Over what will likely be the next few years I’m going to be ranking and reviewing the top 5 albums - plus a fair few extras - according to users on rateyourmusic.com (think IMDB for music) from every year from 1960 to the present. If you want to know more, I wrote an introduction to the ‘challenge’ here. You can also read all the other entries I’ve written so far by heading to the lovely index page here.

Besides being the halfway mark of the 2000s, 2004 also saw gay marriages beginning in Massachusetts, the first state to legalise them; George Bush re-elected president and iTunes sold its 200,000,000th song. But what are rateyourmusic.com’s top 5 albums from the year? Well:

#1 Madvillain - Madvillainy
#2 Kanye West - The College Dropout
#3 MF DOOM - MM FOOD
#4 Arcade Fire - Funeral
#5 Natural Snow Buildings - The Winter Ray

And here’s a nunch of intriguing albums I’m going to throw in the mix from further down the list:

#6 Shibusashirazu - Shibuboshi
#7 My Chemical Romance - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
#8 Lamp - For Lovers
#13 Elliott Smith - From a Basement on the Hill
#18 Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
#22 Brian Wilson - Smile
#31 Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans

Off we go…

Lovers is a warm, nostalgic trip through 60s pop reverence, with echoes of The Beatles and The Beach Boys shimmering throughout its gentle melodies and lush harmonies. Even without understanding the lyrics, the melodic phrasing carries a clear emotional resonance — these songs feel like they’d be irresistibly catchy if you could sing along.

The production is beautifully crisp, every element placed with care. It’s an album that feels almost weightless at times, drifting along in a dreamy haze. That said, there are moments — particularly in the rhythm section — where the drums and bass lean into something a bit too squeaky-clean or kitsch, which slightly undercuts the more timeless aspects of the songwriting. Still, there’s something undeniably cosy about Lovers — it’s the kind of record that wraps itself around you like a soft, familiar blanket.

7/10

“Mm..Food is the fifth studio album by British-American rapper and producer MF Doom. The album peaked at number 17 on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. The title Mm..Food is an anagram of its performer’s name, "MF Doom".” - Wikipedia

MF DOOM’s MM..FOOD is a feast of language and rhythm, served with his trademark deadpan charm. His liquid-smooth cadence makes even the densest rhyme schemes sound effortless, flowing across beats that are as odd and colourful as the man behind the mask. The production is a patchwork of cartoon snippets, dusty soul loops, and left-field samples that somehow coalesce into something rich and nourishing. What makes the record truly remarkable is its literacy: DOOM is playful, sharp, and endlessly referential, packing each track with wordplay that rewards close listening but never loses its bounce. Even two decades on, it still feels startlingly fresh, a reminder that hip-hop can be both cerebral and fun, complex and inviting. MM..FOOD isn’t just an album — it’s a banquet of ideas, plated up with style and wit held back only by a few too many interludes and the fact that DOOM’s effortless delivery is at times so deadpan, it doesn’t hold me for the album’s duration.

8/10

10. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

My Chemical Romance

“Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (often shortened to Three Cheers or Revenge) is the second studio album by American rock band My Chemical Romance. With this album, the band produced a more polished sound than that of their 2002 debut I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love.

The album received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success for both the band and the Reprise label. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) less than a year after its release.” - Wikipedia

Pulverising production and relentless pace make Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge perhaps the most lively record of its year. Gerard Way’s vocals are theatric and just unhinged enough to perfectly encapsulate emo’s 2004 peak, balancing angst with a flair for the dramatic. Although released before I went to university, it’s the record that most vividly takes me back there. Partly that’s the memory of countless nights at dingy alternative clubs where songs like these would tear through the smoke and sweat, but mostly it’s the way MCR managed to bottle the simultaneous excitement and anxiety of that time of life.

The album hardly ever lets up, sometimes to its detriment — it might be stronger trimmed by a couple of tracks. But even so, it’s a cacophony of memorable, powerful melodies, played and sung with such theatrical conviction that the excess feels part of its charm. Few records manage to be so melodramatic and so affecting all at once, and Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge still earns its place as one of emo’s defining statements.

8.5/10

9. From a Basement on the Hill

Elliott Smith

“From a Basement on the Hill is the sixth and final studio album by the American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Recorded from 2000 to 2003, and faced with multiple delays due to Smith's personal problems that resulted in his death, it was released posthumously.

