2000 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

March 28, 2025 by Clive in Clive, Music, Clive's Album Challenge

Since 2020, I’ve been 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.

And so we enter another decade, the ‘noughties’ as people like to call them. I was entering year 8 in the year 2000, and so we’re starting to get into the years where I can actually remember albums coming out. Most of these though, I was totally unaware of at the time - being more interested in catching all the Pokemon, and other such year 8 things.

More widely, 2000 was the year that mad cow disease panicked Europe, Yugoslavians overthrew Milosevic, and the abortion pill won approval in the US.

We’re here for the music though - and here’s rateyourmusic.com users’ top 5 of the year:

#1 Radiohead - Kid A
#2 Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven!
#3 The Avalanches - Since I left You
#4 Boris - Flood
#5 Electric Wizard - Dopethrone

And as always, some others from further down the list - including some to make sure we have at least some female artists.

#6 Deftones - White Pony
#7 D’Angelo - Voodoo
#8 At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
#9 Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
#10 Sheena Ringo - Shouso Strip
#11 Erykah Badu - Mama’s Gun
#20 Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
#21 PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
#38 Advantage Lucy - Station

That’s 14, when I was supposed to be cutting down the amount of albums per year. This is quite probably the highest scoring year of the challenge yet, so the glut of albums was entirely worth it.

“Flood is the third studio album by Japanese experimental band Boris. It consists of a single 70-minute title-track that is broken into four movements.

While Flood did not receive many reviews upon release, it has become a cult classic among fans, prompting the band to play it in its entirety every night of their 2013 US-based Residency Tour.” - Wikipedia

An ambitious sprawling 70 minute album that is essentially one 30 minute instrumental piece padded out by 40 minutes of noise. Some say the noise adds to it, which I get to some extent, but I think it milks it just a bit too much, and an edit of this album down to 40 minutes would have made it genuinely amazing. Flood II (particularly Wata's transcendent solo) and Flood III are a genuinely spectacular heart to a bloated album.

SP: Flood II, Flood III

7/10

“White Pony is the third studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones. The album marked a significant growth in the band's sound, incorporating influences from post-hardcore, trip hop, shoegaze, progressive rock, and post-rock into the alternative metal sound which they had become known for. Upon its release and retrospectively, the album was met with critical acclaim, and is regarded by fans and critics alike as one of the band's most mature outings at that point” - Wikipedia

The quintessential Nu metal sound. Dense riffs, metallic whispers, and that vocal style. The riffs on this one could shake mountains. Strange that I didn't listen to this growing up, as this would have been my jam.

8/10

“Shōso Strip is the second studio album by Japanese singer and songwriter Ringo Sheena, The album debuted at #1 and has sold over 2,332,000 copies. It was certified two million copies by the RIAJ. In September 2007, Rolling Stone Japan rated the album at number 89 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time." - Wikipedia

It sounds like an album crushed within an inch of it's life onto one of those 128mb mp3 players back in the day, coming at you at 12kb/s or some other ghastly quality. It fizzes like a broken bottle of coke in a tin can. I kind of wish there was a version that sounded a bit less raw, but I guess it adds to the charm somewhat. The songwriting and vocals are superb. I mean I've no idea what she's singing about, it's Japanese, but she does it with passion and some crescendos that are surely the most magnificent of the year - e.g Gips. A Jackson Pollock painting of musical ideas crushed through an alt-rock filter.

Song Pick: Gips

8/10

Station, Advantage Lucy’s second album, is another irresistibly joyful record from the Japanese band. It’s a little more eclectic than Fanfare, but it’s equally well composed and just as infectious. I’ve no idea what is being sung, but I feel the need to go running through a field of sunflowers while looking at the sky. I feel happy.

Song Picks: How Do You Feel?, Memai, Kaze ni Azukete, Shumatsu

9/10

“Dopethrone is the third studio album by English band Electric Wizard. Vocalist and guitarist Jus Oborn has stated that drug issues and other personal problems led to the production of Dopethrone being a "difficult process". The album was recorded in three days. The music on the album has been described as both doom metal and stoner rock, with influences of British groups like Black Sabbath and Motörhead.” - Wikipedia

I had no idea what to expect going into this - but I certainly didn’t expect it to immediately become one of my favourite metal albums. Dopethrone sounds polished in terms of the performances, but there’s a raw edge to the rumbling guitars and bass, which are dropped so low they often sound like the roar of some primordial beast. The riffs are clearly Black Sabbath inspired, but these are gnarlier. Osborn’s vocals are distorted - often beyond intelligibility - and this, along with his gritty style, makes for a perfect spice on top of the mass of noise, adding to the tapestry of the sound, rather than doing anything front and centre. After 76 minutes of being pulverised by this, I immediately wanted to put it on again, which is high praise.

