Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night

Best songs #

  • Arik Einstein - Sa Leat
  • Barry White - Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe
  • Gram Parsons - Return of the Grievous Angel
  • Leonard Cohen - Chelsea Hotel #2
  • Steely Dan - Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
  • John Denver - Annie’s Song
  • America - Tin Man
  • Genesis - Carpet Crawlers
  • Frank Zappa - Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow
  • Jackson Browne - For a Dancer

Best discoveries #

  • America - Tin Man
  • Genesis - Carpet Crawlers
  • Jackson Browne - For a Dancer
  • Leonard Cohen - New Skin for the Old Ceremony
  • Ross Ryan - I Am Pegasus

1975 #

Week starting Monday 2020-06-15

Best albums #

  • Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
  • Emmylou Harris - Pieces of the Sky

Best songs #

  • Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
  • Emmylou Harris - Boulder to Birmingham
  • Roxy Music - Love is the Drug
  • Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
  • Linda Ronstadt - Tracks of my Tears
  • Bob Dylan - Tangled up in Blue
  • Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
  • Paul Simon - 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
  • Fleetwood Mac - Landslide
  • Guy Clark - L.A. Freeway

Best discoveries #

  • Guy Clark - L.A. Freeway
  • Sparks - Happy Hunting Ground

1976 #

Week starting Monday 2020-07-27

Best albums #

  • Joni Mitchell - Hajira
  • David Bowie - Station to Station
  • Tom Waits - Small Change

Best songs #

  • Blue Oyster Cult - (Don’t Fear) the Reaper
  • Emmylou Harris - She
  • Bob Dylan - Hurricane
  • Al Stewart - Year of the Cat
  • Fleetwood Mac - Silver Springs
  • The Modern Lovers - Pablo Picasso
  • Tom Waits - The Piano Has Been Drinking
  • Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band - Night Moves
  • David Bowie - Wild is the Wind
  • Boston - More Than a Feeling

Best discoveries #

  • Gordon Lightfoot - The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
  • Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection
  • Steve Miller Band - Rock’n’me

1977 #

Week starting Monday 2020-09-07

Best albums #

  • David Bowie - Low
  • Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
  • Television - Marquee Moon
  • Wire - Pink Flag

Best songs #

  • Plastic Bertrand - Ça plane pour moi
  • David Bowie - Sound and Vision
  • Steely Dan - Deacon Blues
  • Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill
  • Fleetwood Mac - You Make Loving Fun
  • Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
  • Tom Waits - Burma-Shave
  • Billy Joel - Moving Out (Anthony’s Song)
  • Bill Withers - Lovely Day
  • Leonard Cohen - Memories

Best discoveries #

  • Joni Mitchell - Jericho
  • Tom Waits - Burma-Shave
  • Grace Jones - La Vie En Rose

1978 #

Week starting Monday 2020-09-14

Best albums #

  • Big Star - Third
  • The Cars - s/t

Best songs #

  • Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights
  • Cold Chisel - Khe Sanh
  • Dire Strais - Sultans of Swing
  • Kenny Rogers - The Gambler
  • Tom Waits - Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis
  • The Only Ones - Another Girl, Another Planet
  • The Cars - Just What I Needed
  • Big Star - Blue Moon
  • The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
  • Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve?)

Best discoveries #

  • The Walker Brothers - The Electrician
  • Big Star - Third
  • The Sweet - Love is Like Oxygen

1979 #

Week starting Monday 2020-07-06

Best albums #

  • David Bowie - Lodger
  • Talking Heads - Fear of Music

Best songs #

  • Neil Young and Crazy Horse - My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)
  • The Boys Next Door - Shiver
  • The Clash - London Calling
  • XTC - Making Plans for Nigel
  • Joy Division - She’s Lost Control
  • Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Oliver’s Army
  • Talking Heads - Life During Wartime
  • Mental as Anything - The Nips Are Getting Bigger
  • Wire - The 15th
  • Squeeze - Up the Junction

Best discoveries #

  • Terry Allen - My Amigo
  • Squeeze - Up the Junction
  • Wire - The 15th

1980 #

Week starting Monday 2020-07-20

Best albums #

  • Joy Division - Closer
  • Kate Bush - The Whole Story
  • Talking Heads - Remain in Light

Best songs #

  • Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
  • Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
  • Tom Waits - Jersey Girl
  • Dire Straits - Romeo and Juliet
  • The Angels - No Secrets
  • The Alan Parsons Project - The Turn of a Friendly Card,
  • John Lennon - (Just Like) Starting Over
  • Willie Nelson - On the Road Again
  • Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
  • Magazine - A Song from Under the Floorboards

Best discoveries #

  • Orange Juice - Blue Boy
  • Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers

1981 #

Week starting Monday 2021-03-29

Best albums #

  • Glenn Branca - The Ascension

Best songs #

  • The Church - The Unguarded Moment
  • The Human League - Don’t You Want Me
  • Men at Work - Down Under
  • Stevie Nicks - Edge of Seventeen
  • Mission of Burma - That’s When I Reach For My Revolver
  • Australian Crawl - Errol
  • The Cars - Shake It Up
  • Rod Stewart - Young Turks
  • Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