The album was initially planned as a double album, and was incomplete at the time of Smith's death. Many of the songs Smith intended for the album remained unfinished, in some cases lacking only vocals. Smith's family hired his former producer Rob Schnapf and ex-girlfriend Joanna Bolme to sort through and finish the batch of over thirty songs that were recorded for the album, although the estate retained final decision on which tracks to include.” - Wikipedia

From a Basement on the Hill is the most unguarded Elliott Smith ever sounded on record. The heavier, grungier textures push against his soft, plaintive voice, creating a tension that feels both unsettling and magnetic. Where earlier albums were polished into something delicate, here the edges are rough, jagged, and often deliberately left exposed. It gives the impression of hearing songs still alive in his head, unfinished in the best sense — buzzing with possibility rather than smoothed into certainty.

What makes it remarkable is how the storms make the quieter moments glow. The acoustic tracks don’t just offer respite, they feel warmer, more intimate, because of the chaos surrounding them.

It’s also the record that most fully embraces his contradictions — gentle and ferocious, melodic and discordant, hopeful and despairing. Listening feels like moving through someone’s inner weather system, where calm skies can break into thunder without warning. That makes it my favourite of his albums: less tamed, more vulnerable, and ultimately more human. It’s not perfect, it was never going to be with it being incomplete, but it’s beautiful.

8.5/10

I’m not sure what exactly is being celebrated by the Japanese jazz orchestra here—a new king, a child’s birth, a marriage, or maybe just another ordinary day. Whatever the occasion, Shibisashirazu are throwing one hell of a party on Shibuboshi. Every trumpet honks in delight, the drums pit, patter, and groove with easy contentment, while the bass struts with a playful spring in its step. The whole record is a joyous cacophony, stitched together from a jumble of influences yet somehow completely its own. This is jazz at its most infectious, its most energetic, its most miraculous.

9/10

“Seven Swans is the fourth studio album by Sufjan Stevens. It features songs about Christian spiritual themes, figures such as Abraham, and Christ's Transfiguration. The songs are primarily "lush acoustic compositions" with Stevens' banjo.” - Wikipedia

Religious themes run through Seven Swans, yet they’re never overbearing. Even as someone with no faith, I find its meditative, almost prayer-like atmosphere deeply moving. The stripped-back arrangements give Sufjan’s already intimate voice even more closeness, the quiet instrumentals breathing alongside him.

What makes the record resonate isn’t its theology but its artistry — graceful melodies, vulnerable performances, and songwriting that feels quietly timeless. In its best moments, it captures a sense of peace and certainty that faith can give, even to a listener who doesn’t share it. “In the Devil’s Territory” is a particular highlight, its echoed strums like bottled peace of mind, bouncing back for a hug.

9/10

Brian Wilson’s Smile is as much a resurrection as it is a release. Originally conceived in the mid-60s as the follow-up to Pet Sounds, the project collapsed under the weight of expectation, studio excess, and Wilson’s own struggles, leaving behind only fragments that became the stuff of legend among Beach Boys fans. Decades later, Wilson returned to the material, reworking it with his live band into the cohesive, finished piece we finally received in 2004.

Listening to Smile, it really does feel like the return of the Beach Boys. It’s clear much of the material was written in their orbit, even if what we hear here is re-recorded with Wilson’s solo band. The album is structured almost like a classical suite, in three distinct movements, which gives it an elegant sense of flow and artistic shape.

The melodies are, as expected from Wilson, simply gorgeous—radiant, playful, dipped in melancholy. What’s striking is how natural it all sounds: the arrangements and production place you firmly in that late-60s world, to the point where it could be mistaken for an album that followed immediately after Pet Sounds. For some listeners that might feel like nostalgia bordering on stasis, but to me it’s a triumph. The timelessness of the sound makes Smile feel like a lost classic finally unearthed.

It captures both the innocence and ambition of Wilson’s original vision while also serving as a moving reminder of what was almost lost to history. The album is impossible to listen to without—wait for it—a smile.

9/10

Every night my son picks an album from those I’ve downloaded for this challenge as the song to go to sleep to with me. Usually it’s something to do with the cover—Kid A for example, because it had “mountains.” The Milk-Eyed Mender has become bedtime listening every night since he spotted the aeroplanes on the cover. The boy loves aeroplanes. I now think this album will forever remind me of this precious time, lying beside him as he talked about his day and drifted off in my arms (or armpit as the case often is…). Somehow Joanna Newsom has been a perfect accompaniment to that.

