Albums of the Year in My Collection (Updated)

For a few months now, I've been thinking about going through my album collection and coming up with a list of my favourite albums of each year. Of course, once having sat down to look at my collection I realized that I don't have enough albums to justify making a specific list for every year. Hence, I decided to break down my "Of the Year" lists as follows:

1. pre-1990
2. 1990-1994
3. 1995-1999
4. 2000-2003
5. 2004
6. 2005
7. 2006
8. 2007
9. 2008
10. 2009
11. 2010
12. 2011
13. 2012

It was in 2004, after having graduated University, that I really got down to buying CDs for my collection. That is clearly reflected in the breakdown of categories. Perhaps those readers who are obsessed with accuracy might argue that I should have titled this article "Albums of the Specified Timeframe" but that doesn't really catch interest, in my opinion.

So without further preface, here are the lists:

Pre-1990:
1. Exile on Main St, the Rolling Stones (1972)
2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Beatles (1967)
3. Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young & Crazy Horse (1979)
Honourable Mentions: Every Other Beatles Album, the Beatles

1990-1994:
1. Ten, Pearl Jam (1991)
2. Weezer (The Blue Album), Weezer (1994)
3. Smash, the Offspring (1994)
Honourable Mention: Nevermind, Nirvana (1991)

1995-1999:
1. Clumsy, Our Lady Peace (1997)
2. Mirror Ball, Neil Young (1995)
3. The Presidents of the United States of America, Presidents of the United States of America (1995)

2000-2003:
1. Youth and Young Manhood, Kings of Leon (2003)
2. A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay (2002)
3. Silver Side Up, Nickelback (2001)

2004:
1. Me & Mr. Johnson, Eric Clapton
2. Music from the Motion Picture Garden State, Various Artists
3. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2
Honourable Mentions: Live at Benaroya Hall, Pearl Jam and Antics, Interpol

2005:
1. Aha Shake Heartbreak, Kings of Leon
2. Silent Alarm, Bloc Party
3. Employment, Kaiser Chiefs
Honourable Mention: The Warrior's Code, Dropkick Murphys

2006:
1. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Arctic Monkeys
2. Continuum, John Mayer
3. Waterloo to Anywhere, Dirty Pretty Things

2007:
1. Wincing the Night Away, the Shins
2. Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder
3. Yours Truly, Angry Mob, Kaiser Chiefs

2008:
1. Vampire Weekend, Vampire Weekend
2. Dear Science, TV on the Radio
3. The Virgins, the Virgins
Honourable Mentions: One Kind Favour, BB King and Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay

2009:
1. A Positive Rage, the Hold Steady
2. Sigh No More, Mumford and Sons
3. Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, Dave Matthews Band

2010:*
1. Of the Blue Colour of the Sky, OK Go
2. This Is Happening, LCD Soundsystem
3. Brothers, the Black Keys
Honourable Mentions: The Suburbs, Arcade Fire and Infinite Arms, Band of Horses

2011:
1. Divine Providence, Deer Tick
2. American Goldwing, Blitzen Trapper
3. The Head and the Heart, The Head and the Heart
Honourable Mentions: The King is Dead, The Decemberists and Wasting Light, Foo Fighters

2012:
1. Mirage Rock, Band of Horses
2. Boys and Girls, Alabama Shakes
3. A Thing Called Divine Fits, Divine Fits
Honourable Mentions: New Wild Everywhere, Great Lake Swimmers and Clear Heart Full Eyes, Craig Finn

Any surprises?

I'm not a big Nickelback fan, but Silver Side Up was omnipotent in the early 2000s. It also contained a strong set of simple, straight-forward hard rockers that still sound good today - Nickelback's subsequent output notwithstanding.

John Mayer, the demented pop-prince, strayed a bit from his niche in 2006 to release an album he really liked. The result was the Clapton-lite blues-pop of Continuum. Consider my softer side served.

The Presidents of the United States of America kind of disappeared after amusing pop-punk fans with little ditties like "Peaches" and "Lump", but their 1995 eponymous debut is still a lighthearted and fun album.

When Eric Clapton finally paid due tribute to his great (tor)mentor with 2004's Me & Mr. Johnson, I got my first taste of real blues, and I was hooked. My collection, thanks to Me & Mr. Johnson (and less so to Aerosmith's Honkin' on Bobo), now includes albums by Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson (the "Mr. Johnson" in the album title), BB King, Buddy Guy, and John Lee Hooker. Even albums like the Black Keys' Brothers and the North Mississippi Allstars' Hernando wouldn't be in my collection without Clapton's modern masterpiece.

Some interesting notes about the albums featured above:

• Neil Young is the best represented (Rust Never Sleeps, Mirror Ball, Le Noise) unless you count the honourable mentions (then the Beatles win).
• Pearl Jam and the Rolling Stones, my two favourite rock bands (the Beatles are more pop than rock) are each only represented once (though Pearl Jam backs Neil Young on Mirror Ball, and Eddie Vedder's Into the Wild is on the 2007 list).
• 2008 stands out for me as the best set (not including "Pre-1990" which is too broad to count).
• Two soundtracks made the grade (Into the Wild and Garden State).
• Kings of Leon made the grade twice (Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak), but their break-out blockbuster Only By the Night narrowly missed (largely because 2008 was such a strong year).
• Only one live album made it. The Hold Steady's A Positive Rage broke into 2009's list. Neil Young and Crazy Horse's Rust Never Sleeps was recorded live, but significantly mastered with most crowd noise removed and overdubs added.
• Two of the three Kaiser Chiefs' albums I have, appear. The other, Off with Their Heads, fell victim to the strength of 2008.
• Bob Dylan, who I consider one of my favourite artists of all time (I have five of his studio albums and two compilation albums), did not make the grade.
• 2010 has been significantly changed with Brothers slipping to number 3 and two albums not previously on the list taking over the top 2 spots.  Sometimes albums are immediately great, but other times they take time to weasel their way into your head.

Bonus Lists:
Favourite Live Albums in my Collection (with year recorded):
1. A Positive Rage, the Hold Steady (2007)
2. Live at the Spectrum (31 October 2009), Pearl Jam (2009)
3. Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, the Rolling Stones (1969)
4. Live at Leeds, the Who (1970)
5. Live, BB King (2007)

Favourite Folk Albums:
1. Sigh No More, Mumford and Sons (2009)
2. Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan (1966)
3. Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan (1974)
4. Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder (2007)
5. Monsters of Folk, Monsters of Folk (2009)


Hope you enjoyed my lists!