Best discoveries #

  • The Church - The Unguarded Moment
  • Mission of Burma - That’s When I Reach For My Revolver
  • The Reels - Quasimodo’s Dream

1982 #

Week starting Monday 2020-05-25

Best albums #

  • Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
  • Midnight Oil - 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
  • The Cure - Pornography

Best songs #

  • Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
  • INXS - Don’t Change
  • The Jam - Town Called Malice
  • Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City
  • Pretenders - Back on the Chain Gang
  • Toto - Africa
  • XTC - Senses Working Overtime
  • Roxy Music - More Than This
  • The Alan Parsons Project - Eye in the Sky
  • Billy Idol - White Wedding, Pt. 1

Best discoveries #

  • XTC - English Settlement
  • Daniel Johnston - To Go Home

1983 #

Week starting Monday 2021-02-22

Best albums #

  • R.E.M - Murmur
  • Violent Femmes - s/t

Best songs #

  • Paul Simon - Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War
  • The Smiths - This Charming Man
  • Australian Crawl - Reckless
  • Billy Bragg - A New England
  • Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
  • Depeche Mode - Everything Counts
  • The Go-Betweens - Cattle and Cane
  • Madonna - Holiday
  • Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
  • The The - Uncertain Smile

Best discoveries #

  • Aztec Camera - Oblivious
  • Cocteau TWins - Sugar Hiccup
  • Bauhaus - She’s in Parties

1984 #

Week starting Monday 2020-08-03

Best albums #

  • Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA
  • Echo and the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
  • The Replacements - Let it Be
  • The Smiths - s/t

Best songs #

  • Madonna - Material Girl
  • Prince and the Revolution - When Doves Cry
  • Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
  • Don Henley - The Boys of Summer
  • Bruce Springsteen - I’m on Fire
  • The Cars - Drive
  • Billy Bragg - Between the Wars
  • Cold Chisel - Flame Trees
  • The Replacements - Answering Machine
  • The Smiths - Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

Best discoveries #

  • Blue Nile - Tinseltown in the Rain
  • Madness - Michael Caine
  • Prefab Sprout - Cruel
  • David Silvian - Red Guitar
  • Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy

1985 #

Week starting Monday 2020-08-17

Best albums #

  • Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
  • Talking Heads - Little Creatures
  • Prefab Sprout - Steve McQueen
  • The Smiths - Meat is Murder
  • The Replacements - Tim

Best songs #

  • Talking Heads - And She Was
  • The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual
  • Mental as Anything - Live it Up
  • Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon
  • The Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
  • Prince and the Revolution - Raspberry Beret
  • The Chameleons - Perfume Garden
  • Kate Bush - Running Up that Hill
  • Paul Kelly - From St. Kilda to Kings Cross
  • The Replacements - Here Comes a Regular

Best discoveries #

  • John Cale - Dying on the Vine
  • Til Tuesday - Voices Carry
  • Cocteau Twins - Aikea-Guinea
  • Feargal Sharkey - A Good Heart

1986 #

Week starting Monday 2021-01-18

Best albums #

  • The Smiths - The Queen is Dead
  • Paul Simon - Graceland

Best songs #

  • The Smiths - There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
  • Paul Simon - Graceland
  • Elvis Costello and the Attractions - I Want You
  • Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
  • The Triffids - One Soul Less On Your Fiery List
  • Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right
  • Crowded House - Don’t Dream It’s Over
  • a-ha - Manhattan Skyline
  • Hunters and Collectors - Throw Your Arms Around Me
  • The Chills - Pink Frost

Best discoveries #

  • They Might Be Giants - She’s an Angel
  • Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes

1987 #

Week starting Monday 2020-08-31

Best albums #

  • Dinosaur Jr. - You’re Living All Over Me
  • Midnight Oil - Diesel and Dust
  • The Go-Betweens - Tallula

Best songs #

  • The Go-Betweens - Bye Bye Pride
  • Midnight Oil - Beds are Burning
  • The Replacements - Alex Chilton
  • Bruce Springsteen - Tougher Than the Rest
  • The Cure - Just Like Heaven
  • The Sugarcubes - Birthday
  • Choirboys - Run to Paradise
  • INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
  • Chris Izaak - Blue Hotel
  • Paul Kelly - To Her Door

Best discoveries #

  • The Wedding Present - Why Are You Being so Reasonable Now
  • That Petrol Emotion - Big Decision
  • Pulp - I Want You
  • a-ha - Manhattan Skyline

1988 #

Week starting Monday 2020-12-14

Best albums #

  • Leonard Cohen - I’m Your Man
  • My Bloody Valentine - Isn’t Anything
  • Pixies - Surfer Rosa
  • Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation
  • Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden

Best songs #

  • Pixies - Gigantic
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Seat
  • The Go-Betweens - Streets of Your Town
  • Billy Bragg - Must I Paint You a Picture
  • Prefab Sprout - The King of Rock N Roll
  • Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
  • Cocteau Twins - Carolyn’s Fingers
  • Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
  • Mike and the Mechanics - The Living Years
  • The Traveling Wilburys - Handle With Care