9/10

9. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea

PJ Harvey

“Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea is the fifth studio album by the English singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. It contains themes of love that are tied into Harvey's affection for New York City. The album became the second major commercial success of her recording career, following her successful breakthrough To Bring You My Love (1995). Upon its release, the album received acclaim from most music critics and earned Harvey several accolades, including the 2001 Mercury Prize.” - Wikipedia

Stories from… is PJ Harvey’s The Bends in that it’s her most poppy and accessible album. Gone are the serrated edges of her previous records - replaced with sumptuous reverb and floating melodies. It’s also her The Bends because it’s packed front to back with great songs, a real display of Harvey’s songwriting talent.

Song Picks: Big Exit, A Place Called Home, This Mess We're In, You Said Something, This Is Love, We Float

9/10

“Voodoo is the second studio album by the American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, Produced primarily by the singer, Voodoo features a loose, groove-based funk sound and serves as a departure from the more conventional song structure of his debut album, Brown Sugar (1995). Its lyrics explore themes of spirituality, love, sexuality, maturation, and fatherhood. Voodoo has since been regarded by music writers as a creative milestone of the neo soul genre during its apex.” - Wikipedia

Silky falsettos and soft beats, whole grain soul food. Infinitely relistenable - this is music.

Song Picks: Playa Playa, The Line, Send it On, Feel Like Makin' Love

9.5/10

7. Relationship of Command

At the Drive-In

“Relationship of Command is the third studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In. The album combines an aggressive edge with a melodic drive, harmonious, emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. Initially received positively by critics, the album is now seen not only as one of the most influential post-hardcore albums of the 2000s, but also as one of the most accomplished recent works in the wider rock spectrum. It was the band's final album to feature founding guitarist Jim Ward.” - Wikipedia

I’m not quite as obsessed with this album as I once was, but I still think it’s an absolutely superb mix of anger, insatiable energy, melodies, and chaos. Their famous Later With Jools Holland performance sums up what they must be like to see live (brilliantly mad), but what’s more impressive is how that live, messy energy comes across on the recorded album. I think I can count on one hand the albums that have managed that, and I think this is probably the best of them.

Song Picks: One Armed Scissor, Sleepwalk Capsule, Invalid Litter Dept

9.5/10

6. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

Yo La Tengo

“And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out is the ninth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. The album received acclaim from critics and is generally considered one of their best.” - Wikipedia

On And Then Nothing… Yo La Tengo drop down a gear in terms of urgency, but turn up the depth and atmosphere. This is a gorgeous, contemplative record of melodic mumbles over lush, spacious backing. It makes a perfect 'walking through the city at night' double-header with the Clientelle album on this list. Its instruments twinkle like far away windows in a tower block - hundreds of lives illuminated but mysterious. The whole album is a masterpiece of gentleness and empathy, and on that note, Tears are In Your Eyes is surely one of the prettiest songs ever written.

Song Picks: Last Days of Disco, Tears are In Your Eyes, The Crying of Lot G, You Can Have it All

9.5/10

“Mama's Gun is the second studio album by American singer Erykah Badu. A neo soul album, Mama's Gun incorporates elements of funk, soul, and jazz styles. It has confessional lyrics by Badu, which cover themes of insecurity, personal relationships, and social issues. The album has been viewed by critics as a female companion to neo soul artist D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000), which features a similar musical style and direction. Critics have also noted that while Badu's first album Baduizm contained its share of cryptic lyricism, Mama's Gun is much more direct in its approach, and places the artist in a subjective position more than its predecessor.” - Wikipedia

Voodoo and Mama’s Gun are so closely linked - having been recorded in the same studio at thesame time - and they’re both masterpieces, but Mama’s Gun just takes the crown for me. The luxurious grooves and melodies are aided by Badu’s silky smooth vocals, and a touch more variety than D’Angelo’s effort. It also has a punkier, more in your face sensibility that I like.

Song Picks: Penitentiary Philosophy, Didn't Chat Know, Green Eyes

9.5/10

“Since I Left You is the debut studio album by Australian electronic music group the Avalanches. The album was recorded and produced at two separate, near-identical studios by Chater and Seltmann, exchanging audio mixes of records they sampled. After the album's positive reception in Australia, the duo considered an international release. Since I Left You was acclaimed by critics. It became one of the best-reviewed albums of the 2000s, and was listed at number ten in the book 100 Best Australian Albums.” - Wikipedia

Their self titled follow up to this has always been one of my favourites, so it's no surprise I love this one too. Sampling at its most pure and brilliant, Since I Left You combines a plethora of samples to create something completely joyful, cohesive, and full of soul. It's like a front row ticket to one of the best DJ sets of all time, where everyone, including you, is on happy drugs. Its deliberate tilt to more of a 60/70s sound than most sampled music helped it stick out, but it's the musical execution and brilliance of the Australian duo that makes it what it. Since I Left You is a miracle.

