ILM 2014 Albums Poll: Thread of Ballots, Statistics and Survivalist Posturing

apart from intelligent sausage music

indie straw men?

Ibibio Sound Machine

Is So Much fun

re: ISM

I wish "Let's Dance" would've made the top 77 in tracks, but in the end I didn't have any strong feelings about the album.

it's sorta mediocre?

Damn, Shyne Coldchain 2 at #195?

D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
Taylor Swift - 1989
FKA twigs - LP1
Owen Pallett - In Conflict
Tinashe - Aquarius
Aphex Twin - Syro
YG - My Krazy Life
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
St. Vincent - St. Vincent
Todd Terje - It's Album Time
The Juan Maclean - In a Dream
Charli XCX - Sucker
Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
Mr Twin Sister - Mr Twin Sister
Caribou - Our Love
Grouper - Ruins
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Miranda Lambert - Platinum
Rich Gang - Tha Tour Part 1
Javiera Mena - Otra Era
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Richard Dawson - Nothing Important
K. Michelle - Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart?
Scott Walker & Sunn O))) - Soused
Swans - To Be Kind
Gazelle Twin - Unflesh
DJ Quik - The Midnight Life
Popcaan - Where We Come From
Future Islands - Singles
Jessie Ware - Tough Love
Ariel Pink - pom pom
The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do the Heathen Rage?
Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers
Toni Braxton & Babyface - Love, Marriage & Divorce
Azealia Banks - Broke With Expensive Taste - I was the #1 voter for this, this is the first time in my history of voting in this poll where I moved an album from a lower ranking in P&J, #9 I think, because I felt it deserved it
Spoon - They Want My Soul
Angel Olsen - Burn Your Fire For No Witness
Mark Barrott - Sketches from an Island
Lana del rey - ultraviolence
Ex Hex - Rips
Lee Ann Womack - The Way I'm Livin'
DJ Q - Ineffable
One Direction - Four
Lewis - L'amour
Young Marco - Biology
Katy B - Little Red
Wild Beasts - Present Tense
Gigi Masin - Talk To The Sea
Alvvays - Alvvays
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atomos
Fennesz - Bécs
Sun Kil Moon - Benji
Moodymann - Moodymann
Ronika - Selectadisc
Steve Gunn - Way Out Weather
Botanist - VI: Flora
Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
Kelis - Food
tUnE-yArDs - nikki nack
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata
Dean Blunt - Black Metal
Leon Vynehall - Music for the Uninvited
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
Theo Parrish - American Intelligence
Khun Narin - Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band
future - honest
Warpaint - Warpaint
Ought - More Than Any Other Day
Ninos du Brasil - Novos Mistérios
Sturgill Simpson - Metamodern Sounds in Country Music
Call Super - Suzi Ecto
Real Estate - Atlas
Noura Mint Seymali - Tzenni
Mica Levi - Under the Skin OST
Cher Lloyd - Sorry I’m Late
Babymetal - Babymetal

^
My picks that placed in bold. I'm 90% sure I didn't vote for "Syro" - would have if I could've had like 5 more votes.
Can't remember if I voted for Ex Hex. Thank you ILM for singing Tinashe's praises, love that album!!!!

middle 100s has some good albums - trey songz, isaiah rashad (my #1), schoolboy q

d'angelo was a total lock #1, not at all surprised @ its landslide

ima have to listen to the tinashe album iguess

D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Kemialliset Ystävät - Alas Rattoisaa Virtaa
Kayo Dot – Coffins on lo
black bananas - electric brick wall
Orlando Julius & the Heliocentrics - Jaiyede Afro
Gold Codes - Gold Codes
Menace Ruine - Venus armata
clipping. - CLPPNG
Meshell Ndegeocello - Comet, Come to Me
Seven That Spells - The Death and Resurrection of Krautrick: Io
shabazz palaces - lese majesty
Lola Colt – Away From The Water
Warpaint - Warpaint
Comet Control - Comet Control
The Cosmic Dead - Easterfaust
Botanist - VI: Flora
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Torn Hawk - Through Force of Will
Khun Narin - Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band
Ice Dragon - Seeds from a Dying Garden
David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights - End Times Undone
Crippled Black Phoenix - White Light Generator
Jute Gyte – Ressentiment
Trans Am - Volume X

^weighted, bold didn't place

xxxp i found that a bummer, if sorta understandable that it'd fall through the cracks. it was my #6

Damn, Shyne Coldchain 2 at #195?

