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The Best 75 Albums of the Year–So Far, Anyway

Alan Cross 9 Comments

Lists like these are exactly why I love streaming music services.  As I type this, I’m loading up my iPhone with these tracks from a couple of services so I can check them out as part of my monthly all-you-can-listen-to subscriptions.  That’s way better than having to shell out $15 or more per CD just to see if I might like them, isn’t it?

This list is from The Quietus.  Have a look.  

This is a sample of something from album number 75.  It’s very motorik and Krautrock-ish.  I’m in love.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38032 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

9 thoughts on “The Best 75 Albums of the Year–So Far, Anyway”

  • I would be curious to hear from regular readers/listeners as to how many of these albums they 1.) Have heard of,; 2.) Have actually listened to, and : 3.) Their age.

    We're moving into a new territory here in the second decade of the 21st century. I used to be totally on top of every new and hot band and artist. And then I used to know all about the top artists. And now it's just a constant blur of endless new groups, each one indistinguishable from the rest. Every few days there's some new band with some two-year history I'm supposed to already know about.

    Is this how it is for every ageing music lover, or is this something new?

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  • I could not agree more with Blake's statement..

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  • Talk about a mess. This list is filled to the brim with esoteric acts that are mixed in with the occasional legacy performer or artist too big to leave off. At least two albums on there have nothing but "review pending" under their chart position. You mean to tell me that an album so new to the site that it doesn't have a review written for it is eligible to safely rank amongst your albums from the first half of the year?

    I mean, you ranked Nick Cave and David Bowie below These New Puritans? Jesus

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  • At what point is Generation X allowed to say: "Okay! We're done! This shit is nonsense now!"?

    Frankly, I'm tired of trying to keep up.

    Alan… You need to admit that we're kind of done here. We're relics of a different time, and no amount of posing and enthusiasm will change the fact that we, and our musical opinions, are (get ready for it…) NIO LONGER RELEVANT.

    We are no longer anyone's demographic, culturally-speaking. We need to embrace the best of what made us great, and stop kidding ourselves that we're even slightly influential in the world of modern music.

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  • It looks like you guys have said it all :)…But thanks for the list anyway…a brave attempt to keep up with the flow of 'stuff'!

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  • I thought I was staying up to date on "modern"
    music by listening to an alternative radio station
    on satellite radio. I can honestly say the overwhelming
    majority of these artists are not played on this station. Fot that matter, my
    teenage daughter has not heard of them (also an alt fan).

    This list is obscure with a dash of big names mixed in.

    In terms of "alt" music for 2013, I am finding this year
    pretty boring and repetitive. Not much catching me this
    year yet. Last year was great.

    For the record I am 47.

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  • Know what you like and love what you know… Agreed "Blake"… some days, it gets to be too much! 43, with 30 years of musical promiscuity.

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  • I've heard of only a handful of these people but for me, that's the way it has always been. Sure when we put our old man glasses on we harken back to the day when we knew all of the bands in the "top whatever" lists … but did we really ? I mean think about it, there was a time where I had never heard of Soundgarden before but they were making waves. I only discovered that Genesis was a phenomenal prog rock band just a few years ago, I thought they were only capable of of forgettable soft rock fodder. No seriously, Phil Collins was one heck of a drummer (if all you know is the tom fill in his 'in the air tonight'" – man you are missing out).

    The day you think that music cannot become any better is the day that YOU give up, not the day music became crap. There are excellent bands out there right now that you have never heard of before and are your favorite band (well they will be if you discover them) and they ARE your type of music.

    I can't say I recall any top 100 list (or 75 or whatever) where I knew or agreed with the choices – that's the fun however, that is how you discover new music. I discovered the Smashing Pumpkins through a mix tape that I found on my highschool bus floor that had 'Opiate' by Tool on one side and 'Siamese Dream' by The Smashing Pumpkins on the other. I had heard of tool and that is why I picked it up – I had never heard of The Smashing Pumpkins, yet Siamese Dream was only a new release at the time and I really didn't need to care.

    It's your choice to 'give up' and feel like a relic but I'm not. I'm 35, I own 6 downloaded songs on iTunes (ever! yes – ever), I have over 3000 CDs and about 100 vinyl with a wide variety of genres … I even have a vinyl box set of 100 of the best Polka Hits – hands off!

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