not a bad list at all, though i very much disagree with number 1.


http://stereogum.com/593442/stereogums- ... istomania/

50 Emeralds – Does It Look Like I Am Here?
49 Small Black – New Chain
48 Sharon Van Etten – Epic
47 Baths – Cerulean
46 Frank (Just Frank) – The Brutal Wave
45 Perfume Genius – Learning
44 Field Music – Field Music (Measure)
43 Big Boi – Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
42 Lower Dens – Twin-Hand Movement
41 Oneohtrix Point Never – Returnal
40 Glasser – Ring
39 Gold Panda – Lucky Shiner
38 Avey Tare – Down There
37 jj – jj nº3
36 the morning benders – Big Echo
35 Swans – My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
34 Titus Andronicus – The Monitor
33 MGMT – Congratulations
32 Twin Shadow – Forget
31 Warpaint – The Fool
30 Das Racist – Shut Up, Dude
29 Matthew Dear – Black City
28 Delorean – Subiza
27 Janelle Monae – The ArchAndroid
26 Tame Impala – Innerspeaker
25 ceo – White Magic
24 Tamaryn – The Waves
23 SALEM – King Night
22 Marnie Stern – Marnie Stern
21 Liars – Sisterworld
20 Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Before Today
19 Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma
18 Abe Vigoda – Crush
17 Owen Pallett – Heartland
16 The National – High Violet
15 The-Dream – Love King
14 Yeasayer – Odd Blood
13 LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening
12 Crystal Castles – II
11 Joanna Newsom – Have One On Me
10 Deerhunter – Halcyon Digest
09 Wild Nothing – Gemini
08 Antony & The Johnsons – Swanlights
07 Vampire Weekend – Contra
06 Sleigh Bells – Treats
05 Robyn – Body Talk
04 Sufjan Stevens – The Age Of Adz
03 Beach House – Teen Dream
02 Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
01 Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

cool

i can see that being #1

My biggest disappointment of the year. Not sure what they're hearing or if they're just covering their bases in case it becomes one of those "lost classics" that people put more praise on years later for whatever reason.

Just meandering and listless. Lots of "kitchen sink" sounds and studio trickery that just goes nowhere and serves no purpose.

I liked their debut a lot. And I hate this one. Just awful to the point where I don't like the debut anymore. Worse thing I heard all year.

Great list, only it could be reversed. That Emeralds I played non-stop for weeks.

i know i'm gonna catch hell from the dogfuckers for this, but i really think this is just an awful list

i mean not a single one of my top 20 can crack their TOP 50?!?

talk about PPDD overload

Might not have made your list, but I thought you enjoyed Arcade Fire* enough, & really, really liked the National. As bands anyway.

*& Arcade Fire, as a fellow Texan (since front-man Winfield Butler (you really have to say this in a very posh accent) is from Houston). & prep-school. Let's never forget: prep-school rockers.

gotta be honest FT, out of all the lists posted so far, your list was the most uneventful.

i think the Stereogum list is packed with great releases.

probably true - my tastes do tend to be pretty narrowly focused

i don't venture too far outside the reg rock neighborhood very often

valid point

i HATE arcade fire...almost entirely because of the insufferable douchiness of win butler

the national are pretty meh, but i like that "mr. november" song ok

like i said, there are quite a few really great records in this list. venture out

Yeah, this list seems about as indie-centric as it gets. Whether you find that awful or not is up to you.

I mean, I'd wager that Pitchfork's list will have 30-35 of the same albums.

Just seems like a collective albums list from what 20-something indie kids are listening to.

well it looks like those 20-something indie kids have better taste in music than 'the old guys'.

Do they?

Lots a shit I never heard of/ dismissed as dogfucker-esque. Glad to see that becoming the new PPDD.

Not horrible. I've prolly heard a fourth of those.

Same #1 for Rolling Stone and Pitchfork.

I honestly wish I understood this. I feel completely left out on this thing.

what don't you like about it?

It's not that I actively dislike it, but I don't get what the big deal is. Other than it's supposed to a REALLY BIG DEAL. All these grand gestures and big statements and guest stars, but that just seems to be de rigueur for mainstream pop and hip-hop now.

And of course it's not a perfect record. I mean there are things about it I find to be annoying and detracting. The hook for "All of the Lights" gets stuck in my head way too easily and became irritating almost immediately. I don't like the AutoTuned-to-hell Bon Iver shit. I don't really care too much for Kanye's lyrics and flow in general, and I think the bulk of the subject matter on this album is just dismal - his fame, his excesses, his ego, his haters. There are few things I'm less interested in. To me it's not a particularly fun record. I'm not moved by it. There are things I like, too, but those are somewhat tainted as well. "Monster" is fucking great until Nicki Minaj comes in and shits all over it.

I don't want to fall into the whole backlash trap, but I realize and openly admit that I probably wouldn't care at all if this weren't almost universally being hailed as either the album of the year or the hip-hop album of the year by almost every single major music publication. I mean this thing hasn't been out that long, didn't even leak that long ago, and it feels like some sort of slight of hand was pulled at the last minute. I am honestly just trying to understand it. Maybe it's that I was oblivious to the singles he put out earlier and all of the hype building up to the album's release because I've just never liked Kanye. Ever since "Jesus Walks" I've just kind of been baffled by the whole thing. For the most part I've just ignored it all, but it's been a little harder this time.

I don't get it either. At all.

Stinky, your Nicki Minaj comment explains your disconnect here - that verse has been getting lauded as the best of the year since it dropped, and RS claims that she outdoes Kanye and Jigga on the same track. So, if you don't like it, it's easy to understand why you don't get the hype around the whole record. I think it's really fucking good, but I actually like Kanye's flow, so Ive been a fan of everythih he's done except 808s.

Big fan of Nicki Manaj
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ApuklExLA

But the album as a whole didn't hook me

The indie love for Robyn continues to confound me.




I mean, really?...REALLY?

I mean, if you think this is so great...what separates it from artists like say, Katy Perry et al.

also, agree with FT


this is a pretty lame top 50 for the year