On The Milk-Eyed Mender, Newsom announces herself with a debut that feels utterly singular. Her voice is often called divisive, but it’s precisely its sharp, quivering presence that makes these songs impossible to ignore. There’s a command here—of language, melody, and mood—that recalls Dylan’s Freewheelin’, though her lyrical world is far stranger and more enchanted. Verses land with the memorability of choruses, packed with vivid and sometimes abstract imagery that lingers like half-remembered dreams.

The sparse, homespun production deepens the intimacy, allowing her harp and piano to frame words that flicker like fire—fragile one moment, incandescent the next. The result is a record that feels both rooted in folk tradition and yet untethered from any particular time. It’s timeless, idiosyncratic, and for those willing to embrace its eccentricities, a revelation.

It’s odd what can lead to albums defining times of our lives. Sometimes it’s as predictable as a release date lining up with a life event. Sometimes, as I’ve found, it’s as unpredictable as a couple of aeroplanes hidden on a cover.

9/10

I’m not going to go into Kanye West’s more recent years and the controversies that have followed him—it’s enough to say that I don’t align with his current outlook. What I’m interested in here is the art itself, and The College Dropout deserves to be judged on its own terms. This record, arriving in 2004, feels like a breath of fresh air in the hip-hop landscape of its time. Where much of mainstream rap leaned heavily into bravado, hyper-masculinity, and hardened seriousness, Kanye carved out something different: an album that was soulful, playful, and surprisingly vulnerable.

Listening to The College Dropout is like being handed an ice cream cone on a hot day—sweet, refreshing, and delightfully indulgent. The production is bursting with colour, packed with warm, gospel-infused samples and beats that bounce around like a pile of multi-coloured bouncy balls spilling across the floor. It has an energy that never quite sits still, yet always feels meticulously crafted. And over it, Kanye raps with a delivery that’s equal parts smooth and slightly nerdy, brimming with confidence but also carrying a sense of self-awareness and charm.

The features only add to the richness of the album—guests like Jay-Z, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli broaden the palette without overshadowing the core vision. From the playful skits to the personal reflections on family, education, and ambition, there’s a real sense of humanity that anchors the record. Kanye manages to balance sincerity and wit in a way that makes the album endlessly replayable: one moment sharp social commentary, the next a grin-inducing hook or joke.

What’s most impressive is how The College Dropout still feels fresh today. Every listen reveals something new—whether it’s a hidden detail in the production, a clever turn of phrase, or simply a shift in mood that resonates differently with where you are in life. It’s infectious from start to finish, and no matter how many times I return to it, the album puts me in a good mood. More than just a debut, it’s the arrival of an artist who redefined what hip-hop could sound like, and it remains, for me, a genuine masterpiece.

9.5/10

“Madvillainy is the only studio album by American hip-hop duo Madvillain, consisting of British-American rapper MF Doom and American record producer Madlib.

Madlib created most of the instrumentals during a trip to Brazil in his hotel room using minimal amounts of equipment: a Boss SP-303 sampler, a turntable, and a tape deck. Fourteen months before the album was released, an unfinished demo version was stolen and leaked onto the internet. Frustrated, the duo stopped working on the album and returned to it only after they had released other solo projects.

Madvillainy received widespread critical acclaim for Madlib's production and MF Doom's lyricism, and is regarded as Doom's magnum opus. It has since been widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time in general, being ranked in various publications' lists of all-time greatest albums.” - Wikipedia

Madvillainy isn’t an album so much as a labyrinth. MF Doom and Madlib never seem interested in delivering songs in the traditional sense; instead, they build a shifting collage where beats slide in and out, verses cut off mid-thought, and samples appear like apparitions. It feels like flipping through a secret notebook, fragments of brilliance tumbling onto the page.

The production is dusty, fire-lit, and playful, with Madlib pulling loops and textures from every corner of the record bin. Doom, with his liquid cadence and dense, literate wordplay, glides over it like he’s annotating the beat in real time. It’s often funny, often surreal, and always hypnotic.