― RAP GAME SHANI DAVIS (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, January 29, 2015 5:37 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hell Can Wait was #98. all the Vince Staples votes going to the same project could've gotten him as high as #53. :/

mixed album ballot

Head High - Megatrap
Terrence Parker - Life On The Back 9
Jennifer Castle - Pink City
Eyvind Kang - Alastor: The Book Of Angels vol.21
Tinariwen - Emmaar
Gigi Masin - Talk To The Sea
Rudy Royston - 303
Haggai Cohen-Milo - Penguin
Gangsta Boo & Beatking - Underground Cassette Tape Music
Khun Narin - Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band
Edward - Into A Better Future
Roll The Dice - Until Silence

Jeezy - Seen It All (The Autobiography)
Hildur Gudnadottir - Saman
Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost
Dino Saluzzi Group - El Valle de la Infancia
Step Brothers - Lord steppington
Joey Anderson - After Forever
Population One - Theater of a Confused Mind
Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap
Julius Steinhoff - Flocking Behaviour
Ambarchi/O'Malley/Dunn - Shade Themes from Kairos
Curren$y - The Drive In Theatre
Tom Carter & Pat Murano - Four Infernal Rivers
Jemeel Moondoc - The Zookeeper's House

i'm shocked there's no jazz in the genre top 10s! were there really fewer than 10 jazz albums with votes!?

Nyusha - Obyedineniye
taylor swift - 1989
Dasha Shults - Moloko
MC Bin Laden - MC Bin Laden
Yelle - Completement Fou
Lana del rey - ultraviolence
Tove Lo - Queen of the Clouds
Tanya Tagaq - Animism
Propaganda - Fioletovaya Pudra
IZA - Painkiller
Julia Marcell - Sentiments
Eva Polna - Poet Lyubov
Riff Raff - Neon Icon
owen pallett - in conflict
Ivan Dorn - Randorn
Srub - Top'
Naadya - Naadya
Ex Hex - Rips
Popcaan - Where We Come From
Gazelle Twin - Unflesh
Indila - Mini World
Pharmakon - Bestial Burden
IZA - Hug Music
Manikur - Voskhod
Mela Koteluk - Migracje

Weighted^^^

xp
I think most people feel discouraged from voting for jazz releases, I mean you know it is likely to be a lone vote. The variation between jazz lists is far more wider than others and more likely to feature one vote no. 1's.

Personally, I love jazz, but for whatever reason when I explore it I'm digging into older albums.

The genre info far from complete - albums that aren't on Spotify don't contribute, and it looks like jazz is split over a couple of different genres like "contemporary jazz" and "modern free jazz".

*is* far from complete

xp
there is a really good blog here if you want to check some new stuff, they are not shy of reviewing last years stuff that they have slept on and they pointed me towards loads of good shit.
http://www.freejazzblog.org/

Weighted, bold didn't place:

Pharmakon - Bestial Burden
Tunabunny - Kingdom Technology
Fatima Al Qadiri - Asiatisch
OOIOO - Gamel
Vampillia - The Divine Move
Richard Dawson - Nothing Important
King of Cats - Working Out
Ravioli Me Away - The Inevitable Album
Kemialliset Ystävät - Alas Rattoisaa Virtaa
Ace Bushy Striptease - Slurpt
Kogumaza - Kолокол
Ninos du Brasil - Novos Mistérios
The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do the Heathen Rage?
Seiko Oomori - Sennou (Brainwashing)
The Wharves - At Bay
Owen Pallett - In Conflict
Menace Ruine - Venus Armata
Nisennenmondai - N
The Body - I Shall Die Here
Malayeen - Malayeen
Babymetal - Babymetal
Two White Cranes - Two White Cranes
Kassel Jaeger - Toxic Cosmopolitanism
Ex-Easter Island Head - Large Electric Ensemble
Giant Claw - Dark Web

Stats:
Third least populist
Top genre - "experimental psych"
Top neighbour - Craig
Most likely to read - the Wire

I really need to give another listen to that OOIOO

Based on attempting to listen to as many nominations as possible (weighted, bolded etc):