Song Picks: Since I left you, Stay another season, A Different Feeling, Tonight May Have to Last Me All My Life, Frontier Psychiatrist, Summer Crane

9.5/10

“The Moon & Antarctica is the third studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse. The Moon & Antarctica received acclaim from critics, who praised its subject matter and change in sound from earlier albums and frontman Isaac Brock's introspective lyrics. It was also hailed for being an expansion of the band's sound, much due to their new major label budget as well as the production of Brian Deck.” - Wikipedia

The Moon and Antarctica is such a perfect amorphous gem of an album, to spend too much time describing it is almost impossible for me. As weird as its cover, it strips back some of the trance inducing riffs of The Lonesome Crowded West, making it a little more immediate. Brock has one of those voices that sticks out in a good way, and his melodies and lyrics are on absolute peak form here, worming their way into my subconscious and making my soul smile. The guitar work is absolutely superb too - with winding riffs and spacey progressions befitting the album’s title and theme. It’s more than the sum of its parts, and its parts are superb.

I think The Moon and Antarctica will forever remain mysterious to me, much like the bodies it's named after, and it’s that sense of mystery that makes me feel like I’m discovering an absolute favourite for the first time every time I put it on. I can’t think of any other album that so reliably gives me that feeling.

Song Picks: I think the opening three songs is one of my favourite trios to open an album ever.

10/10

“Suburban Light is the debut studio album by English indie pop band the Clientele. Suburban Light contains several tracks originally released on singles and compilations from 1997 through 2000, causing some websites such as Pitchfork to label it a compilation album.” - Wikipedia

As Wikipedia says, technically, it’s a compilation album, but I don’t care. Like that lovely cover (the less common of its two covers), Suburban Light is a blurry, colourful, rain soaked drive through the night on a bus. McKeen’s vocals are hushed and melodic, the guitar twinkles are undefined, the drums are brushed - everything is done with a kind of relaxed uncertainty. It’s one of the most comforting albums you’ll ever hear and I’ve yet to find, in probably hundreds of listens, a time when I haven’t been completely charmed by it. If I was asked to recommend one album that most people hadn’t heard of, it would be this. But, I’d add to go listen to it sat in the back of a city bus at night. I’m pretty sure everyone would end that journey in love with it. It also contains, what I think, is one of the most beautiful songs ever written: (I Want You) More Than Ever.

Song Picks: I Had to Say This, (I Want You) More Than Ever, Bicycles

10/10

“Kid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. Departing from their earlier sound, Radiohead incorporated influences from electronic music, krautrock, jazz and 20th-century classical music, with a wider range of instruments and effects. The singer, Thom Yorke, wrote impersonal and abstract lyrics, cutting up phrases and assembling them at random.

In a departure from industry practice, Radiohead released no singles and conducted few interviews and photoshoots. Instead, they released short animations and became one of the first major acts to use the internet for promotion. Bootlegs of early performances were shared on filesharing services, and Kid A was leaked before release. In 2000, Radiohead toured Europe in a custom-built tent without corporate logos.

Kid was certified platinum in the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, France and Japan. Its new sound divided listeners, and some dismissed it as pretentious or derivative. However, at the end of the decade, Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and the Times ranked it the greatest album of the 2000s, and in 2020 Rolling Stone ranked it number 20 on its updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” - Wikipedia

Kid A is an album I’ve loved since I first got into it. It took a few listens, but the first time I listened to it at night, I got it and it blew me away. Somewhere on a night-bus in Central America I was whisked away to a world of melancholy electronic music that lit the lonely, beaten road ahead in a gorgeous hue. The bumps, the stars, the dark behind the trees, everything somehow became even more beautiful under Kid A’s gaze. Thom Yorke’s vocals don’t get enough praise, but he sounds like a beautiful, tormented angel as always, and they tie together this album’s many influences brilliantly, as does the crystal clean electronic sound of the record. Kid A is an album that has soundtracked so many phases of my life - I’ve turned to it in sadness in the past, and in contentment more recently - and it never fails to light a swaying candle somewhere inside me. It’s also another album that has great tracks but is so much more than the sum of its parts - perfectly paced, cohesive and bewitching from start to finish.

The album feels to me like a musical expression of a city’s quieter streets at night-time. A sprinkling of humans struggling with the daily task of being human - while looking left and right and finding solace in those they don’t know doing the same.

Song Picks: Everything In Its Right Place, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely, Optimistic, Idioteque, Motion Picture Soundtrack

10/10

1997 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

July 08, 2024 by Clive in Clive's Album Challenge, Music

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.

1997, the year I turned 10, Titanic was released and became the highest grossing movie in history at the time, the first Harry Potter book was released and the sovereignty of Hong Kong was passed from the UK to the People’s Republic of China, and perhaps most famously here in the UK, Princess Diana died.

Here’s the top rated albums of the year by the music nerds over at rateyourmusic.com:

#1 Radiohead - OK Computer
#2 Bjork - Homogenic
#3 Godspeed You Black Emperor! - F#A#
#4 Elliot Smith - Either / Or
#5 Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West

And some from further down the list:

#6 Built to Spill - Perfect from Now On
#7 Fishmans - Uchū Nippon Setagaya
#8 Stereolab - Dots and Loops
#9 Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope
#10 Ween - The Mollusk
#13 Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

And a couple more albums by women from NPR’s list.

Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out
Erykah Badu - Baduizm

Let’s go.

“The Mollusk is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween. It is a multi-genre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and/or sea shanties, while also featuring a heavy progressive rock influence.” - Wikipedia

I really liked this on first listen, it reminded me of a what a whole album of ‘I am the Walrus’ era Ringo Starr might have sounded like. But on subsequent listens it just felt like too much, and I very quickly burnt out on it. A shame.

6/10

“Uchū Nippon Setagaya (Japanese: 宇宙日本世田谷) is the seventh and final studio album by Japanese dream pop band Fishmans. The album's title roughly translates to Space, Japan, Setagaya. After signing a deal with Polydor Records for a three-album deal, Fishmans put out Kuchu Camp and Long Season (both 1996). The band returned to their studio, Waikiki Beach, to record a third album, but the band was plagued with internal struggle. Frontman Shinji Sato would often come to rehearsals with nearly-complete home demo recordings, which alienated the other members of the band. This would be the band's last studio album before initially disbanding, but was followed up by two live albums, 8月の現状 (1998), and 98.12.28 男達の別れ (1999). Sato died from lifelong heart conditions three months after the recording of the latter.” - Wikipedia

This is all very lovely and I particularly like the continuously melodic bass-work which has an almost dub feel to it. However, it just isn’t as compelling as their previous effort Long Seasons in my view. It feels safer and cosier, but in a way that makes it more background music for me than something I’m going to get really lost in.

Song Picks: Pokka Pokka, Weather Report

7/10

“Either/Or is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith. Book-ended by its two singles, "Speed Trials" and "Ballad of Big Nothing", Either/Or did not chart in the US, but was acclaimed by critics.” - Wikipedia

Smith’s songwriting prowess is evident here, but I’m just not getting into it as much as I have his self-titled album, maybe it sounds a bit too glossy? Dunno. It’s in the ‘thoroughly pleasant’ rather than ‘wow’ camp for me, but I know I’m an outlier.

Song Picks: Rose Parade, Say Yes

7/10

“The Velvet Rope is the sixth studio album by American singer Janet Jackson. Prior to its release, she renegotiated her contract with Virgin for US$80 million, marking this as the largest recording contract in history at that time. Upon experiencing an emotional breakdown, Jackson began facing a long-term case of depression. She developed her new record as a concept album, using introspection as its theme.” - Wikipedia

I’ve never been massively into straight 90s (or early 2000s) pop, there’s just something a bit sanitised about it that I can’t quite put my finger on. The Velvet Rope has much more interesting production than other pop albums of the time, but it still has that overly clean 90s sound which just tends to skim off me like a well thrown pebble on the water. I very much appreciate Jackson’s lyrical content here, which is anything but sanitised, and her melodies are as wonderful as ever. There’s some absolute 90s pop bangers here with Got ‘Til It’s Gone, Together Again, I Get Lonely and Every Time all being some of the decade’s best pop-tracks, and ones that still see plenty of airplay today. For me it’s a smidge too long, but undoubtedly one of the strongest straight-pop albums of the decade. On a side note, she sounds particularly like her brother on this album, especially on the softer tracks.

Song Picks: You, Got ‘Til It’s Gone, Together Again, I Get Lonely, Every Time

8/10

“Dig Me Out is the third studio album by the American rock band Sleater-Kinney. Dig Me Out marked the debut of Janet Weiss, who would become the band's longest-serving drummer. The music on the record was influenced by traditional rock and roll bands, while the lyrics deal with issues of heartbreak and survival. The album was acclaimed by music critics, who praised the album's energy and feminist lyrics. Retrospectively, Dig Me Out is considered the band's breakthrough record and is frequently included on several publications' best album lists. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 189 on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” - Wikipedia

Corin Tucker’s vocals are just the right side of piercing, with a tone and passion that cuts right through the mix, helped by how uncluttered things generally are from this three-piece, who forgo any studio trickery for a very raw sound. Dig Me Out is a superb, no-nonsense punk record, representing an important feminist message that has been all too rare in music to this point.

Song Picks: One More Hour, The Drama You’ve Been Craving

8.5/10

**8. F# A#** ∞

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

“F♯ A♯ ∞ (pronounced "F-sharp, A-sharp, Infinity") is the debut studio album by Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The CD version and the LP version have substantial differences between them. Recorded at the Hotel2Tango in the Mile End of Montreal, the album, as became common for the band, is devoid of traditional lyrics and is mostly instrumental, featuring lengthy songs segmented into movements. Pitchfork ranked the album number 45 on their list of the top 100 albums of the 1990s.” - Wikipedia

F♯ A♯ ∞ feels like the stomp to a final post-apocalyptic battle, it rolls with the rhythm of a march, and swells with the emotion of knowing that this is the end. A gloriously evocative record.

