The Hotelier - Home, Like Noplace Is There The Menzingers - After the Party Bon Iver - Bon Iver Hurula - Vi är människorna våra föräldrar varnade oss för Touché Amoré - Stage Four CHVRCHES - The Bones of What You Believe Deafheaven - New Bermuda Manchester Orchestra - A Black Mile to the Surface The Maine - Lovely Little Lonely Kent - Tigerdrottningen This was NOT easy!
Foxing – Nearer My God Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns The Wonder Years – The Upsides The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It Frank Ocean – channel ORANGE Turnstile – Time & Space Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy The Menzingers – Rented World Elvis Depressedly – New Alhambra Parquet Courts – Wide Awake!
Wow this was hard. Could only get it down to a top 20 in chronological order (and am almost certainly missing something): Bayside - Killing Time Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is An Animal Rebelution - Peace of Mind Yellowcard - Southern Air The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace Is There Matisyahu - Akeda The Wonder Years - No Closer To Heaven Common - Black America Again The Hotelier - Goodness Nahko and Medicine For The People - Hoka A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Yellowcard - Yellowcard Anti-Flag - American Fall Deaf Havana - All These Countless Nights Oso Oso - the yunahon mixtape SOJA - Poetry In Motion Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Earth Lupe Fiasco - Drogas Wave The Wonder Years - Sister Cities Oso Oso - Basking in the Blow
Would be great if folks could write a little bit about their choices so this doesn't become a boring list thread.
Or people can post their lists and that can generate discussion??? Not everyone has the time, energy, or desire to go into it unprompted.
In fairness, it’s definitely not “unprompted.” That’s the entire concept of the thread, if you read the OP. It’s not a big deal, but I get why Matt was hoping people would explain why they love the albums they’re picking. Even a short blurb helps drive interest and discovery in a way that just posting a list of 10 albums doesn’t.
“Hi um yes my name is Audrey and my favorite album of the decade is ILIWYS by The 1975 and that is because it is the BEST album of the decade and also ever thank you for your time”
I was originally just going to post the list, but here are some extra words 1. Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Self-Titled the man is my favorite artist, but sometimes albums have the vibe and color of your life when they come to you. the holy blue-gold nostalgia. rebirth and airy possibility. it was a time I thought anything could happen. turns out I was right—I would soon go insane (not hyperbole) and start singing All Our Lives in public so I could feel I made a difference to some passerby before I peaced out from this dimension. but it was the manic season before, the autumn when God was in the leaves I kicked on the ground just because, that this album will always be to me 2. The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang I first listened to Gaslight when the The '59 Sound came out. it didn’t click with me. I remember the soul production on Brian’s voice being a little much for my young ears. but they found me in college (when they were supposed to, like all things) and I listened to the 59-AS-HW trilogy hundreds of times. one of the few albums I’m never tempted to skip a song 3. The Dangerous Summer - War Paint I got a reckless driving charge in Virginia to this. but officer have you heard the bridge to Miscommunication 4. Tyler Lyle - The Native Genius of Desert Plants aside from some of the best songwriting I’ve heard, this record tinted my reality forever. it helped me feel—not just know—there’s nothing you need to do or be. no significance of impact you need to achieve. everything just is, and is ultimately impermanent. and in that surrender comes deeper love and peace. as Tyler says in the accompanying essay “the difference between revelation and realization is so slight, but it’s at the center of everything”. this record was that revelation 5. Microwave - Much Love there was a period of my life that was chronic pain, smoking cigarettes on the porch, and relationships with women I didn’t like but needed. I was basically living this record. it’s also the best songwriting and vocals combo the present day scene has to offer (their new one isn’t for me though) 6. Butch Walker - Stay Gold this hit the spot of The Gaslight Anthem album that never was. will forever be good time rock ’n' roll in the summer 7. Copeland - Ixora this soundtracked my descent into psychosis. in retrospect all suffering has a strange beauty and sacredness to it, and this transfigured moments of trackside begging where I almost hurtled off the earth, into a church 8. Noah Gundersen - Ledges I first heard Noah Gundersen and his song “Family” on an episode of The Vampire Diaries. so that wasn’t a waste of time. it wasn’t a waste of time because The Vampire Diaries is a great show 9. Field Report - Marigolden red burning sacrament I'm tired that's all I got just listen to it there are no words 10. Jason Isbell - Southeastern I was late to the party on this one, but about as late as Andrew McMahon since I listened when he tweeted “I can’t believe it took me this long to listen to Jason Isbell’s Southeastern”. me either. the way he put pictures and scenes in your head is unlike anyone else H.M. Charlie Simpson - Young Pilgrim
Loved reading these, and not just because we have a bunch of overlaps between our lists. Beautiful writing. Also, I need to check out that Tyler Lyle record, apparently! Had never heard of him until now.
Brian Fallon - Sleepwalkers (2018) I love everything this guy does, and he writes his lyrical themes and messages in a relatable human way. Brian just makes music I feel I relate to. Top Tracks: See You On The Other Side, If These Prayers Don’t Get To Heaven, Come Wander With Me, Sleepwalkers, Little Nightmares Thrice - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere (2016) It’s sucks when one of your favourite bands goes on hiatus. When they come back with an album like this, it makes you love them even more. Still get chills from some on this album when the first notes hit. Top Tracks: The Long Defeat, Black Honey, Hurricane Gang Of Youths - Go Father In Lightness (2017) This album really doesn’t hold back. It’s heart break, hope, sadness, frustration, pity, pain, and just honest and real. This is sort of a rock opus journey of an album. Top Tracks: Let Me Down Easy, The Deepest Of Sighs The Frankest of Shadows, The Heart Is A Muscle, Fear and Trembling, What Can If I Do When The Fire Goes Out? The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten(2012)/American Slang(2010)/Get Hurt(2014) This kind of feels like cheating, but I love all the Gaslight Anthem albums. Brian’s lyrics just capture me. It’s raw, and energetic and never gets tired to me. Top Tracks: HW:Hand Written, Mae, Biloxi Parish, 45 AS: She Loves You, American Slang, Bring It On, Old Haunts GH: Get Hurt, Break Your Heart, 1,000 Years, Underneath The Ground, Dark Places The Menzingers - After The Party era (2017) On The Impossible Past and Rented World are both fantastic. With After The Party they took the best parts and tried to put it into one album. There’s some good storytelling, raw energy, and just feels grown up and self aware. Top Tracks: After The Party, Lookers, The Freaks, Toy Soldier, Midwestern States The Horrible Crowes - Elsie (2011) Brian Fallon rules. Being able to switch styles between albums to write so beautiful but still still raw album is cool. He said this album was “Night Time music”. It’s seems like a weird statement, but once you hear it, it’s like, yeah, he’s right. Also, first album with Ian.Ted Hutt deserves credit for his work on Brian albums. Top Tracks: Behold the Hurricane, Last Rites, Ladykiller Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones (2011) A really cool folk-punk hybrid that is a return to great storytelling, and seems like a more professional record. It’s appropriately regional, and knows when to push full band and when to pull back and like the acoustic sound fill the speakers Top Tracks: I Still Believe, Redemption, I Am Disappeared, Wessex Boy, Balthazar, Song for Eva Mae Yellowcard - Southern Air (2012) and When You’re Through Thinking Say Yes (2011) Both albums are fantastic. Coming out of a hiatus, and delivering two albums so close together without sounding like you missed a step is impressive. I always feel like every song by these guys a “big song” with something to say. Wish they were still around. Top Tracks: SA: Southern Air, Sleep In The Snow, Always Summer WYTTSY: Sing For Me, FormYou and Your Denial, See Me Smiling If I didn’t pass 10, then these would squeeze in there: Bad Religion - True North (2013) and Age Of Unreason (2019) Noah Gundersen - Ledges (2014) Moving Mountains - Waves (2011) The Republic Of Wolves - Varuna (2010) Austin Plaine - Austin Plaine (2014) Who knows if a Blink Nine, Jimmy Eat World Surviving or Menzingers Hello Exile will make it in there.
thanks Craig. and yea we definitely have wheelhouse overlap. and yea I think you'd really like that record. his album from this year The Floating Years is also an all timer in the making for me
I’ll make a top 10 at some point buying I think my number one is Carrie & Lowell. I’m surprised more people don’t have it on their lists.
Really pleasantly surprised to see a couple people mentioning Southern Air. Perfect Yellowcard record front to back.
This write-up made me immediately turn off whatever I was listening to and dive in. Great stuff. Might be a dumb question, but what was his reasoning beyond the "standard" vs "deluxe"? I see that the tracklist is padded in the middle vs a bunch of bonus tracks tacked on at the end, so clearly he thought about sequencing... which in your opinion is the "canon" version?