Best discoveries #

  • Mekons - Ghosts of American Astronauts
  • Camper Van Beethoven - One of These Days
  • Galaxie 500 - Tugboat

1989 #

Week starting Monday 2020-06-29

Best albums #

  • Beastie Boys - Paul’s Boutique
  • Galaxie 500 - On Fire
  • Pixies - Doolittle
  • Stone Roses

Best songs #

  • Babybird - You’re Gorgeous
  • Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis
  • Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
  • The Cure - In Between Days
  • Pixies - Debaser
  • Stone Roses - This is the One
  • Galaxie 500 - Blue Thunder
  • Kate Bush - This Woman’s Work
  • Stevie Nicks - Rooms on Fire
  • Bob Dylan - Most of the Time
  • Fugazi - Waiting Room

Best discoveries #

  • Camper van Beethoven - When I Win the Lottery
  • XTC - Mayor of Simpleton
  • Lightning Seeds - Pure
  • A Tribe Called Quest - Description of a Fool

1990 #

Week starting Monday 2020-08-24

Best albums #

  • Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
  • Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic
  • Pixies - Bossanova
  • A Tribe Called Quest - People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rythym

Best songs #

  • The Sundays - Here’s Where the Story Ends
  • Pixies - Dig for Fire
  • Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas
  • They Might be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul
  • Fortisakharof - Nitzotzot
  • Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Ship Song
  • Sinead O’Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
  • INXS - By My Side
  • Teenage Fanclub - Everything Flows

Best discoveries #

  • Paul Simon - The Obvious Child
  • The House of Love - Beatles and Stones
  • Lou Reed and John Cale - Open House
  • Skyhooks - Jukebox in Siberia

1991 #

Week starting Monday 2020-06-01

Best albums #

  • My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
  • Slint - Spiderland
  • Talk Talk - Laughing Stock
  • Massive Attack - Blue Lines
  • Nirvana - Nevermind

Best songs #

  • Simply Red - Stars
  • Crash Test Dummies - Superman’s Song
  • Crowded House - Weather With You
  • Died Pretty - D.C.
  • Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
  • R.E.M. - Country Feedback
  • Guns ’n’ Roses - November Rain
  • Pearl Jam - Jeremy
  • Billy Bragg - Accident Waiting to Happen
  • Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning

Best discoveries #

  • Died Pretty
  • Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
  • Richard Thompson - 1952 Vincent Black Lightning
  • Tori Amos - Me and a Gun

1992 #

Week starting Monday 2020-09-21

Best albums #

  • Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted
  • Dr. Dre - The Chronic
  • REM - Automatic for the People

Best songs #

  • Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day
  • Alice in Chains - Would?
  • Pavement - Summer Babe (Winter Version)
  • Radiohead - Creep
  • Leonard Cohen - Anthem
  • REM - Nightswimming
  • Rage Against the Machine - Killing in the Name
  • Smashing Pumpkins - Drown
  • Neil Young - Harvest Moon
  • XTC - The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead

Best discoveries #

  • Moose - Little Bird (Are you happy in your cage)
  • 10,000 Maniacs - These Are Days
  • Curve - Horror Head
  • Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness

1993 #

Week starting Monday 2020-04-13

Best albums #

  • Slowdive - Souvlaki
  • A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
  • Radiohead - Pablo Honey
  • Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville
  • Bjork - Debut

Best songs #

  • Red House Painters - Grace Cathedral Park
  • James - Laid
  • You Am I - Berlin Chair
  • Slowdive - Alison
  • Suede - Animal Nitrate
  • Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
  • Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
  • Afghan Whigs - Debonair
  • Crash Test Dummies - Mmm mmm mmm
  • Belly - Feed the Tree

Best discoveries #

  • Belly - Feed the Tree
  • James - Sometimes
  • Suede - Animal Nitrate
  • Archers of Loaf - Web in Front

1994 #

Week starting Monday 2020-09-28

Best albums #

  • Beck - Mellow Gold
  • Blur - Parklife
  • Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand
  • Jeff Buckley - Grace
  • Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
  • Portishead - Dummy
  • Weezer - s/t (Blue Album)

Best songs #

  • Pavement - Gold Soundz
  • Portishead - Glory Box
  • Guided By Voices - I Am a Scientist
  • Built to Spill - Car
  • Mountain Goats - Going to Georgia
  • Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl
  • Weezer - Say It Ain’t So
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
  • Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
  • The Offspring - Self-Esteem

Best discoveries #

  • Grant Lee Buffalo - Mockingbirds
  • Suede - The Wild Ones
  • UGK - It’s Supposed to Bubble
  • Edwyn Collins - A Girl Like You
  • Morrissey - Speedway

1995 #

Week starting Monday 2020-05-11

Best albums #

  • Alanis Morisette - Jagged Little Pill
  • Ben Folds Five - s/t
  • Bjork - Post
  • Radiohead - The Bends
  • TISM - Machiavelli and the Four Seasons