8.5/10

“Perfect from Now On is the third full-length album released by Built to Spill, and the band's first major label (Warner Bros.) release. Stylistically, the album was marked by its experimentation with longer song structures and philosophical lyrics.” - Wikipedia

I’m unsurprised to hear Built to Spill were a key influence on Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, as Doug Martsch’s vocal style and ear for melody is very similar. Musically they’re a bit more jam orientated than Death Cab for Cutie, with long, often raucous instrumental sections filling out the gaps in vocals. Clearly influential on a whole raft of late 90s and early 2000s indie, Perfect from Now On is a wonderful blend of affecting vocals, simple lyrics, and slightly off-kilter instrumental parts unafraid to march off a cliff and see what happens. It feels like emo and an atmospheric, edgy jam band had a baby. Martsch’s guitar work deserves a mention too, picking you up like an errant sandworm and smashing you into the horizon, Velvet Waltz being a particularly great example of this.

Song Picks: Really Described Eternity, I Would Hurt a Fly, Mad-up Dreams, Velvet Waltz, Kicked it in the Sun

8.5

“Baduizm is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Erykah Badu. After leaving university in order to concentrate on music full-time, Badu then began touring with her cousin, Robert "Free" Bradford, and recorded a 19-song demo, Country Cousins, which attracted the attention of Kedar Massenburg. He set Badu up to record a duet with D'Angelo, "Your Precious Love," and eventually signed her to a record deal with Universal. Baduizm was a commercial success, debuting at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.” - Wikipedia

Like one of those chill-hop study playlists but with a hundred times more soul. Badu's buttery smooth vocals effortlessly express melodies over a wholesome bedding of bass and snare claps. It all unravels at a pace so leisurely it feels like it might fall over any second. Sublime.

Song Picks: On & On, Appletree, Certainly

8.5/10

“Homogenic is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. The album marked a stylistic change, focusing on similar-sounding music combining electronic beats and string instruments with songs in tribute to her native country Iceland. Homogenic was originally to be produced in her home in London, but was halted due to media attention from Björk surviving a murder attempt by a stalker. Homogenic has continued receiving critical acclaim, being listed among the best albums of all time by numerous critics.” - Wikipedia

Bjork can always be relied upon to make albums that stand out creatively, and Homogenic is no exception. Pounding, crystal soundscapes back Bjork’s soaring vocals like a beam of light taking them to the heavens. It’s an album not of songs as such, but of moments, where repeated phrases bore their way into your brain, often finally driven home by Bjork’s roar. Homogenic’s use of electronic programming seems very ahead of its time, and I can here lots of later Radiohead here for example. Engaging from start to finish, and so very interesting.

Song Picks: Unravel, 5 years, Jóga, Alarm Call

9/10

“Dots and Loops is the fifth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was their first album to be recorded straight to Digital Audio Tape and produced with Pro Tools. The album explores jazz and electronic sounds, and is influenced by bossa nova and 1960s pop music. Its lyrics address matters such as consumerism, the "spectacle", materialism, and human interaction. Several music critics have praised Dots and Loops for its blend of accessible music with experimental and avant-garde sounds.” - Wikipedia

Dots and Loops warms up the room like an exotic fire in the corner. It turns rainy days to sunshine. Is there anything more essential if you live in the UK? Probably not. It’s well over an hour long, but never outstays its welcome, in fact I’ve more often than not found myself starting it again as soon as it’s finished.

Song Picks: Miss Modular, Brakhage

9/10

3. The Lonesome Crowded West

Modest Mouse

“The Lonesome Crowded West is the second studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse. The two towers pictured on the album's cover are The Westin Seattle The Lonesome Crowded West received positive reviews from critics, and appeared on several lists of the best albums of the 1990s.” - Wikipedia

Here’s what I said back when I first reviewed this album back in 2013:

“Another Modest Mouse album at the top. This one’s essentially inspired by the ‘Mallfucking’ of America (as singer Isaac Brock puts it) and also by the experiences of a band being on the road. It’s wacky, it’s memorable and it’s long (around 78 minutes). The main reason for the album’s length is that the band often breaks into impromtu jams and while most producers would have cut these short to make the songs more radio ready I’m glad this wasn’t done here. It really has the raw feel of a band at the top of their game having fun without barriers. As with The Moon & Antarctica last month I love the sheer variation in the songs, hell even within one song, ‘Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine’ being a prime example, you can have screaming one second, tender bits the next, and a complete change of rhythm and time signature the next. Like The Moon and Antarctica it’s a journey, this time slightly more raw, but with no less passion. I also have to mention Jeremiah Green’s excellent drumming, top drawer stuff and the bass (particularly on the groovy songs inspired by being on the road such as Out of Gas) is awesome.. This is a great, great album and Modest Mouse are swiftly making their way into my very favourite bands.”

