Top Ten Albums of 2015

[epilogue]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Yerp.

One of my all time favorite bands.

[matt reeder]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Guilty.

Living in Portland since 2005 has made me never want to listen to them again.

[matt reeder]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Yerp.

One of my all time favorite bands.

Have you ever listened to R.E.M.?

[epilogue]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Guilty.

Living in Portland since 2005 has made me never want to listen to them again.

This is literally the saddest post I've ever seen.

[epilogue]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Yerp.

One of my all time favorite bands.

Have you ever listened to R.E.M.?

Are you... Seriously?

[matt reeder]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Yerp.

One of my all time favorite bands.

Have you ever listened to R.E.M.?

Are you... Seriously?

I'm just saying: I've been exposed to freaking everything the Decemberists have ever done over and over and over again living here. A lot of my friends liked them. And what was something I enjoyed at first started to grate...and grate...and grate. And then I realized that what bothered me about the Decemberists is that they were like a cross between Out of Time, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and some traditional music. I also saw the Decemberists in a small club in Portland in 2004 and didn't really enjoy it that much.

If I'm being rude...well, I guess I am. But they are an acquired taste, and they're marmite to me.

[matt reeder]

My album of the year:

[Kevin Davis]

They weren't an acquired taste for me. I heard about a fifteen second sample from "Billy Liar" (the part about the whalebone corset frame) and I was a goner.

[Teeeeeekay]

Top 10:

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - Quarters!
Fuzz - II
Wand - Golem
Wilco - Star Wars
Earl Sweatshirt - I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside
Sleater-Kinney - No Cities To Love
Thee Oh Sees - Mutilator Defeated At Last
Ty Segall - Mr. Face EP
La Luz - Weirdo Shrine
The Dead Weather - Dodge and Burn
JEFF The Brotherhood - Global Chakra Rhythms
Local H - Hey, Killer
Living Grateful - Peace Mob
Ryan Sambol - Now Ritual
Colleen Green - I Don't Want To Grow Up
Wand - 1,000 Days

[zeb]

That was the most TK list possible.

Two Wand albums.

[zeb]

They weren't an acquired taste for me. I heard about a fifteen second sample from "Billy Liar" (the part about the whalebone corset frame) and I was a goner.

[chewm]

The decemberists are amazing.

[epilogue]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Yerp.

One of my all time favorite bands.

Have you ever listened to R.E.M.?

Are you... Seriously?

I'm just saying: I've been exposed to freaking everything the Decemberists have ever done over and over and over again living here. A lot of my friends liked them. And what was something I enjoyed at first started to grate...and grate...and grate. And then I realized that what bothered me about the Decemberists is that they were like a cross between Out of Time, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and some traditional music. I also saw the Decemberists in a small club in Portland in 2004 and didn't really enjoy it that much.

If I'm being rude...well, I guess I am. But they are an acquired taste, and they're marmite to me.

I don't think you're being rude. You're entitled to your opinion. And you've expressed yourself well. We just disagree.

For the record, I'm not a huge REM guy. I enjoy a lot of their stuff. They have two or three brilliant albums and a dozen more great songs. But I'm not a die-hard.

The Decemberists on the other hand...

Like Kevin Davis, I was instantly hooked (by Her Majesty) and never looked back. And, again, for me, they are one of the best bands working today. I never seem to tire of them. I've seen them live at least once every tour since Her Majesty, including a very tiny and overly heated bar in Lawrence Kansas with about 100 other people. I'm just smitten.

[Teeeeeekay]

That was the most TK list possible.

Two Wand albums.

Haha, for sure.

Have a listen to Melted Rope.

[matt reeder]

3. What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World - The Decemberists

Wait, people actually like The Decemberists?

Yerp.

One of my all time favorite bands.

Have you ever listened to R.E.M.?

Are you... Seriously?

I'm just saying: I've been exposed to freaking everything the Decemberists have ever done over and over and over again living here. A lot of my friends liked them. And what was something I enjoyed at first started to grate...and grate...and grate. And then I realized that what bothered me about the Decemberists is that they were like a cross between Out of Time, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and some traditional music. I also saw the Decemberists in a small club in Portland in 2004 and didn't really enjoy it that much.

If I'm being rude...well, I guess I am. But they are an acquired taste, and they're marmite to me.

I don't think you're being rude. You're entitled to your opinion. And you've expressed yourself well. We just disagree.

For the record, I'm not a huge REM guy. I enjoy a lot of their stuff. They have two or three brilliant albums and a dozen more great songs. But I'm not a die-hard.

The Decemberists on the other hand...

Like Kevin Davis, I was instantly hooked (by Her Majesty) and never looked back. And, again, for me, they are one of the best bands working today. I never seem to tire of them. I've seen them live at least once every tour since Her Majesty, including a very tiny and overly heated bar in Lawrence Kansas with about 100 other people. I'm just smitten.

That's fine. They fall into a group of bands I used to like but not love to whom I got overexposed and ended up disliking them. I threw out the R.E.M. reference because the Decemberists owe a substantial debt to R.E.M., particularly Document, Green and Out of Time.

To get back to the main topic...it seems like the consensus is that this year was weaker than last year. Last year produced 4 - 5 albums I still listen to on a regular basis and this year has produced several albums I like but do not necessarily love and only a couple I really love. I'm still holding out hope we'll get some great albums (cough Radiohead cough) before the end of the year though.

[nyquillyn]

I love Tarkio and the early Decemberists albums, but haven't really liked anything since The Crane Wife.

[epilogue]

I love Tarkio and the early Decemberists albums, but haven't really liked anything since The Crane Wife.

Have you listened to the one that came out earlier this year?

[Brett]

To get back to the main topic...it seems like the consensus is that this year was weaker than last year. Last year produced 4 - 5 albums I still listen to on a regular basis and this year has produced several albums I like but do not necessarily love and only a couple I really love. I'm still holding out hope we'll get some great albums (cough Radiohead cough) before the end of the year though.

Interesting perspective. I think I'm the opposite. I had a fairly long list of things that I liked from last year, but only a handful of albums that I would ever consider for "album of the year." This year, I think my top ten, when I finish it, is going to be made up largely of albums that I've considered for that tag even though my list of stuff I've enjoyed is shorter. Definitely a lot of high quality material this year.

[LoathedVermin72]

Nothing released this year is anywhere near BABYMETAL, that's for sure

[Mike]

I think 2015 is way way better than 2014.