Best songs #

  • Skee-Lo - I Wish
  • Pulp - Common People
  • Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
  • The Mountain Goats - Cubs in Five
  • Vic Chesnutt - Guilty by Association
  • Bjork - Army of Me
  • TISM - Greg! The Stop Sign!!
  • Bruce Springsteen - Youngstown
  • Paul Kelly - Deeper Water
  • You Am I - Purple Sneakers

Best discoveries #

  • Blind Melon - Galaxie
  • Vic Chesnutt - Guilty by Association
  • Shelley - Reproduction is Pollution
  • Grand Puba - I Like It

1996 #

Week starting Monday 2020-12-07

Best albums #

  • Beck - Odelay
  • Belle and Sebastian - If You’re Feeling Sinister
  • Belle and Sebastian - Tigermilk
  • Cake - Fashion Nugget
  • DJ Shadow - …Endtroducing
  • Fiona Apple - Tidal
  • Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup
  • Weezer - Pinkerton
  • You Am I - Hourly Daily
  • You Am I - Hi Fi Way

Best songs #

  • Fiona Apple - Never is a Promise
  • Radiohead - Talk Show Host
  • You Am I - Please Don’t Ask Me to Smile
  • Silver Jews - Black and Brown Blues
  • Beck - Where It’s At
  • Belle and Sebastian - Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying
  • Cat Power - Nude as the News
  • The Brian Jonestown Massacre - David Bowie I Love You (Since I Was Six)
  • Butthole Surfers - Pepper
  • Paul Kelly - How to Make Gravy

Best discoveries #

  • Modest Mouse - Talking Shit about a Pretty Sunset
  • Divine Comedy - Becoming More Like Alfie
  • Arab Strap - The First Big Weekend

1997 #

Week starting Monday 2020-06-22

Best albums #

  • Ben Folds Five - Whatever and Ever Amen
  • Bjork - Homogenic
  • Built to Spill - Perfect from Now On
  • Erykah Badu - Baduizm
  • Mogwai - Young Team
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Boatman’s Call
  • Radiohead - OK Computer
  • The Whitlams - Eternal Nightcap
  • Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Best songs #

  • Belle and Sebastian - Beautiful
  • Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
  • Radiohead - Airbag
  • Marcy Playground - Sex and Candy
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Into My Arms
  • Foo Fighters - Everlong
  • blink-182 - Josie
  • Bjork - Unravel
  • The Whitlams - Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 2)
  • Lighthouse Family - High

Best discoveries #

  • Super Furry Animals - Demons
  • Lamb - Gorecki
  • Luna - Bobby Peru

1998 #

Week starting Monday 2020-10-12

Best albums #

  • Billy Bragg and Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
  • Boards of Canada - Music Has The Right to Children
  • Cat Power - Moon Pix
  • Mark Hollis - s/t
  • Massive Attack - Mezzanine
  • Neutral Milk Hotel - ITAOTS
  • Pulp - This is Hardcore
  • Silver Jews - American Water
  • TISM - www.tism.wanker.com

Best songs #

  • Silver Jews - Random Rules
  • Pulp - This is Hardcore
  • Mercury Rev - Holes
  • Elliot Smith - Waltz #2 (XO)
  • Cat Power - Metal Heart
  • Neutral Milk Hotel - Two-Headed Boy
  • Ben Lee - Cigarettes Will Kill You
  • Billy Bragg and Wilco - She Came Along To Me
  • blink-182 - Josie (Everything’s Gonna Be Fine)
  • Stardust - Music Sounds Better With You

Best discoveries #

  • Catatonia - Road Rage
  • Sunny Day Real Estate - Pillars
  • Kid Rock - Bawitdaba

1999 #

Week starting Monday 2020-12-21

Best albums #

  • Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
  • Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
  • Dismemberment Plan - Emergency and I
  • Beck - Midnite Vultures
  • Bonnie “Prince” Billy - I See a Darkness
  • Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
  • Various Artists - Return of the Grievous Angel (A tribute to Gram Parsons)

Best songs #

  • Wilco - She’s a Jar
  • Whitlams - Blow up the Pokies
  • Sigur Ros - Vidrar vel til loftorasa
  • Macy Gray - I Try
  • Coldplay - See You Soon
  • The Dismemberment Plan - What Do You Want Me to Say
  • Bonnie “Prince” Billy - I See a Darkness
  • Magnetic Fields - The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
  • Santana feat. Rob Thomas - Smooth

Best discoveries #

  • Wheat - Don’t I Hold You
  • Songs: Ohia - Captain Badass

2000 #

Week starting Monday 2021-01-04

Best albums #

  • Avalanches - Since I Left You
  • Billy Bragg and Wilco - Mermaid Avenue, Vol II
  • Coldplay - Parachutes
  • Outkast - Stankonia
  • Radiohead - Kid A
  • Smog - Dongs of Sevotion
  • Super Furry Animals - Mwng