Richard Dawson - Nothing Important
Jute Gyte - Ressentiment
Owen Pallett - In Conflict
Menace Ruine - Venus Armata
Weyes Blood - The Innocents
Ueno Masaaki - Vortices
The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do The Heathen Rage?
Islaja - S U U
Container - Adhesive
Jute Gyte - Vast Chains
Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
Stars In Battledress - In Droplet Form
Blanche Blanche Blanche - Hints To Pilgrims
Total Control - Typical System
Tobacco - Ultima II Massage
Botanist - VI: Flora
Comet Control - Comet Control
Tunabunny - Kingdom Technology
Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise
Vince Staples - Hell Can Wait
pc worship - social rust
Giant Claw - Dark Web
Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Gazelle Twin - Unflesh
Giant Squid - Minoans

I really need to give another listen to that OOIOO

― brain floss mix (sleeve), Thursday, January 29, 2015 11:35 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I like it in short bursts but listening to the whole thing tires me out.

forgot to vote for that:(

I will listen too - I've heard good things!

It didn't hit me as anything other than a solid-good record at first, but the more I listened the bigger it sounded. Now it is IMMENSE.

Also, nice inclusion of T-bunz, imago.

I like the fact that 16% of us, including myself, were most likely to read Cosmopolitan.

I don't listen to much indie but having a bloody infinity symbol next to my anti-fuxxor ratio seemed like overkill, I am not that much of a closed shop!

Tunabunny album great yeah. Craig, I just put a Senni song on from Youtube and it's mad! and great!

We've reached the best bit: the bit where we just comb the good ballots for good music that nobody else voted for :D

Shout outs to neighbours imago and kruezer (with whom I am not familiar)!

Julia Wolfe, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Trio Mediaeval - Steel Hammer
Noura Mint Seymali - Tzenni
Tinariwen - Emmaar
Botanist - Vi: Flora

Jute Gyte – Vast Chains
The Nels Cline Singers – Macroscope
John Zorn - The Testament of Solomon (feat. Bill Frisell, Carol Emanuel, Kenny Wollesen)
Tanya Tagaq – Animism
owen pallett - in conflict
Noveller & thisquietarmy - Reveries
Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise

Pat Metheny - Kin (<-->) [feat. Chris Potter, Ben Williams, Antonio Sanchez & Giulio Carmassi]
Bill Frisell, Greg Leisz, Tony Scherr & Kenny Wollesen - Guitar in the Space Age
Thurston Moore – The Best Day
Fennesz – Becs
Bryce Dessner, Jonny Greenwood, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andre de Ridder - St. Carolyn by the Sea; Suite from "There Will Be Blood"
Phantom Orchard Ensemble - Through the Looking Glass
Orlando Julius & the Heliocentrics - Jaiyede Afro
Panopticon – Roads to the North
Augustin Hadelich/Hannu Lintu/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra – Sibelius, Ades: Violin Concertos
Brian Blade & the Fellowship Band - Landmarks
Menace Ruine – Venus Armata
Kayo Dot – Coffins on lo
Myrkur - Myrkur
Ben Frost – A U R O R A

re: 2014 albums i experienced over 700 albums with at least 1 play, ha many were just 1 plays sifting through hundreds of average / ok / above average albums, glenn's weekly spotify sorting hat was useful for research: http://everynoise.com/spotify_new_albums.html
it's updated each week - check it out

below are the best 200 i most enjoyed.

first my ilm ballot - albums unweighted

Arca - Xen
Ballet School - The Dew Lasts an Hour
Black Rain - Dark Pool
Dean Blunt - Black Metal
Brassica - Man Is Deaf
Burnt Belief - Etymology
Call Super - Suzi Ecto
Chay$e - Purple Love EP
Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails
Marko Fürstenberg - Ghosts From the Past
Gold Zebra - Gold Zebra
Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - When the World Was One
Jenny Hval & Susanna - Meshes of Voice
Helevorn - Compassion Forlorn
HTRK - Psychic 9-5 Club
Kayo Dot – Coffins on lo
Lunatic Soul - Walking on a Flashlight Beam
Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel
Nero di Marte - Derivae
Nightbringer - Ego Dominus Tuus
Saigon Blue Rain - What I Don't See
Schammasch - Contradiction
Swanox - Duskrunner
Tinashe - Aquarius
Bugge Wesseltoft / Henrik Schwarz / Dan Berglund - Trialogue