You know what 2013 Clive, I still agree. I feel like the review needs more daft analogies though to really fit into the context of this challenge. ‘The Lonesome Crowded West is like a pacing, friendly tiger. It walks backwards and forwards with a sense of unspent energy, a sense of frustration needing release, but satisfying itself instead by slowly deflating via the low rumbling purr of its endless great basslines.’

There we go. That’s better.

Song Picks: Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine, Convenient Parkin’, Doin’ the Cockroach, Trailer Trash, Out of Gas, Trucker’s Atlas

9.5/10

2. I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One

Yo La Tengo

“I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. The album expands the guitar-based pop of its predecessor Electr-O-Pura to encompass a variety of other music genres, including bossa nova, krautrock, and electronic music. The album received widespread acclaim from music critics, who praised the band's ability to successfully expand the boundaries of nearly any pop style. The album is widely regarded as the band's best work and is frequently included on several publications' best album lists. In 2020, Rolling Stone included it on its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time as no. 423.” - Wikipedia

I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One is magic. I’d listened to the album a few times and thought it was pleasant, but it was on a morning where I was playing with my son that it really hit home. There’s an understated beauty, variety, and melancholy to every track, in a way that is somehow full of hope. It’s rare that an album perfectly encapsulates your mood at a particular time, but I had one of those magical moments with this as I thought of the past, some of my struggles, and how it’s all ended up in a place where I finally feel content. And how I’d never change any of it, given where it’s led me.

The often mumbled vocals, those melodic basslines, the world music influences, the trance-like repetition, there’s something truly beautiful about the melancholy contentment it portrays.

Song Picks: Return Hot Chicken, Sugarcube, Little Honda

9.5/10

“OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work. The album's lyrics depict a dystopian, futuristic world fraught with rampant consumerism, capitalism, social and modern alienation, emotional isolation and political malaise, with overall themes like transport, technology, insanity, death, modern British life, globalisation and anti-capitalism; in this capacity, OK Computer is said to have prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life. The band used unconventional production techniques, including natural reverberation, and no audio separation. Most of the album was recorded live.” - Wikipedia

I’m not sure there’s much left to say about OK Computer, rateyourmusic.com’s current #1 album of all time, but I’ll try anyway. I’ve been looking forward to getting to 1997 to cover this ever since starting the challenge. The instrumental production is deliberately messy owing to the live sound and lack of instrument separation, and I feel this helps to bring Thom Yorke’s vocals and lyrics to the front, which are superb throughout. The way he soars above the storm of Airbag as he sings ‘an interstellar burst, I’m back to save the universe’ is one of the most life-affirming moments in music for me, not just this album; the way Paranoid Android batters around before settling into the gently strummed part as Yorke croons for it to rain on him, being another. OK Computer is irresistible musically, full of melody, chaos and feeling, but it does this while being a perfect statement on modern life. It’s both very accessible and very ambitious. I’m not clever enough to put my finger on exactly why, but more than any other album, it represents that feeling of growing up in the modern world.

Song Picks: Airbag, Paranoid Android, Subterranean Homesick Alien

1993 - Clive's Top Albums of Every Year Challenge

September 28, 2023 by Clive in Music, Clive's Album Challenge

1993 was the year the Maastricht Treaty took effect, creating the European Union, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to Supreme Court and River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on Halloween, aged 23.

Rateyourmusic.com’s users have these as the top five albums of the year:

#1 Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
#2 Slowdive - Souvlaki
#3 A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
#4 Nirvana - In Utero
#5 Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

I’m also grabbing this lot from further down the list:

#7 Red House Painters - Red House Painters [Rollercoaster]
#9 De La Soul - Buhloone Mindstate
#10 Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
#11 Yo La Tengo - Painful
#13 Björk - Debut

Finally, here’s some others, voted onto NPR’s all-time best albums by women list:

PJ Harvey - Rid of Me
Liz Phair - Exile in Guyvvile

Off we go…

“Doggystyle is the debut studio album by American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. The album was recorded and produced following Snoop's appearances on Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic (1992), to which Snoop contributed significantly. The West Coast style in hip-hop that he developed from Dre's first album continued on Doggystyle. Critics have praised Snoop Dogg for the lyrical "realism" that he delivers on the album and for his distinctive vocal flow. - Wikipedia

Snoop’s debut doesn’t hold a candle to the year’s other hip-hop releases in terms of sophistication but it does compete, and potentially beat them all, on the fun scale. I suspect that’s the only scale Snoop cares about. Snoop’s flow is unique, playful and catchy, though his lyrics are controversial (read misogynistic). It’s backloaded, which I guess is appropriate given the album’s title and cover…

Song Picks: G-Funk Intro, Serial Killa, Who I Am

7.5/10

Souvlaki is the second studio album by English rock band Slowdive. On its initial release, Souvlaki peaked at number 51 on the UK Albums Chart and was greeted with tepid reviews from critics. It has since received retrospective critical acclaim and has been hailed as a classic of the shoegaze genre. - Wikipedia

Want to be bathed in atmospheric, cathedralic, sustained guitar notes, gently strummed chords, patted drums, and wistful melodies that sound like they’ve been slowed down ten percent or so? Souvlaki is the album for you. It does all that, and it’s absolutely gorgeous to boot.

