i didn't like the record i'm about to compare angel olsen to but this is basically the courtney barnett of this year. pretty universally loved
Courtney Barnett also didn't do anything for me. Lemonade is good. Relistening for the first time in forever
p4k is fine. It's dope to see Pinegrove on there and for Blood Orange to get the recognition it deserves. All of the top choices are solid, even if I don't necessarily think most are the best albums of the year. This is the first year in a while that I've heard all of the top 20 prior to the list dropping, and I really didn't try that hard to find new music this year.
Why is everyone so shocked or annoyed that these lists have the albums that publications have been breathlessly praising for a full calendar year?
Tbh the one that stood out to me was Kevin Morby being so high. HL + R could have been a little closer to 50 as well...
Because group think among music writers/publications is boring to read? The process of why it happens makes sense, but it doesn't make it less boring to read
If you don't vibe with "group think" as a whole, then don't read EOTY lists. You need to assume that a good portion of the lists is going to be made up of music that the people like, to think otherwise would be ridiculous. I read the lists because I'm happy for bands I think deserve more attention and to grab albums that I might have missed. I'm never disappointed or angry or whatever because albums I listened to and liked ranked high. If you disagree with an album being praised, start a discussion. Complaining about predictability is weird, imo
I guess I don't know what else you'd expect if you'd read any of these sites at any point in the past year. If you want something unexpected you probably have to follow specific critics or niche publications...at which point their lists will also become boring and unsurprising, because you'd been following them for a year.