15 Honourable Mentions - next year there should be 40 album votes

The Bug - Angels & Devils
Clark - Clark
Darkspace - Darkspace III I
FKA twigs - LP1
Gazelle Twin - Unflesh
Gidge - Autumn Bells
GoGo Penguin - v2.0
Ital - Endgame
Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith
Moire - Shelter
Abdulla Rashim - Unanimity
Spectral Lore - III
Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers
Torn Hawk - Through Force of Will

more lists:

reminder my initial ilm nominations:

Siavash Amini - What Wind Whispered to the Trees
Ballet School - The Dew Lasts an Hour
Black Rain - Dark Pool
Brassica - Man Is Deaf
Burnt Belief - Etymology
Chay$e - Purple Love EP
Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails
Marko Fürstenberg - Ghosts From the Past
Gidge - Autumn Bells
Gold Zebra - Gold Zebra
The Great Old Ones - TEKELI-LI
Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra - When the World Was One
Helevorn - Compassion Forlorn
HTRK - Psychic 9-5 Club
Lunatic Soul - Walking on a Flashlight Beam
Kid Moxie - 1888
Ñaka Ñaka - Mundo Harsh
Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel
Nero di Marte - Derivae
Guillaume Perret & The Electric Epic - Open Me
Saigon Blue Rain - What I Don't See
Schammasch - Contradiction
Swanox - Duskrunner
Bugge Wesseltoft / Henrik Schwarz / Dan Berglund - Trialogue
Woccon - Solace in Decay

nominated by others and included in my top 200 albums of 2014

A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atomos
The Advisory Circle - From Out Here
Agalloch - The Serpent and the Sphere
Oren Ambarchi - Quixotism
Aphex Twin - Syro
Arca - Xen
BADBADNOTGOOD - III
Banks - Goddess
Behemoth - The Satanist
Black to Comm - Black to Comm
Dean Blunt - Black Metal
Bohren & der Club of Gore - Piano Nights
The Bug - Angels & Devils
Call Super - Suzi Ecto
Caribou - Our Love
Clap! Clap! - Tayi Bebba
Clark - Clark
Darkspace - Darkspace III I
Eaux - Plastics
Lawrence English - Wilderness of Mirrors
Eno/Hyde - High Life
Esben and the Witch - A New Nature
FKA twigs - LP1
Roman Flügel - Happiness Is Happening
Flying Lotus - You're Dead
Frank & Tony - You Go Girl
Ben Frost - AURORA
Function & Vatican Shadow - Games Have Rules
Gazelle Twin - Unflesh
Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
GoGo Penguin - v2.0
Grouper - Ruins
Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi
Francis Harris - Minutes Of Sleep
Hauschka - Abandoned City
Have a Nice Life - The Unnatural World
Jenny Hval & Susanna - Meshes of Voice
iamamiwhoami - Blue
Innercity Ensemble - II
Ital - Endgame
Kangding Ray - Solens Arc
Kasai Allstars - Beware The Fetish
Kayo Dot – Coffins on lo
Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith
Millie & Andrea - Drop The Vowels
Moire - Shelter
Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
Musk Ox - Woodfall
Marissa Nadler - July
Nightbringer - Ego Dominus Tuus
Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden
Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Abdulla Rashim - Unanimity
Recondite - Iffy
Emma Ruth Rundle - Some Heavy Ocean
Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
Solstafir - Otta
The Soundcarriers - Entropicalia
Spectral Lore - III
Andy Stott - Faith In Strangers
Swans - To Be Kind
todd terje - it's album time
Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise
Tinashe - Aquarius
Torn Hawk - Through Force of Will
Trans Am - Volume X
Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Trust - Joyland
Wild Beasts - Present Tense
Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend
Young Marco - Biology