Song Picks: Alison, Dagger

7.5/10

10. Midnight Marauders

A Tribe Called Quest

“Midnight Marauders is the third studio album by American hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest.Its production was mainly handled by Q-Tip, with contributions from Skeff Anselm, Large Professor and the group's DJ, Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A culmination of the group's two previous albums, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm and The Low End Theory, it features an eclectic, gritty sound based on jazz, funk, soul and R&B samples, in addition to socially conscious, positively-minded, and humorous lyrics.

The album received mostly positive reviews from critics upon release. In the following years, Midnight Marauders has acquired further acclamation from within the hip hop community for its production, chemistry and influence, with some regarding it as the group's best work, and one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. “ - Wikipedia

I’m not surprised that Q-Tip, the man in charge of the beats on this album, was also involved with the beats on Nas’ Illmatic, my favourite hip-hop album of all time. Midnight Marauders has me bopping to every track, it suffers with the repetitiveness that I think all ATCQ albums suffer from a little, and I found the greater variety in the beats and instrumentation on De la Soul’s Buhloone Mindstate more able to keep my attention, but this is another rock solid hip-hop album that excels when you really pay attention to the socially conscious lyrics.

Song Picks: Award Tour, Eye Patch

8/10

“Debut is the international debut studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was Björk's first recording following the dissolution of her previous band, the Sugarcubes. The album departed from the rock style of her previous work and drew from an eclectic variety of styles, including electronic pop, house music, jazz and trip hop.” - Wikipedia

Debut is definitely eclectic - one minute you’re listening to to pumping disco on There’s More Than This, the next the delicate harp trappings of Like Someone in Love - which wouldn’t feel out of place as a song Audrey Hepburn might play out of a window on an acoustic guitar. It’s an album that is packed with creativity, well thought out production, great vocal performances and a sense of mischief. Serious mischief.

Song Picks: Venus as a Boy, Like Someone in Love, Big Time Sensuality

8/10

8. Red House Painters (Rollercoaster)

Red House Painters

“Red House Painters is the second album by American band Red House Painters. The album is often referred to as Rollercoaster or Red House Painters I to distinguish it from the band's second eponymous album, often referred to as Bridge. A double album, Red House Painters features fourteen songs culled from bandleader Mark Kozelek's back-catalog. The album received highly positive reviews from critics upon release, with praise directed at the album's melancholic instrumentation and emotional depth.” - Wikipedia

Kozalek is the master of ‘this too will pass’ resigned sadness. His music is undoubtedly melancholy, but also glows with a warm hope. Musically, the beats per minute rarely go above ‘slow’ territory, and the instrumentation is blurry and uncommited - a slow jam. Kozalek’s melodies are effortless, wistful, and, to me, eminate a feeling of nostalgia, much like the album’s evocative cover.

Song Picks: Grace Cathedral Park, Mistress, Take Me Out

8.5/10

“Painful is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Yo La Tengo. The album marked a creative shift from Yo La Tengo's previous work, blending atmospheric and ambient sounds with their famous noise jams. Painful features a much more melody-driven Yo La Tengo in its hazy, dream-like songwriting.” - Wikipedia

Annoyingly Wikipedia has stolen the two adjectives I mainly wanted to use to describe this album. Dreamy and hazy. The soft, often mumbled melodies blend with hypnotic synth and guitar lines that weave in and out of each other like an unpredictable strand of DNA flying through space, as it slowly expands and contracts. Something like that anyway. I love Painful, it takes me to a new place, one that is mostly a soft cloudy dreamscape, but that also throws plenty of tension at you to remind you just how comfortable that cloud you were on a minute ago was.

Song Picks: The Whole of the Law, A Worrying Thing, I Heard You Looking

9/10

“Siamese Dream is the second studio album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins. Despite the album's recording sessions being fraught with difficulties and tensions, Siamese Dream debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200, and was eventually certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with the album selling over six million copies worldwide, cementing the Smashing Pumpkins as a significant group in alternative music.

The album received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, with its musical influences and lyrical material standing out compared to other releases during the alternative rock and grunge movements of its time. The album has since been considered "one of the finest alternative rock albums", and is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s and of all time.” - Wikipedia

Smashing Pumpkins are just a bloody good band you know? The bass, drums and sawing guitar riffs go together like the finest honey and err… yoghurt. Lead singer Billy Corgan wanted the thing to sound huge, but not too reverby, and producer Butch Vigg duly complied by compressing up to 100 guitar tracks per song to create a guitar sound thicker than clotted cream. It’s a miracle that Jimmy Chamberlain’s deft drumming can be heard at all, but it’s not only audible but damn punchy too. Corgan’s hushed falsetto is one of alternative rock’s most recognisable, and sits above the comfortably warm production perfectly, inviting you in. In a decade where alternative rock really took off, Siamese Dream gave the genre a kick up the arse much like one of its punchy quiet to loud transitions.

Song Picks: Cherub Rock, Silverfuck, Quiet, Mayonaise, Today, Hummer

9/10

5. Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Wu-Tang Clan

“Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is the debut studio album by the American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The album was produced by the group's de facto leader RZA. Its title originates from the martial arts films Enter the Dragon (1973) and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978).

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) has since been widely regarded as one of the most significant albums of the 1990s, as well as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. In 2020, the album was ranked 27th on Rolling Stone's updated list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” - Wikipedia

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) is a hip-hop masterpiece. Gritty beats, seamless chemistry between its multiple distinctive and talented rappers, and an influence that is obvious in oodles of subsequent releases in the genre (particularly East Coast hip-hop). 36 Chambers is both accessible as an album to switch off and bop to, and deep as a studyable piece of art. Tracks like C.R.E.A.M and Can It All Be So Simple feature some of the slickest beats ever put to tape.

Song Picks: Bring da Ruckus, Can It Be All So Simple, C.R.E.A.M, Tearz

9/10

“Buhloone Mindstate is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was the group's last record to be produced with Prince Paul.” - Wikipedia

A relentlessly smooth record, the beats and vocals drip with condensation like an ice cold can of your favourite beverage. As refreshing lyrically as we’ve come to expect from De la Soul, complete with the perfect amount of jazz influence (Maceo Parker’s saxophone is particularly sublime on I Be Blowin’) to nail a certain ambience. It’s hard to fault Bohloone Mindstate, and you’ll be so lost in it’s chill you’ll feel no need to.

Song Picks: Eye Patch, En Focus , I Be Blowin’

9.5/10

“Rid of Me is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey. It marked a departure from Harvey's previous songwriting, being more raw and aggressive than its predecessor.

Most of the songs on the album were recorded by Steve Albini. Rid of Me was met with critical acclaim, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 1990s and of all time, ranking at number 153 on the 2020 version of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (up from 406 on the list's previous edition).” - Wikipedia

Rid of Me is a gritty, raw masterpiece of aggressive vocals and pulverising and rotating guitar riffs. Produced in a manner where the quiet sections are actually quiet, and thus the louder sections hit like a truck, it’s one of the most cathartic albums I’ve heard on this challenge for a long time. Harvey’s vocals are unpredictable, angry, raw and brilliant, and she has an unbelievable knack of jumping from superb riff to superb riff while all the while making it sound completely spontaneous. Rid of Me is pent up energy released through shouts and distorted guitar, and you can bet if it had been recorded by a man it’d be up there in discussions with Nirvana’s finest, and as you’ll see later there’s really no higher praise I can give it.

Song Picks: Highway ‘61 Revisited, Man-Size, Rid of Me, Missed

9.5/10

“Exile in Guyville is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Liz Phair. The album received critical acclaim and in 2020, it was ranked No. 56 by Rolling Stone in its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. It was certified gold in 1998 and as of July 2010 it had sold 491,000 copies.” - Wikipedia

Exile in Guyville is a tour-de-force in stripped down punk attitude and catchy riffs and vocals. It injects a large, and much needed, dose of the female perspective into the singer-songwriter sphere with brutal honesty, plenty of swearing, and vocals that defy the ‘pretty’ ones that were expected from female solo efforts. All this would be great on its own, but what really sets this album apart is that it is so chock-full of great, memorable, and thoroughly accessible songs, which for an album nearly 60 minutes long is more than impressive.

Song Picks: 6”1”, Never Said, Dance of the Seven Veils, Explain it to Me, Johnny Sunshine

9.5/10

“In Utero is the third and final studio album by the American rock band Nirvana. After breaking into the mainstream with their second album, Nevermind (1991), Nirvana hired Steve Albini to record In Utero, seeking a more complex, abrasive sound that was also reminiscent of their debut album, Bleach (1989).

In Utero was a major commercial and critical success. Critics praised the album’s raw, unconventional sound and Cobain's lyricism. The album is certified 5x platinum in the US and has sold 15 million copies worldwide. It was the final Nirvana album before Cobain's suicide in 1994.” - Wikipedia

In Utero is quite probably the most cathartic album ever recorded. It roars and bangs with a primal rage unlike anything else. Dave Grohl drums like an ape, Cobain bashes out power chords with a similar angry simplicity as he screams and howls. This would have all been for nought though if it had then been cleaned up and sanitised in the studio, but Steve Albini made sure that didn’t happen. In Utero captures the live energy of the band perfectly, hell at some points it sounds as if you can hear Cobain’s vocal chords about to snap (e.g Scentless Apprentice) as he shouts about his inner turmoil. As the last album by the band before Cobain blew his head off with a shotgun, it serves as a masterpiece of a goodbye.

Song Picks: Serve the Servants, Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle, Heart Shaped Box

10/10