Skip to main content

A Favorite Album For Each Year of My Life

This took me a while, because I love music and I listen to a lot of it and I think about it almost as much as I listen to it. My friend Phillip Mottaz put me up to this and I accepted the challenge. Here are my Favorite Albums by Year for Each Year of my Life. I went by actual release year, not peak of popularity. They were not necessarily my favorites at the time of release. A few, like 1984, were no brainers (a right answer, as Phillip says). 1970, 1985 and 1994 became Sophie's Choice. As a result some of my all time favorite records are absent. Some favorite artists recur, proving they made consistently great albums that have influenced my listening habits perpetually. Steely Dan is here twice, but not my favorite Steely Dan record. I apparently enjoy Franz Ferdinand far more than I would have guessed. If I tackle this exercise again in 5 years or 5 weeks, I would expect about 3 or 4 to change. Here we go, as of today...

1969 - Abbey Road - The Beatles
1970 - ABC - The Jackson 5
1971 - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
1972 - The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars - David Bowie
1973 - Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings
1974 - Pretzel Logic - Steely Dan
1975 - Main Course - Bee Gees
1976 - Royal Scam - Steely Dan
1977 - Saturday Night Fever - Bee Gees, et al.
1978 - Some Girls - Rolling Stones
1979 - Off The Wall - Michael Jackson
1980 - The Game - Queen
1981 - Computer World - Kraftwerk
1982 - 1999 - Prince
1983 - Let's Dance - David Bowie
1984 - Purple Rain - Prince and the Revolution
1985 - Rain Dogs - Tom Waits
1986 - Parade - Prince and the Revolution
1987 - Sign 'O' The Times - Prince
1988 - It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back - Public Enemy
1989 - Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys
1990 - Fear of a Black Planet - Public Enemy
1991 - Diamonds and Pearls - Prince and the New Power Generation
1992 - O+> - Prince and the New Power Generation
1993 - Sons of Soul - Tony Toni Toné
1994 - Parklife - blur
1995 - What's The Story (Morning Glory) - Oasis
1996 - Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop - Stone Temple Pilots
1997 - In It For The Money - Supergrass
1998 - Hello Nasty - Beastie Boys
1999 - Battle of Los Angeles - Rage Against The Machine
2000 - Stankonia - Outkast
2001 - "Love And Theft" - Bob Dylan
2002 - Life On Other Planets - Supergrass
2003 - The Black Album - Jay-Z
2004 - Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand 2005 - The Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey
2006 - Bright Idea - Orson
2007 - Magic - Bruce Springsteen
2008 - Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2009 - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
2010 - Brothers - The Black Keys
2011 - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 - Beastie Boys
2012 - Tempest - Bob Dylan
2013 - The Next Day - David Bowie
2014 - Art Official Age - Prince
2015 - Paper Gods - Duran Duran
2016 - ★ - David Bowie

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hello, Dali! (Now with 50% More Photos)

Hola , Soul Mates, I'm feeling very jet lagged. Just got back from Espana . Catalunya and Andalucia to be more precise. I even learned Catalan ( jo parlo catala , amics ) and spoke it in broken fashion to amused natives. But wait, here's proof... It's me at the Dali Teatro - Museu in Figueres on Salvador's birthday. The place is more funhouse than museum. This objet d'art was hidden in a stairwell. I call it "The Crowned Peacock Dreams of Genie." Dali lived here. He's buried here. I'm being idiotic here. Genuflecting or posing? Felicitats , Salvador! It was his birthday and I was the only one celebrating. And yes, I did sing "Happy Birthday" to him. Another installation that defies explanation. But it's got a real crocodile and a real light bulb and artificial limbs involved. What's not to like? Seems like every town in Catalonia has some sort of memorial to John Lennon. This sign had fallen off (no, I did not keep it), s
7 comments
Read more

Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air - Book Review

“The Murderous Haircut of the Mayor of Bel Air” is a trippy new mystery novel from Phillip Mottaz. It captures the grit and gilt of the City of Angels with the flair of a contemporary Raymond Chandler. The brisk pace and wit are reminiscent of Douglas Adams’s entries in the detective game. Flourishes of  Fletch  and “Medium” also spring to mind. However, Mottaz has added a psychic/mutant/superhuman touch and his own comedic voice, structure and internal monologues to the proceedings that help the author announce his own style and the arrival of a literary heroine for a new generation. Hairstylist and budding private investigator, Danica Luman is the perfect character to convey the irony, angst and sarcasm needed to tell a 21st century L.A. crime story. Danica also represents anyone who thought it would be neat to get tangled up in a mystery and the darkly comic cautionary tale that follows. The genre is recognizable, but Mottaz offers a fresh take on the not-ready-for-prime-time-hard-b
Post a Comment
Read more

Being There [Grammy Recap]

Hey Soul Mates, Check out your boy. Yes, I did look that damn suave at the Grammys last night. Look, the tickets very clearly said "black tie." What could be less rock and roll than black tie? Not wearing "black tie." Frankly, the hipsters and the club girls just looked silly. Maybe I'm getting sartorially conservative, but you must be clean for the Grammys. We arrived early in the afternoon. A beautifully mild afternoon in downtown L.A. and not a sign of the predicted rain. I wanted to experience the whole nine, so we got there in time for the "Pre-telecast" ceremony. This is where 97 of the 108 gramophone statuettes are awarded. It was much more entertaining and endearing than the actual broadcast. The winners were genuinely moved, were not limited in their speech time and came in all stripes. Now, very few of the acts I voted for won. But the day did start off with a bang as OK Go won best short form video for the treadmill hopping video for Here
5 comments
Read more