Best songs #

  • Lambchop - Up With People
  • Radiohead - Idioteque
  • Eminem - Stan (feat. Dido)
  • Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl
  • PJ Harvey - This Mess We’re In (feat. Thom Yorke)
  • At the Drive-In - Pattern Against User
  • Modest Mouse - 3rd Planet
  • Avalanches - Frontier Psychiatrist
  • Air - Playground Love
  • Coldplay - Yellow

Best discoveries #

  • Crooked Fingers - s/t
  • Super Furry Aniamls - Mwng
  • Deftones - Change (In the House of Flies)

2001 #

Week starting Monday 2021-04-19

Best albums #

  • Ben Folds - Rockin’ the Suburbs
  • Cake - Comfort Eagle
  • Eskimo Joe - Girl
  • The Microphones - The Glow, Pt. 2
  • Radiohead - Amnesiac
  • Rufus Wainwright - Poses
  • The Shins - Oh Inverted World
  • The Strokes - Is This It?
  • Tenacious D - s/t

Best songs #

  • Andrew Bird - Why?
  • Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
  • The Shins - New Slang
  • Dntel - (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan
  • Radiohead - Pyramid Song
  • The Strokes - Someday
  • My Morning Jacket - Bermuda Highway
  • Weezer - Hash Pipe
  • Rufus Wainwright - Greek Song
  • Jurgen Paape - So weit wie nocht nie

Best discoveries #

  • Gerling - Dust Me Selecta
  • Stephen Malkmus - Jeanny and the Ess-Dog

2002 #

Week starting Monday 2020-10-19

Best albums #

  • Adam Green - Garfield
  • Beck - Sea Change
  • Boards of Canada - Geogaddi
  • Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
  • The Decemberists - Castaways and Cutouts
  • Deerhoof - Reveille
  • Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
  • Mountain Goats - Tallahassee
  • Oasis - Heathen Chemistry
  • Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Best songs #

  • Interpol - Obstacle 1
  • Beck - Lost Cause
  • The Decemberists - Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect
  • Wilco - Jesus, etc
  • Broken Social Scene - Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl
  • Okkervil River - Red
  • The Mountain Goats - Game Shows Touch Our Lives
  • Songs: Ohia - Didn’t it Rain
  • The Flaming Lips - Fight Test
  • Johnny Cash - Hurt

Best discoveries #

  • Devin the Dude - Doubie Ashtray
  • Max Tundra - Lights
  • Lemon Jelly - Nice Weather for Ducks

2003 #

Week starting Monday 2020-05-04

Best albums #

  • Radiohead - Hail to the Thief
  • Four Tet - Rounds
  • The Shins - Chutes too Narrow
  • Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway
  • Songs: Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co.

Best songs #

  • Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
  • Blur - Out of Time
  • Britney Spears - Toxic
  • Decemberists - Red Right Ankle
  • The National - About Today
  • Radiohead - There, There
  • The Shins - Saint Simon
  • Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio
  • ween - Transdermal Celebration
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

Best discoveries #

  • Travis - Re-Offender
  • Fountains of Wayne - Hackensack
  • Rosco P. Coldchain - Hot

2004 #

Week starting Monday 2020-11-02

Best albums #

  • Air - Talkie Walkie
  • Arcade Fire - Funeral
  • Bjork - Medulla
  • Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
  • Bright Eyes - I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
  • Dogs Die in Hot Cars - Please Describe Yourself
  • Franz Ferdinand - s/t
  • Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
  • Madvillain - Madvillainy
  • Xiu Xiu - Fabulous Muscles

Best songs #

  • Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
  • Bjork - Oceania
  • Bloc Party - Helicopter
  • Iron and Wine - Each Coming Night
  • Joanna Newsom - Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie
  • The Walkmen - The Rat
  • Xiu Xiu - I Luv the Valley OH!
  • Radiohead - Gagging Order
  • Interpol - Slow Hands
  • Animal Collective - Who Could Win a Rabbit

Best discoveries #

  • Madvillain - All Caps
  • Finley Quaye and Beth Orton - Dice
  • Amadou and Miriam - Senegal Fast Food

2005 #

Week starting Monday 2020-04-20

Best albums #

  • Adam Green - Gemstones
  • Sufjan Stevens - Illinois
  • Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary
  • Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production of Eggs
  • Silver Jews - Tanglewood Numbers

Best songs #

  • Antony and the Johnsons - Man is the Baby
  • Babyshambles - Fuck Forever
  • Bright Eyes - First Day of My Life
  • Death Cab for Cutie - I Will Follow You Into the Dark
  • The Drones - Locust
  • Martha Wainwright - Bloody Mother Fucking Asshole
  • The National - All the Wine
  • Silver Jews - Sleeping is the Only Love
  • Sufjan Stevens - Casimir Pulaski Day
  • Wolf Parade - I’ll Believe in Anything

Best discoveries #

  • King Creosote - Locked Together
  • Amadou and Miriam - Senegal Fast Food
  • Frank Black - I Burn Today

2006 #

Week starting Monday 2020-11-09

Best albums #

  • Bonnie “Prince” Billy - The Letting Go
  • The Drones - Gala Mill
  • Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton - Knives Don’t Have Your Back
  • Final Fantasy - He Poos Clouds
  • Fionn Regan - The End of History
  • The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
  • J Dilla - Donuts
  • Joanna Newsom - Ys
  • Thom Yorke - The Eraser
  • TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Best songs #

  • Arctic Monkeys - Mardy Bum
  • Okkervil River - The President’s Dead
  • Augie March - One Crowded Hour
  • Fionn Regan - Put a Penny in the Slot
  • TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me
  • The Knife - We Share Our Mother’s Health
  • Joanna Newsom - Only Skin
  • The Divine Comedy - A Lady Of a Certain Age
  • The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
  • The Drones - Sixteen Straws

Best discoveries #

  • My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade
  • Lupe Fiasco - Kick, Push
  • Taylor Swift - Tim McGraw
  • And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - Wasted State of Mind

2007 #

Week starting Monday 2021-04-05

Best albums #

  • Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam
  • Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
  • Burial - Untrue
  • Eluvium - Copia
  • The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
  • Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
  • The National - Boxer
  • Panda Bear - Person Pitch
  • Radiohead - In Rainbows
  • The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
  • Vampire Weekend - s/t

Best songs #

  • Arcade Fire - Intervention
  • Radiohead - Weird Fishes / Arpeggi
  • Battles - Atlas
  • Feist - Brandy Alexander
  • Grinderman - No Pussy Blues
  • Jens Lekman - A Postcard to Nina
  • LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
  • The National - Fake Empire
  • Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
  • UGK feat. Outkast - Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)

Best discoveries #

  • Ween - Your Party
  • Matthew Dear - Deserter

2008 #

Week starting Monday 2021-02-15

Best albums #

  • Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
  • Drive-By Truckers - Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
  • Fleet Foxes - s/t
  • Flight of the Conchords - s/t
  • Girl Talk - Feed the Animals
  • Portishead - Third
  • Sun Kil Moon - April
  • TV on the Radio - Dear Science
  • Vampire Weekend - s/t
  • Why? - Alopecia

Best songs #

  • Drive-By Truckers - Bob
  • Kings of Leon - Closer
  • Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses
  • Why? - These Few Presidents
  • Frightened Rabbit - The Modern Leper
  • Coldplay - Viva La Vida
  • Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
  • Okkervil River - On Tour with Zykos
  • The Drones - I Am the Supercargo
  • Weezer - Pork and Beans

Best discoveries #

  • Silver Jews - Suffering Jukebox
  • War on Drugs - Taking the Farm

2009 #

Week starting Monday 2021-01-25

Best albums #

  • Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
  • Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
  • Japandroids - Post-Nothing
  • The Lonely Island - Incredibad

Best songs #

  • Animal Collective - My Girls
  • Bon Iver - Blood Bank
  • Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks
  • Asobi Seksu - Walk on the Moon
  • Cass McCombs - You Saved My Life
  • Flight of the Conchords - Carol Brown
  • Girls - Lust for Life
  • Radiohead - Harry Patch (In Memory Of)
  • Dirty Projectors - Stillness is the Move
  • Ou Est le Swimming Pool - Dance the Way I Feel

Best discoveries #

  • Cass McCombs - You Saved My Life
  • Washed Out - Feel it All Around

2010 #

Week starting Monday 2020-10-26

Best albums #

  • Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
  • Beach House - Teen Dream
  • Bonono - Black Sands
  • Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
  • Four Tet - There is Love in You
  • Gareth Liddiard - Strange Tourist
  • Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me
  • Kanye West - MBDTF
  • Philip Selway - Familial
  • Vampire Weekend - Contra

Best songs #

  • Beach House - Zebra
  • Freddie Gibbs - National Anthem (Fuck the World)
  • Gareth Liddiard - Blondin Makes an Omelette
  • Ghostface Killah - 2getha Baby
  • Hot Chip - Alley Cats
  • Joanna Newsom - Good Intentions Paving Co
  • Owen Pallett - Lewis Takes Off His Shirt
  • Rick Ross - B.M.F.
  • Robyn - Call Your Girlfriend
  • Vampire Weekend - I Think Ur a Contra

Best discoveries #

  • Sun Kil Moon - Alesund
  • The Bedroom Philosopher - Northcote (So Hungover)
  • Perfume Genius - Mr. Peterson

2011 #

Week starting Monday 2021-01-11

Best albums #

  • Bon Iver - s/t
  • Clams Casino - Instrumentals
  • Destroyer - Kaputt
  • The Field - Looping State of Mind
  • John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves
  • Radiohead - The King of Limbs

Best songs #

  • Bon Iver - Holocene
  • Destroyer - Kaputt
  • Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers
  • Girls - Vomit
  • James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream
  • Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues
  • King Krule - The Noose of Jah City
  • Radiohead - Codex
  • Desertshore feat. Mark Kozelek - Randy Quaid
  • The Mountain Goats - Damn These Vampires

Best discoveries #

  • King Krule - The Noose of Jah City
  • Dick Diver - Keno
  • Lost Animal - Lose the Baby
  • Holy Ghost! - Jam for Jerry

2012 #

Week starting Monday 2020-11-30

Best albums #

  • Beach House - Bloom
  • Burial - Kindred EP
  • Chromatics - Kill For Love
  • Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel…
  • Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
  • Japandroids - Celebration Rock
  • Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city
  • Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music
  • Mac deMarco - 2
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away

Best songs #

  • Burial - Kindred
  • Lana Del Rey - Video Games
  • Dirty Projectors - About to Die
  • Frank Ocean - Pyramids
  • Father John Misty - Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings
  • Grimes - Oblivion
  • Fiona Apple - Hot Knife
  • Kendrick Lamar - Swimming Pools (Drank)
  • Solange - Losing You
  • Sun Kil Moon - I Know It’s Pathetic But That Was the Greatest Night of My Life

Best discoveries #

  • Lil Ugly Mane - Bitch I’m Lugubrious
  • Danny Brown - Fields
  • First Aid Kit - Emmylou

2013 #

Week starting Monday 2021-04-26

Best albums #

  • Bill Callahan - Dream River
  • Daft Punk - Random Access Memories
  • David Bowie - The Next Day
  • Jon Hopkins - Immunity
  • The Lonely Island - The Wack Album
  • My Bloody Valentine - mbv
  • Speedy Ortiz - Major Arcana
  • Torres - s/t
  • Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City
  • Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt

Best songs #

  • Arctic Monkeys - I Wanna Be Yours
  • Courtney Barnett - Avant Gardener
  • Sky Ferreira - Everything is Embarrassing
  • David Bowie - Where Are We Now?
  • Phosphorescent - Song for Zula
  • Sting - Practical Arrangement
  • The National - Pink Rabbits
  • Jon Hopkins - Open Eye Signal
  • Waxahatchee - Swan Dive
  • Kanye West - Black Skinhead

Best discoveries #

  • The Yellow River Boys - Hot Piss
  • Bad//Dreems - Hoping For
  • Dick Diver - Water Damage

2014 #

Week starting Monday 2021-03-08

Best albums #

  • FKA Twigs - LP1
  • Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
  • Marissa Nadler - July
  • Ought - More Than Any Other Day
  • Sun Kil Moon - Benji
  • Todd Terje - It’s Album Time
  • War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream

Best songs #

  • Mitski - Townie
  • FKA twigs - Two Weeks
  • Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)
  • Hundred Waters - Murmurs
  • Todd Terje - Johnny and Mary (feat. Bryan Ferry)
  • Jamie xx - All Under One Roof Raving
  • Mac DeMarco - Salad Days
  • Sia - Chandelier
  • Sun Kil Moon - Carissa
  • The War on Drugs - Under the Pressure

Best discoveries #

  • Cymbals Eat Guitars - Jackson
  • Dick Diver - Lonely Life
  • Spoon - Do You

2015 #

Week starting Monday 2020-12-28

Best albums #

  • Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear
  • Jamie xx - In Colour
  • Joanna Newsom - Divers
  • Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell
  • Torres - Sprinter

Best songs #

  • Courtney Barnett - Depreston
  • Father John Misty - Bored in the USA
  • Jamie xx - Gosh
  • Joanna Newsom - Sapokonikan
  • Tame Impala - Let it Happen
  • Bjork - Lionsong
  • Sufjan Stevens - Should Have Known Better
  • Torres - Ferris Wheel
  • Grimes - Kill v. Maim
  • FKA Twigs - In Time

Best discoveries #

  • Dua Lipa - Be the One
  • Kate Tempest - Europe is Lost
  • Chairlift - Ch-Ching

2016 #

Week starting Monday 2021-02-08

Best albums #

  • Big Thief - Masterpiece
  • David Bowie - Blackstar
  • Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered
  • Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
  • Solange - A Seat at the Table
  • A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it From Here…

Best songs #

  • Big Thief - Masterpiece
  • Bon Iver - 22 (Over Soon)
  • David Bowie - Lazarus
  • Kanye West - Ultralight Beam
  • Mitski - Your Best American Girl
  • Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Anthrocene
  • Radiohead - True Love Waits
  • Solange - Cranes in the Sky
  • Waxahatchee - With You
  • A Tribe Called Quest - We The People…

Best discoveries #

  • Okkervil River - Okkervil River R.I.P
  • Ezperanza Spalding - Emily’s D+Evolution

2017 #

Week starting Monday 2021-03-22

Best albums #

  • Big Thief - Capacity
  • Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
  • Four Tet - New Energy
  • Phoebe Bridgers - Stranger in the Alps

Best songs #

  • The Chats - Smoko
  • Father John Misty - Pure Comedy
  • Fleet Foxes - Third of May / Odaigahara
  • Four Tet - Two Thousand and Seventeen
  • Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - If We Were Vampires
  • Leif Vollebekk - Tallahassee
  • The National - The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
  • Phoebe Bridgers - Funeral
  • Radiohead - I Promise
  • Slowdive - Suger for the Pill

Best discoveries #

  • Kevin Morby - Baltimore (County Line)
  • DMA’s - Believe (Cher Cover)