What’s striking is how the record thrives on incompleteness. Many tracks clock in under two minutes, sketches rather than full statements, but together they form a masterful tapestry, glowing brighter than an industrial strength bulb at the bottom of a well.

And through all its fragmented genius, Madvillainy never stops moving. Even when it dissolves into strange corners, I’m always bopping, always caught in its gravitational pull. It’s a hip-hop landmark, not because it’s polished, but because it dares to be unfinished and still feels complete.

9.5/10

“Funeral is the debut studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. Its lyrics draw upon themes of death, change, and the loss of childhood innocence. It received widespread critical acclaim and topped many year-end and decade-end lists, now often considered one of the greatest albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

Of all the albums from this year, Funeral is the one most deeply etched into memory. Its relentless bass-drum marches, soaring dramatic melodies, and sudden shifts in power make it feel less like a collection of songs and more like a single, urgent statement. Born out of grief—several band members lost family during its creation—it resonates as a communal shout into the void, a work steeped in both mourning and catharsis.

What makes it remarkable is how it transforms sorrow into something both fragile and defiant. There’s a melancholy acceptance in its quieter moments, yet always the sense of life pushing back against the darkness. The choruses bloom with a sense of shared survival, as if everyone is holding one another up. It feels at once raw and meticulously crafted, intensely personal yet universal.

Even now, it’s hard to find fault in it. Funeral captures the paradox of grief: the ache of loss and the strange, almost life-affirming energy that comes from knowing your time will come too, and you’d better live while you can.

10/10

Natural Snow Buildings are one of those cult projects that feel like they’ve been quietly working in a parallel dimension to the rest of music. The French duo—Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte—have been releasing sprawling, often homemade records since the late ’90s, mixing elements of drone, folk, ambient, and noise into something that feels both personal and cosmically scaled. They’ve always thrived on excess, whether in length, in texture, or in atmosphere, and The Winter Ray might be their most audacious statement: a two-and-a-half-hour epic that stretches the boundaries of what an album can be.

At its core, The Winter Ray is less about songs in the traditional sense and more about landscapes. Across its length, the duo conjure images of collapsing governments, wars, and societal decay—not in any direct or literal way (other than the odd barely audible voiceover), but through sound alone. You get twinkling piano lines that could just as easily belong in a children’s lullaby, gently plucked guitar motifs that shimmer like fragile light, and endless, patient drones that feel like the earth itself humming under the weight of history. The pacing is deliberate: movements build with near-imperceptible slowness until they crest into tidal crescendos, only to ebb away into silences so delicate you almost hold your breath.

What makes The Winter Ray remarkable is that, on one hand, it’s perfectly possible to let it wash over you as background ambience—it has the patient, enveloping quality of music designed to blur into your environment. But give it your full attention, and it becomes a different beast altogether. Suddenly every shift in tone feels monumental; every drone note carries unbearable weight; every quiet passage feels loaded with tension. In that way, it functions almost like a mirror to the world outside: a reminder that chaos and beauty are often entwined, and that history unfolds not just in headlines but in long, quiet stretches of waiting.

Listening through all 180 minutes is less like playing an album and more like entering a space, one you can’t quite leave until the music releases you. And when it does—when the final notes fade and you remove your headphones—there’s a subtle disorientation, as though the everyday world has been tinted differently, as though you’ve been carrying the weight of centuries in sound.

The Winter Ray is not easy, nor is it meant to be. It demands patience, stillness, and trust. But if you’re willing to surrender to it, it’s an extraordinary journey—an unspoken history lesson, a meditation on society’s fragility, and a powerful testament to Natural Snow Buildings’ ability to create an entire universe out of drones, whispers, and silence.

10/10

So, here we are in 1995, when OJ Simpson’s trial started, 2,000 people died in the Rwanda Massacre, and on the lighter news front Steve Fossett completed the first solo transpacific balloon flight.

Here’s what rateyourmusic.com’s users have as the year’s top 5 albums:

#1 Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords
#2 Death - Symbolic
#3 Mobb Deep - The Infamous
#4 Björk - Post
#5 Radiohead - The Bends

And let’s grab some more from further down the list:

#6 Elliott Smith - Elliott Smith
#7 Three-6 Mafia - Mystic Stylez
#8 Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
#9 The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
#11 Pulp - Different Class

#15 P J Harvey - To Bring You My Love
#18 Cap'n Jazz - Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over
#29 Guided by Voices - Alien Lanes

Finally, to add another female composed album to the list I’m taking Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill from NPR’s best albums by women of all time list.