not nominated but in my top 200

Aenaon - Extance
Aeon Sable - Visionaers
Afrikan Sciences - Circuitous
Anatomy of Habit - Ciphers + Axioms
Ascending Dawn - Coalesce
Azar Swan - And Blow Us a Kiss
Alex Banks - Illuminate
Nils Bech - One Year
Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution
Black Mare - Field of the Host
Blastromen - Reality Opens
Tim Bowness - Abandoned Dancehall Dreams
Chat noir - Elec3Cities
Christine Plays Viola - Vacua
Carlos Cipa - All Your Life You Walk
Collarbones - Return
The Contortionist - Language
Dalhous - Will to Be Well
Piotr Damasiewicz - Mnemotaksja
Deison & Mingle - Everything Collapse(d)
DOOM:VS - Earthless
Downfall of Gaia - Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay
Earthling Society - England Have My Bones
Empyrium - The Turn of the Tides
Epitimia - (Un)reality
Fen - Carrion Skies
Fofoulah - Fofoulah
Foscor - Those Horrors Wither
Friends of Alice Ivy - The Golden Cage and Its Mirrored Maze
Ghost Brigade - IV – One With the Storm
Glories - Put the Beast Out of Mind
Goatech - Exquisiteness
Guerre - Ex nihilo
Hi-Fiction Science - Curious Yellow
Iberia - Iberia
I Break Horses - Chiaroscuro
Inanimate Existence - A Never-Ending Cycle of Atonement
Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun
Involved - Revolving Maze
IQ - The Road of Bones
Jakob - Sines
Jazzpospolita - Jazzpo!
Keluar - Keluar
Inigo Kennedy - Vaudeville
Legowelt - Crystal Cult 2080
Lightfoils - Hierarchy
Lost Ubikyst in Apeiron - Abstruse Imbeciles Nailed on Slavery
Lotus Thief - Rervm
Lucy - Churches Schools and Guns
Martial Canterel - Gyors, Lassù
Mechanimal - Secret Science
Minuit Machine - Live & Destroy
Missue - 8K
Mondträume - Empty
MoeTar - Entropy of the Century
Mono/Poly - Golden Skies
The Moon and the Nightspirit - Holdrejtek
Msza Święta w Altonie - Bezkrólewie
Murmur - Murmur
Myriad 3 - The Where
Nachtmystium - The World We Left Behind
Neurotech - Infra Versus Ultra
Nightcrawler - Metropolis
Nikosf. - Collecting the Moments
Novembers Doom - Bled White
Opal Onyx - Delta Sands
Pan & Me - Ocean Noise
Perfect Beings - Perfect Beings
PoiL - Brossaklitt
Population - Beyond the Pale
Xavi Reija - Resolution
Revocation - Deathless
Bjørn Riis - Lullabies in a Car Crash
Saor - Aura
Schonwald - Dream for the Fall
Sébastien Schuller - Heat Wave
Brandon Seabrook - Sylphid Vitalizers
Sea Oleena - Shallow
R. Seiliog - In Hz
Sensible Soccers- 8
Seven Impale - City of the Sun
Shihad - FVEY
Shxcxchcxsh - Linear S Decoded
The Silence Industry - Brother Sing, Sister Shout
Simple Minds - Big Music
Skyharbor - Guiding Lights
Sleepmakeswaves - Love of Cartography
sPacemoNkey - The Karman Line
The Spiritual Bat - Mosaic
Ştiu Nu Ştiu - Ultra Silvam
Superfjord - It Is Dark, But I Have This Jewel
Tatran - Shvat
Technical Itch - Progression Threat - Part Three
This Lonely Crowd - Möbius and the Healing Process
Thug Entrancer - Death After Life
Torkelsen - Sattellittskygge
Voices - London
Scott Walker + Sunn O))) - Soused
Winterfylleth - The Divination of Antiquity
Words of Farewell - The Black Wild Yonder
Xtrngr - Climbing
Yabanci - Grimorium
Sebastian Zawadzki - Luminescence

most of my contemporary listening revolves around these 7 clusters

darkwave / post-punk / post-industrial / minimal wave
leftfield pop - including art-pop, synthpop, electronic r'n'b, dream-pop/ shoegaze, hypnagogic pop, cloud rap, chillwave, indietronIca etc
electronic / dance - particularly bass/house/techno/glitch/
rock - mostly art rock & prog, experimental rock, some post-rock, some psychedelic
extreme metal - see the ilm 2014 metal poll results ballot thread for my top 50
jazz - mostly electronic jazz, jazz-fusion, experimental jazz
experimental - ambient / drone / post classical etc

LOL

one way street was my neighbor again! have to wait until I'm home to post my ballot.