2018 #

Week starting Monday 2021-04-12

Best albums #

  • Adrienne Lenker - abysskiss
  • Father John Misty - God’s Favourite Customer
  • Jon Hopkins - Singularity
  • MGMT - Little Dark Age
  • Mitski - Be the Cowboy
  • Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Hope Downs

Best songs #

  • Lana del Rey - Mariner’s Apartment Complex
  • Father John Misty - Mr. Tillman
  • Tropical Fuck Storm - You Let My Tyres Down
  • Young Fathers - In My View
  • Kacey Musgraves - Slow Burn
  • Childish Gambino - This is America
  • Mac Miller - Small Worlds
  • Soccer Mommy - Still Clean
  • Snail Mail - Heat Wave
  • boygenius - Me & My Dog

Best discoveries #

  • Kurt Vile - Loading Zones
  • Diana Gordon - Kool Aid

2019 #

Week starting Monday 2020-11-16

Best albums #

  • Big Thief - Two Hands
  • Big Thief - UFOF
  • Bill Callahan - Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
  • FKA Twigs - Magdalene
  • Four Tet - Sixteen Oceans
  • Lana Del Rey - Norman Fucking Rockwell
  • Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze
  • Purple Mountains - s/t
  • Sharon van Etten - Remind Me Tomorrow
  • Thom Yorke - Amina

Best songs #

  • Laura Stevenson - Dermatillomania
  • Purple Mountains - Nights That Won’t Happen
  • Bill Callahan - The Ballad of the Hulk
  • Bon Iver - Hey, Ma
  • Aldous Harding - The Barrel
  • Vampire Weekend - Harmony Hall
  • Julia Jacklin - Body
  • Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs
  • Thom Yorke - Dawn Chorus
  • Big Thief - Not

Best discoveries #

  • Quelle Chris - Obamacare
  • Orville Peck - Dead of Night
  • Ariana Grande - NASA
  • Jme - Pricks

2020 #

Week starting Monday 2021-02-01

Best albums #

  • Adrianne Lenker - Songs
  • Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
  • Grimes - Miss Anthropocene
  • Microphones- Microphones in 2020
  • Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud

Best songs #

  • Soccer Mommy - Circle the Drain
  • Waxahatchee - Lilacs
  • Fiona Apple - Under the Table
  • Phoebe Bridgers - Garden Song
  • Adrianne Lenker - anything
  • Bob Dylan - I Contain Multitudes
  • Dan Deacon - Become a Mountain
  • Bill Callahan - The Mackenzies
  • The Antlers - It Is What It Is
  • The 1975 - Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America

2021 #

Best albums #

  • The Weather Station - Ignorance (2021)
  • Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview on Phenomenal Nature (2021)
  • Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg (2021)

Best songs #

  • Grouper - Ode to the Blue
  • Dry Cleaning - Scratchcard Lanyard
  • Cassandra Jenkins - Hard Drive
  • Big Thief - Little Things
  • Buck Meek - Candle
  • Sharon van Etten and Angel Olsen - Like I Used To
  • Genesis Owusu - A Song About Fishing
  • Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet
  • The Weather Station - Atlantic
  • Olivia Rodrigo - drivers licence

2022 #

Best albums #

  • Alex G - God Save the Animals
  • Bjork - Fossora
  • Tim Heidecker - High School
  • The Smile - A Light for Attracting Attention
  • MJ Lenderman - Boat Songs
  • Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You
  • Nilufer Yanya - Painless

Best songs #

  • Alvvays - Pharmacist
  • Fontaines D.C. - Jackie Down the Line
  • Big Thief - Change
  • The 1975 - Part of the Band
  • MJ Lenderman - Hangover Game
  • The Smile - Free in the Knowledge
  • The National feat. Bon Iver - Weird Goodbyes
  • Lana del Rey and Father John Misty - Buddy’s Rendezvous
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Spitting Off the Edge of the World
  • Tim Heidecker - What Did We Do With Our Time?

2023 #

Best albums #

  • Grian Chatten - Chaos for the Fly
  • Lana Del Rey - did you know there’s a tunnel under ocean blvd

Best songs #

  • Wednesday - Chosen to Deserve
  • Lana Del Rey - A&W
  • MJ Lenderman - Knockin'
  • Feist - Hiding Out in the Open
  • RVG - Squid
  • Greg Mendez - Maria
  • The Smile - Bending Hectic
  • Joanna Sternberg - Stockholm Syndrome
  • Big Thief - Vampire Empire
  • Sufjan Stevens - So You Are Tired

2024 #

Best albums #

  • Fontaines D.C. - Romance
  • Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch
  • Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Wild God
  • Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us
  • Cassandra Jenkins - My Light, My Destroyer

Best songs #

  • Fontaines D.C. - Favourite
  • Jessica Pratt - The Last Year
  • Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Wild God
  • Vampire Weekend - Capricorn
  • Adrianne Lenker - Sadness as a Gift
  • Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well
  • Bon Iver - S P E Y S I D E
  • DIIV - Soul-net
  • Waxahatchee - Right Back to It (feat. MJ Lenderman)
  • Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso