[noisereductions]

well it's that time of year again. My usual disclaimer applies, IE: this list ULTIMATELY has no intentions of being exhaustive or hip or pointing out the most important or creative or even "best" albums of the year. This list is simply an honest list of the 10 albums that I listened to the most this year and will forever be remembered as the soundtrack to this year for me. Dig in.

1. Sonic Youth - The Eternal
preaching to the choir, as usual -- so I guess I don't have to convince anyone of anything, but (as much as I hate to sound like perhaps every rock critic that reviewed this record) HOW CAN A BAND BE ALMOST 30 FUCKING YEARS OLD AND STILL BE MAKING RECORDS THIS FUCKING GOOD? I mean seriously. This record kicks serious ass. It's edgy and dirty and fun and well, just great. There's yet to be any indication that the greatest band on earth will be slowing down anytime soon. Thank you for that.

2. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
this record was actually announced as PFork's #1 this year. This is the closest that their list and my list have ever gotten. Maybe that would make you feel icky. Maybe it should make me feel icky. But denying this record would make me a total hypocrite. Generally there's things about Animal Collective that I point out as "interesting" or "weird" or whatever, but MPP's bottom-line is that it's just really great. It's catchy and strange at the same time. It's pretty and fucked up at the same time. It makes yr head nod -- which is a form of agreeing.

3. DJ Quik & Kurupt - BlaQKout
if a year ago you told me that either of these dudes would end up in my Top 10 I would've scoffed. Surely they're both washed-up almost-had-beens who are still struggling to hang on to their brush with G-Funk at it's height? But here's the thing -- BLAQKOUT was by far the most adventerous rap album released all year. It's an album that manages to take the BBQ-soundtrack fun side of West Coast Gangsta Rap and mix it with kid-in-the-candy-store production (Quik) and OMG-I'm-in-love-with-language rhymes (Kurupt). I don't remember the last time I was so instantly convinced by two rappers that I had spent a decade ignoring. This record is low-brow (almost every song is about getting laid) and high-brow (dude samples an episode of Andrew Zimmer's show and turns it into something insane). Must-have.

4. Lil Wayne - No Ceilings
okay here's the thing, Wayne's last release was 2008's DEDICATION 3, which basically found him auto-tune singing badly and passing the mic to his crew. For the bulk of the year since he talked about his rock album which (technically) has still not materialized. In the meantime the other Carter dropped a little single called "DOA" which was effectively an attack on Weezy. And then this mixtape was tossed off. And on it Wayne decided to just fucking do what he does best: kill you on yr own track. This tape was so overlooked and underappreciated, but man Wayne proved three things: 1. even HE cannot make a Black Eyed Peas song sound good, 2. he can however make a Mario song sound amazing, and 3. he is an unstoppable rebel force.

5. The Bad Plus featuring Wendy Lewis - For All I Care
Normally I hate (HATE) vocal jazz. I just don't think it's right. I mean the instruments should BE the vocals. But I'm a long-time Bad Plus fan and a sucker for cover albums, so I figured I'd give this a shot. And I'm glad I did. The album is pretty much a string of amazing versions (the fucked up tempo sliding in "Lithium," the catharsis of "Radio Cures," the isolation of "Comfortably Numb") -- it's all just so brilliant. I don't know who Wendy Lewis is (I bet you don't either) but her approach was to stay the fuck out of their way, and it works. It works big time.

6. Slim Thug - Boss Of All Bosses
before this I only knew Slim as the dude who spit "Like A Boss" and cameo'd on Ratatat's REMIXES VOLUME II. On the merits of the gimmicky single "I Run" I decided to pick up this album, and what I found was probably the Southern Hip Hop album of the Summer. Slim killed it this year, most notably by getting seriously emo about his place in the rap game and reuniting with the producers that made him an underground legend to being with. Solid beyond belief.

7. DOOM - Born Like This
when I first heard this record, I think I felt like every other MF Doom fanatic. A little letdown. I mean, he dropped the MF. He gave us a sloppy unfinished albums of demos. Half of the tracks use instrumentals that he released like 3 years ago. But with each listen something special was revealed. OMG. He gave us EXACTLY the record we've been waiting for. Much like OPERATION DOOMSDAY being the result of his absence from the game in the mid-90's, BORN LIKE THIS isn't the album that WE THE FANS demanded... it's the album that DOOM needed to make. It's real. It's him. It's what he honestly sounds like. And we love him for every second of it.

8. The Lemonheads - Varshons
I've been a Lemonheads obsessive for well over a decade, and can safely say that this was the first Lemonheads grower-album I ever heard. But boy did it grow. First off -- props to Gibby's production. It fit everything to a T. But of course, Evan's insane takes on these tracks. Pure bliss. It meshes country with physch with techno and ... well. Just get it.

9. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
my wife and I have this saying that we paraphrase from time to time, which is basically SOMEDAYS I COULD JUST LISTEN TO SMOG ALL DAY. And it's true. He' just got this voice. He doesn't need to say much. It's all in the way he says it. But SOMETIMES I WISH WE WERE AN EAGLE is easily my favorite album he's made since KNOCK KNOCK. And believe me, that's saying a lot. Billy Smog is one of the NR-households most-played artists. This is a beautiful album of beautiful songs with beautiful lyrics beautifully recorded. I think you should have it.

10. Ben Weasel - The Brain That Wouldn't Die
okay so Ben records the (probably) best Screeching Weasel album live, without Screeching Weasel and then releases it. I'll pass. Right? No! Don't. It's awesome dudes. There's a couple subtle changes to the setlist, but really this is one of the greatest pop punk albums re-recorded without any studio bullshit. It's intense and fun and fast and makes me wish I was a teenager for an hour.

[the ikara cult]

Why does everyone think that Animal Collective album was so good? Its not done much for me at all. Obviously its better than Razorlight or The Kooks, but thats not saying much

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by the ikara cult

Why does everyone think that Animal Collective album was so good? Its not done much for me at all. Obviously its better than Razorlight or The Kooks, but thats not saying much

"This list is simply an honest list of the 10 albums that I listened to the most this year"

[the ikara cult]

I didnt mean that as a criticism of your list, i meant it generally

[davenotdead]

MPP is my #1 album this year.

maybe you forgot how to hear stuff that souds good, ikira?

[the ikara cult]

Originally Posted by davenotdead

MPP is my #1 album this year.

maybe you forgot how to hear stuff that souds good, ikira?

No Divnotdead, i have not

[atsonicpark]

MPP is one of the most boring records I've ever heard. So lifeless and mundane. A few decent tracks though, can't say it's bad, certainly not worth the hype though. I think it's one of those things where it's not a great record, it's just listenable enough to so many people that it's technically "well-liked" so, by default, it becomes "good" even when it really isn't.

There's still some good hooks on it, though, and I'd take it over most mainstream (or approaching-mainstream) music, so yeah. Gotta give it that. It's not bad, again, but the hype is ridiculous. FALL BE KIND EP is about 100x better, btw.

Funny that it leaked exactly a year ago tomorrow!

[SpectralJulianIsNotDead]

I'm also anti MPP. I heard it was super good, so I gave it a chance, and it bored the shit out of me.

[davenotdead]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

MPP is one of the most boring records I've ever heard. So lifeless and mundane. A few decent tracks though, can't say it's bad, certainly not worth the hype though. I think it's one of those things where it's not a great record, it's just listenable enough to so many people that it's technically "well-liked" so, by default, it becomes "good" even when it really isn't.

There's still some good hooks on it, though, and I'd take it over most mainstream (or approaching-mainstream) music, so yeah. Gotta give it that. It's not bad, again, but the hype is ridiculous. FALL BE KIND EP is about 100x better, btw.

Funny that it leaked exactly a year ago tomorrow!

fbk is awesome, and possibly better than mpp, but hard to put them together since i don't like comparing eps to lps.

didn't mpp lea exactly on christmas day? [i was sitting on the what forum refreshing, pretty sure i was one of the first 5 people to d/l the 'leak']

[Moshe]

Nice list NR. I share only 2 albums from it on my top ten.

Originally Posted by noisereductions

5. The Bad Plus featuring Wendy Lewis - For All I Care
Normally I hate (HATE) vocal jazz. I just don't think it's right. I mean the instruments should BE the vocals. But I'm a long-time Bad Plus fan and a sucker for cover albums, so I figured I'd give this a shot. And I'm glad I did. The album is pretty much a string of amazing versions (the fucked up tempo sliding in "Lithium," the catharsis of "Radio Cures," the isolation of "Comfortably Numb") -- it's all just so brilliant. I don't know who Wendy Lewis is (I bet you don't either) but her approach was to stay the fuck out of their way, and it works. It works big time.

.

This is a great album. I was lucky enough to hear live in Barcelona's auditorium.
What a fantastic gig it was. Some of the covers are better than the originals.

[dionysusundone]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

MPP is one of the most boring records I've ever heard. So lifeless and mundane. A few decent tracks though, can't say it's bad, certainly not worth the hype though. I think it's one of those things where it's not a great record, it's just listenable enough to so many people that it's technically "well-liked" so, by default, it becomes "good" even when it really isn't.

There's still some good hooks on it, though, and I'd take it over most mainstream (or approaching-mainstream) music, so yeah. Gotta give it that. It's not bad, again, but the hype is ridiculous. FALL BE KIND EP is about 100x better, btw.

Funny that it leaked exactly a year ago tomorrow!

Seriously dude? Fall Be Kind is the thing that made me finally realize that I'm completely over AC. God that thing is horrible.

[SYRFox]

Ahah I was on the MPP thread from last year and adam I love it how you went from

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Anyway, what can I say? Upon first listen... This album's pretty good. I'd say it's an improvement over the last two. Flows really well. Great production. Good melodies. Pretty much what you'd expect. Not entirely impressed, not disappointed. My girlfriend will like it. I really like this song on it called "summertime clothes" or something.

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Enjoyable, ridiculous, fun, interesting, if occasionally shallow, melodically pleasing album. I give it 2 thumbs.

to

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

MPP is one of the most boring records I've ever heard. So lifeless and mundane. A few decent tracks though, can't say it's bad, certainly not worth the hype though. I think it's one of those things where it's not a great record, it's just listenable enough to so many people that it's technically "well-liked" so, by default, it becomes "good" even when it really isn't.

There's still some good hooks on it, though, and I'd take it over most mainstream (or approaching-mainstream) music, so yeah. Gotta give it that. It's not bad, again, but the hype is ridiculous. FALL BE KIND EP is about 100x better, btw.

in exactly a year

I am still in love with MPP, though Feels is still my favorite Animal Collective album. I'm not THAT MUCH into Fall Be Kind though. Well I like it for sure, but some of the vocal lines / production there kind of feel weird to me. I should listen to it more, I guess.

[atsonicpark]

My opinion didn't change much at all. In both cases, I never said the record was bad or anything -- just boring. Good production, flows well, good melodies, it's not terrible... just kinda hard to listen to the whole thing in one sitting. But it was quite interesting on first listen, whereas now I think the songs get pretty tiresome after the first minute or two. I never really had an urge to listen to it at all, but my ex-girlfriend played it quite a few times over the past year.

Originally Posted by dionysusundone

Seriously dude? Fall Be Kind is the thing that made me finally realize that I'm completely over AC. God that thing is horrible.

Yeah, it's not awesome or anything, like it way more than MPP though. It's more interesting to listen to.

[noisereductions]

FALL BE KIND is really good, but I haven't had as much time to get hooked on it. MPP is really really connected to some important parts of the year for me personally. It's also the ONLY Animal Collective album that my wife actually took out of my collection to listen to on her own. Which is amazing.

but let's not make this an Animal Collective thread.

[loubarret]

Fall be kind is better then weather in my opion. Still feels and sung tong(if you count their solo stuff with also dead drunk and Spirit).

[Bal]

you defo have a weird taste man..
lil wayne?
mpp - maybe its not the most original albums all the time BUT its a lots of fun!!!
i myself have not heard a good 'happyish' album for a long while (i prefer the bluesy/deep sounds myself anyways) . most of the like are super cheesy and cheapo. mpp defo makes me want to jump around and smile (especially brother sport!)

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by Bal

you defo have a weird taste man..
lil wayne?

um...

[Bal]

no offense meant there.. was just kiddin

[Derek]

Tha Carter II is a jam and a half.

[noisereductions]

Originally Posted by Bal

no offense meant there.. was just kiddin

I wasn't offended. More shocked. Like obviously you've never stepped foot in a NR thread before. I probably talk about Lil Wayne and Lindsay Lohan more than anything else on this forum, so it seemed weird for somebody to be like "OMG... YOU like Lil Wayne???".