Kitchen Person was my top neighbor. Sounds legit.

This sounds like something quite awesome, will deffo be on this.

Julia Wolfe, Bang On A Can All-Stars, Trio Mediaeval - Steel Hammer

have just put this^ on :)

also, djmartian is legit my hero

just realised gman5959 was my neighbour again. Pretty sure he's always my neighbour!

I view djmartian with a mix of reverence and pity.

ballot may have changed slightly but whatever

8/25, last year it was only 3 I think?

1. Biota - Funnel To A Thread (acoustic hypnoswirl w/subtle processing of unparalleled quality, jawdropping art as well)

2. Against Me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues (killer glamrock mallpunk transgender anthems)

3. Ou - Pisces Crisis (staggering RIO-influenced ensemble powerhouse, very European in a good way)

4. Amy Denio - Prodigal Light (one of America's most under-appreciated polymath music geniuses)

5. Grouper - Ruins (Liz Harris steps out of her cloud of effect pedals with sparse piano arrangements for excellent songs)

6. Daniel Bachman - Orange Co. Serenade (young guitar prodigy branches out even further, w/impressive results)

7. Legendary Pink Dots - 10 to the Power of 9 (psychedelic electronic journey)

8. Sir Richard Bishop - Road To Siam (acoustic guitar wizard enchants you on stupidly limited vinyl 10")

9. Einstürzende Neubauten - Lament (suitably dense/bizarre/challenging WWI lament/comeback album from these industrial veterans)

10. Chrome - Feel It Like A Scientist (ferocious comeback album from Creed & co., sci-fi heavy metal noise weirdness)

11. Aphex Twin - Syro (first new material in over a decade is one of his most listenable & solid records to date)

12. Carla Bozulich - Boy (spooky, whispered urgency from one of my favorite vocalists/songwriters, didn't even know this came out until December of 2014)

13. United Bible Studies - Doineann (stupidly limited but gorgeous folk-drone CD, buy it on their Bandcamp page)

14. The Pop Group - Cabinet Of Curiosities (onslaught of insanely great unreleased/archival material from these post-punk geniuses)

15. Caetano Veloso - Abraçaço (suave Brazilian making some of the best music of his 50-plus-year career)

16. Golden Retriever - Seer (new duo combining synth and bass clarinet, results far exceed expectations)

17. Ninos Du Brasil - Novos Mistérios (irresistible techno/batacuda hybrid, drums drums drums sex dance)

18. Armand Schaubroeck Steals - God Made The Blues To Kill Me! (another veteran dishes up his signature blues-rock dementia, his first since the 70's)

19. Alvarius B./Sir Richard Bishop - If You Don't Like It…Don't! (two brothers duel on acoustic guitar, call it a tie)

20. D'Angelo - Black Messiah (the genius behind this R&B tour-de-force is undeniable)

21. Fennesz - Bécs (mostly Endless Summer Part II, but this retread has some teeth and claws mixed in with the pastoral drone)

22. Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty (oblique and immaculately produced modern hip-hop, recommended)

23. Tinariwen - Emmaar (this Northern Africa collective keeps cranking out great albums, hypnotic desert guitar intertwines w/full band)

24. Swans - To Be Kind (heavy and satisfying in places but not as good as their last two, this might even be a sympathy vote)

25. David Shea - Rituals (fascinating multi-part voyage through sound)

Honorable Mention (26-50, not bolded)

Goat - Commune (Swedish collective summons the spirit of Amon Duul, great album)

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra ‎– Fuck Off Get Free We Pour Light On Everything (long form swirl that hits me harder than their previous work)

The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do The Heathen Rage? (black metal translated into synthesizer bounce)

Alvarius B. - What One Man Can Do With An Acoustic Guitar, Surely Another Can Do With His Hands Around The Neck Of God (self explanatory)

Sleaford Mods - Divide & Exit (a very angry man yells about stuff while another man drinks beer and pushes buttons, exhilaratingly furious)

Laetitia Sadier - Something Shines (shimmery is a good word for this surprisingly good solo album from the former Stereolab singer)

Juçara Marçal - Encarnado (it's like tropicalia grabbing you by the front of your shirt and forcing you to learn a new dance, formidable and confident)

Scott Walker & Sunn0))) - Soused (avant vocals do acrobatics over drone-metal nightmares)

Islaja - S U U (I still don't know what to think about this, Finnish folk-psych goes techno, singing in English, weird and off kilter)

Alessandro Cortini - Sonno (blissful modern composition)

Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band - Intensity Ghost (guitar rock done right)

Sunn0))) & Ulver - Terrestrials (more boiling lava and subterranean eruptions from another Sunn collaboration)

Panda Bear - Mr. Noah EP (dense and shiny prelude to his new 2015 double album)

Richard Dawson - Nothing Important (one man wrecking crew delivers epic folk tunes with avant guitar mangling)

Shellac - Dude Incredible (tight as a fucking drum, this band)

Dum Dum Girls - Too True (catchy & memorable tunes done up in the prevalent reverb-girlgroup style)

Elisa Ambrogio - The Immoralist (deceptively simple arrangements, unusual sounds, good songs)

Tobacco - Ultima II Massage (vocoder madness infests nervous fractured beats & synths)

Thee Oh Sees - Drop (some really pretty songs on this amidst the top notch neo-garagerock)

OOIOO - Gamel (still getting a handle on this but gamelan-influenced music feels like a natural direction for them)

Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble - Intergalactic Beings (much more out-there/free-jazz than her earlier records)

Maurice Louca - Benhayyi Al-Baghbaghan (fabulous modern Egyptian music)

Magic Eye - Babylon (spacey drifting psych-rock)

Tashi Dorji - blue nest of larks that die EP (great new guitarist releases nicely experimental EP, on his Bandcamp page)

Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap (this is really pretty but I am still waiting for the songs to sink in)

Maurice Louca - Benhayyi Al-Baghbaghan (fabulous modern Egyptian music)
Magic Eye - Babylon (spacey drifting psych-rock)

^^^ These get honourable mentions from me too

Ballot. Mixed. Bold didn't place. Bold italics were cases where I was the only voter.

D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah
owen pallett - in conflict
mr twin sister - mr twin sister
Future Islands - Singles
taylor swift - 1989
Neil Cicierega - Mouth Sounds
Lewis - L'amour
The War on Drugs - Lost in the Dream
Caribou - Our Love

Alcest - Shelter
Ariel Pink - pom pom
Chromeo - White Women
Fennesz - Bécs
Kairon; IRSE! - Ujubasajuba
Kutiman - Thru-You Too
Sloan - Commonwealth
The Preatures - Blue Planet Eyes
todd terje - it's album time
Weird Al Yankovic - Mandatory Fun
The New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers

Oh and Chromeo - White Women

Mixed ballot:

iamamiwhoami - Blue
Mac Demarco - Salad Days
Arditti Quartet - Ferneyhough: Complete Works for String Quartet & Trios
13) Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 2
Lotic - Damsel in Distress
Stars In Battledress - In Droplet Form
74) noura mint seymali - tzenni
Terrence Parker - Life On The Back 9
33) The Soft Pink Truth - Why Do the Heathen Rage?
20) javiera mena - otra era
Reagenz - The Periodic Table
48) Wild Beasts - Present Tense
51) A Winged Victory for the Sullen - Atomos
Protect-U - Free USA
The Hotelier - Home, Like NoPlace Was There
58) Kassem Mosse - Workshop 19
Noveller & thisquietarmy - Reveries
Liars - Mess
63) Leon Vynehall - Music for the Uninvited
Mr Oizo - The Church

Mitch Murder - Interceptor
Phaserland - Electric Atlantic
Suicideyear - Remembrance
10) todd terje - it's album time
Ueno Masaaki - Vortices

Noveller & thisquietarmy - Reveries

Glad to see someone else voted for this!

Intrigued about that Ferneyhough set. 3 CDs of Ferneyhough still sounds hardcore to me but it IS Arditti.

Not gonna lie, the Ferneyhough IS hardcore, but the Arditti performances (their second studio recordings of all but the most recent of these pieces) have all the sweep and nuance you could hope for. Try the String Trio (not the little Streichtrio, which doesn't amount to much). The whole album is on Spotify; I'm guessing Youtubes are likely to be earlier recordings.

Man some of these ballots are insane!