Let’s go.

14. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The Smashing Punpkins

“Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is the third studio album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. It features a wide array of musical styles, including art rock, grunge, alternative pop, and heavy metal.

Propelled by its lead single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 246,500 units. It remains the band's only album to top the Billboard 200. Lauded by critics for its ambition and scope, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness earned the band seven Grammy Award nominations in 1997, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year ("1979").” - Wikipedia

It's so long I find it hard to find time to absorb it attentively in one sitting, which I'm sure would up it in my estimations. As it is, I really enjoy it every time I put it on, but it rarely wows me or feels particularly cohesive.

Song Picks: 1979, Bullet with Butterfly Wings

7/10

“Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (commonly referred to as the Purple Tape) is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. The album was loosely composed to play like a film with Raekwon as the "star", fellow Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star", and producer RZA as the "director". It features appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... has received acclaim from music critics and writers over the years, with many lauding it as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

Everything here is very solid, the beats, the rhymes, the vocals, it just hasn't quite grabbed me as much as other hip hop releases this decade.

Song Picks: Criminology, Rainy Dayz

7/10

“Mystic Stylez is the debut studio album by American hip hop group Three 6 Mafia. Produced completely by founding members DJ Paul and Juicy J, the LP was published via Prophet, an independent record label.” - Wikipedia

Our first ‘horrorcore’ record lives up to the genre name with lyrics of murder, blood, violence, more blood, satanism, and other such delights. It’s thematically cohesive, and tied together by a bunch of haunting and intimidating beats. There is restbite in more relaxing tracks like Da Summa, and overall I thoroughly enjoyed my journey through this gory mess.

Song Picks: Da Summa, Break Da Law ’95’, Mystic Styles

8/10

11. Jagged Little Pill

Alanis Morisette

“Jagged Little Pill is the third studio album by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette. It marked a stylistic departure from the dance-pop sound of her first two albums, Alanis (1991) and Now Is the Time (1992). The lyrics touch upon themes of aggression and unsuccessful relationships, while Ballard introduced a pop sensibility to Morissette's angst. Rolling Stone ranked Jagged Little Pill at number 69 on its 2020 list of ‘The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time’.” - Wikipedia

Yes, most of the things in Ironic aren’t actually ironic, but maybe that’s ironic in itself? Meta. Jagged Little Pill is full of powerfully sung melodies; Morissette’s cleaner, and technically impressive vocals soaring above instrumentation clearly influenced by grunge. A punk bluntness, a poppy accessibility, and a rough instrumental texture all combine to create a darn punchy record.

Song Picks: Forgiven, You Oughta Know, Ironic

8.5/10

“Different Class (released in Japan as Common People) is the fifth studio album by English rock band Pulp. The album was a critical and commercial success, entering the UK Albums Chart at number one and winning the 1996 Mercury Music Prize. Widely acclaimed as among the greatest albums of the Britpop era, in 2013, NME ranked the album at number six in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time while Rolling Stone ranked it number 162 in their 2020 revised version of the same list.” - Wikipedia

They're from Sheffield, I live in Sheffield, so that's at least a bonus point. Seriously though, this is just great, relatable songwriting. Cocker's lyrics are so simple every song plays like an anthem and his accented delivery was to inspire a whole heap of indie bands in my youth. Musically it's simple, serves the songs, and doesn't invite much comment other than 'sounds solid, mate', but Cocker’s anthemic vocals (both lyrically and vocally) put Different Class thoroughly in ‘great’ territory. It's a bit daft how many bangers are on this thing really.

Song Picks: Common People, Disco 2000,

8.5/10

“Symbolic is the sixth studio album by American death metal band Death. It is the only album to feature Bobby Koelble and Kelly Conlon on guitar and bass, respectively, and the second and last album to feature drummer Gene Hoglan. The album has received unanimous critical acclaim.” - Wikipedia

I’m not sure what there is left to say about Death, the band that is, not the thing we’re all hurtling towards. This is another technically brilliant and pulverising death metal record, the title’s a bit tame though isn’t it?

8.5/10

“Liquid Swords is the second solo studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member GZA. The album heavily samples dialogue from the martial arts film Shogun Assassin and maintains a dark atmosphere throughout, incorporating lyrical references to chess, crime and philosophy.

Liquid Swords received critical acclaim for its complex lyricism and hypnotic musical style. Over the years, its recognition has grown, with a number of famous publishers proclaiming it to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. In 2007, the Chicago Tribune cited it as "one of the most substantial lyrical journeys in hip-hop history". - Wikipedia

Liquid production, and lyrics that slice like freshly sharpened swords. Seriously though, this thing sounds crystal clear. GZA’s lyrical content aligns pretty strongly with Wu-Tang Clan’s, it’s operating on an intellectual plane above most lyrics out there, and the whole thing feels like something created by that cool kid in the corner who does his own thing and has no care for stepping into the middle of the room. Not because he’s in any way shy, but because he’s confident enough not to feel the need. Liquid Swords feels meditative due to it’s gorgeously repetitive samples, and GZA and his features’ vocals rarely demand attention in their tone as much as in their content. It’s reassured, and refreshingly confident in its quietness when comapred to other hip-hop albums of the time.

Song Picks: Gold, Cold World, Shadowboxin’

8.5/10

“Alien Lanes is the eighth full-length album by American lo-fi band Guided by Voices. According to James Greer's book the advance for the record was close to a hundred thousand dollars, one of the more expensive deals in Matador's history. In contrast to the lucrative deal, Greer mentions that "The cost for recording Alien Lanes, if you leave out the beer, was about ten dollars." - Wikipedia

The strokes of genius are still here in spades, and there's that lightning in a bottle feeling of it being captured at its source, it's just not quite as magical as it is on Bee Thousand, mainly because it's interspersed with 20 second 'songs' that don't add much, and only serve to break up the flow. Nevertheless, Alien Lanes is another celebration of songwriting above all else, and despite its flaws, it’s still glorious.

Song Picks: As We Go Up, We Go Down, Game of Pricks, A Good Flying Bird, Pimple Zoo, King and Caroline, Little Whirl

9/10

“Elliott Smith is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. It was preceded by the single "Needle in the Hay". The album is of a similar musical style to Roman Candle in its minimalist, acoustic folk sound. Smith mostly appears alone on his acoustic guitar, although he is occasionally backed up by the odd musical instrument, such as a harmonica and drums. Rolling Stone wrote of the album, ‘the music burrows, digging up gems of structure, melody and lyrical vividness that belie his naïve delivery [...] the sound is hummable pop, slowed and drugged, with tricky but unshowy guitar work driving the melodies forward’.” - Wikipedia

Sometimes I read something by someone else, and they put it much better than I ever could, this is such a case. As highlighted in this lovely Pitchfork review, Rebecca Gates (who sings accompanying vocals on St. Ides Heaven), “wrote about her experience working with Swith in a posthumous collection’s liner notes. She writes about a night , some time later, wandering around Portland with Smith. At one point they’re commiserating about the music industry; she remembers him being moody, wearing a raggedy old raincoat. Then somewhere along the way, they burst into laughter. It’s the kind of vague, half-remembered scene that always comes to mind when I hear these songs. You can see the rain on the street, the moon in the sky. It’s getting dark. They have the whole night ahead of them.”

I agree, there’s some spaced out lamplight too, their silhouettes appear and disappear as they pass them, and each time they’ve swapped sides.

Song Picks: Needle In the Hay, Alphabet Town, Christian Brothers, Clementine

9/10

“To Bring You My Love is the third studio album by the English alternative rock musician PJ Harvey. Recorded after the break-up of the PJ Harvey trio, it stands as her first proper solo album. The songs on the album are heavily influenced by American blues music.

To Bring You My Love is considered to be PJ Harvey's breakthrough. It garnered massive critical acclaim worldwide and became her best-selling studio album. The album was placed on Rolling Stone magazine's original list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.” - Wikipedia

Dark, modern blues. To Bring You My Love is much less aggressive than her previous Rid of Me, but it’s just as confident. Harvey’s vocals range from murmur to scream, and the instrumentation is generally dominated by one instrument repeating a riff, whether that be the low rumbles of a synthesised organ (Working for the Man), the djangle of an acoustic guitar (Send His Love to Me) or an absolutely filthy distorted guitar riff (Long Snake Moan). It’s an album very much her own, packed with engrossing tracks, and driven by her gritty, passionate vocals.

Song Picks: Working for the Man, C’mon Billy, To Bring You My Love, Teclo, Long Snake Moan

9/10

“The Infamous (stylized as The Infamous...) is the second studio album by the American hip hop duo Mobb Deep. The album features guest appearances by Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Q-Tip. The album's dark style, defined by its evocative melodies, rugged beats, and introspective lyrics concerning crime in New York's inner city neighborhoods, received special recognition and critical praise. In 2020, the album was ranked 369th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” - WIkipedia

I love the production on this thing, everything has this infectiously laid back groove to it, with atmospheric, and at times slightly haunting embelishments. Deep’s vocals are as smooth as yoghurt, and the lyrics work brilliantly both rhythmically, but also when you pay the content close attention. It’s a pretty close to flawless hip-hop album.

Song Picks: Survival of the Fittest, Shook One Pt II, The Start of Your Ending

9/10

**3. Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over**

Cap’n Jazz

“Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards in the Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We've Slipped On and Egg Shells We've Tippy Toed Over is the only full-length studio album by the American emo band Cap'n Jazz. It is also referred to as the Shmap'n Shmazz LP. For a long period of time, the record in its original form was completely out of print—only recently has it been reissued on Polyvinyl Records on cassette tape and digitally.” - Wikipedia

Well, that’s easily the longest album name we’ve had on the challenge isn’t it? I’ll stick with Shmap’n Shmazz LP. This is a gloriously cathartic and messy gem of an album. It sounds like 3 (or 4?) blokes got into the basement, all wanted to play something different, and one of them was having a slightly pretentious and very loud emotional breakdown. Frontman Mike Kinsella says it was more a ‘weirdo punk band’ than an emo one, and that makes sense. There’s a definite ‘we’re just going to make a racket and have fun’ punk mentality to the record, and there’s also the feeling that not too much thought was given to song structures, or indeed anything. It sounds like they bumped into each other, got out their respective instruments, and created some chaos that just happened to turn out rather spectacular. Of course, the band split up shortly after this album’s release, but their coming together to create this feels like one of the universe’s random little miracles.

Song Picks: Little League, Oh Messy Life

9/10

“Post is the second studio album by Icelandic singer Björk. Continuing the style developed on her first album Debut (1993), Björk conceived of Post as a bolder and more extroverted set of songs than its predecessor, featuring an eclectic mixture of electronic and dance styles such as techno, trip hop, IDM, and house, but also ambient, jazz, industrial, and experimental music. She wrote most of the songs after moving to London, and intended the album to reflect her new life in the city.

Considered an important exponent of art pop, Post has been praised by critics for its ambition and timelessness. It was named one of the greatest albums of 1995 by numerous publications, and has since been named one of the greatest albums of all time by publications including Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.” - Wikipedia

Post is a wonderfully creative mix of genres that somehow manages to feel completely cohesive, despite its remarkable variety. Post is poppy, though it doesn’t deal in catchy-choruses preferring instead spontaneous, often theatrical melodies. It’s these melodies, performed with aplomb by Bjork, that hold the shattered fragments of musical crystal together

Song Picks: Army of Me, I Miss You, Hyper-Ballad

9/10

“The Bends is the second studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. The Bends combines guitar songs and ballads, with more restrained arrangements and cryptic lyrics than Radiohead's debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).

It is frequently named one of the greatest albums of all time, and was included in the third edition of Colin Larkin's “All Time Top 1000 Albums” and all three editions of Rolling Stone's “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” list. The Bends is credited for influencing a generation of post-Britpop acts, such as Coldplay, Muse and Travis.” - Wikipedia

Radiohead have arrived, The Bends is probably my favourite straightforward alt-rock album of all time. Thom Yorke’s vocals soar like some sad, sad bird across a full moon, plucking my heart-strings like a Spanish guitar. It’s an album that is packed with great songs from start to finish, but one that also works thematically, managing to keep a feeling that could easily get tiresome going for its entire duration in such a way that when it finishes you want to put it straight back on again. I want to live my life to those emotive chord changes and Yorke’s melancholy vocals. Sometimes it’s fun to be sad you know?

Song Picks: High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit (Fade Out)

9.5/10

2004 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

1995 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge