Acclaimed Music Top 30 Albums from 1998 poll

I'd say 1998 was solid, not weak. Just not as many career peaks from certain artists as other years.

Just looking down this list and it's a pretty stellar year for me: GY!BE, BoC, Beta Band, Hollis, the Necks, Gastr Del Sol, Tortoise, the Rev, Gas, Gang Starr, Cat Power, B&S, Dirty Three, Sparklehorse, Plastikman, Sophia, Bang on a Can/Eno...

I'd probably go with the GY!BE from this list, though the Dylan bootleg is the obvious standout.

Best albums not featured here:

Royal Trux - Accelerator
Cat Power - Moon Pix
Gastr Del Sol - Camoufleur
Oval - Dok
Spinanes - Arches and Aisles
Solex - Solex Vs. The Hitmeister
Spoon - A Series Of Sneaks
Sugar Plant - Happy
800 Cherries - Romantico
Fantastic Plastic Machine - Luxury
Jeff Buckley - Sketches From My Sweetheart The Drunk

...and Goldie - Saturnz Return which, yes, I do actually like and which, yes, I do realize invalidates my opinion on everything else I listed so get off my case already jeez.

This has me listening to Mansun's Six at the moment. I doubt if I like any other rock from 1998 as much.

Load of pretentious nonsense by a load of artless Britpop wannabes

(it's my album of the year too, it or Super Ae)

Numbnuts edit: I meant this list: http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1998/1

Soul Coughing - El Oso

If we count Super Roots 7 as an album, mind you, then sheesh. Almost any year would be decided by that one

Aquemini in the easiest vote so far

TNT is a very important record to me

As meh as this year was for albums, at least the most-acclaimed single of the year was one for the ages.

http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/1998s.htm

Mezzanine in a walk. My God what an amazing album.

That Neutral Milk Hotel album will never not be horrific wailing to me.

― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Thursday, August 20, 2015 12:38 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It will never not be horrific either.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, August 20, 2015 12:40 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM.

all of these are fantastic and I could vote for any one of them:

1 119 Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
5 326 Massive Attack - Mezzanine
7 435 Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children
8 449 OutKast - Aquemini
9 453 Madonna - Ray of Light
10 475 Fatboy Slim - You've Come a Long Way, Baby
15 881 The Beta Band - The Three EP's

These are very good:

13 794 Pulp - This Is Hardcore
24 1531 PJ Harvey - Is This Desire?
30 1838 Hole - Celebrity Skin
32 2049 Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age

I think the NMH album is good, and I'm allergic to abrasively-strummed acoustic guitar and nasal caterwauling.

I went with XO even though I think it's the weakest out of either/or though Figure 8.

Is this desire is possibly my favourite album of all time (top three on any given day anyway), but I wish I could vote for Madonna too.

As a cohesive album that I find really moving, the NMH hits the mark for me. That being said, I can see how many people would find it unlistenable. I voted for it...

Yeah same as Sam.

i can see that too, although i don't get the how it's 'entry level alternative/indie', which is the complaint i often hear about it.

The complaint I make about it is that it's fucking horrific nails-down-chalkboard screaching and banging.

Having never heard them before (and only being tangentially aware of them because of a Raygun article on Elephant 6), I saw NMH open for Superchunk in '97 or '98, and it's still one of the most amazing live performances I've ever seen. That said, the albums (Aeroplane in particular) are a pale shadow of the live show, and in terms of E6 albums NMH's are lower-tier for me.

"EYEEEEE LOVEEEE YOUUUUU JESUUUUS CHA-RIIIIiiIIIiiIiiiIIiiIIiIIiIIIiIIiiiIiiIIiiIIiIIST! JEEEEEESUS CHRIIIIIST EYEEEEEE LOOOOOOVE YOOOOOOOOOU YEAAAAYSSS EYEEEEEEE DOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooDOOOOOOOOOOO!"

*guy-with-hands-over-his-ears.jpg*

that's like, 20 seconds of the whole thing.

"KEN LEEEEEEEEE! TULIBU-DIBU-DOUCHOOO!"

No, wait, that's a different track... easy to get mixed up, though.

so like,

Mansun - Six <<<fuck you alllllll
Boredoms - Super Ae / Super Roots 7
Earl Brutus - Tonight, You Are The Special One
Hood - Rustic Houses, Forlorn Valleys
Quickspace - Precious Falling
Dälek - Negro Necro Nekros <<<hip-hop taken to new levels iirc
Half Man Half Biscuit - Four Lads Who Shook The Wirral
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Gorky 5 <<<their first great album imo
Gorguts - Obscura
Ganger - Hammock Style
Autechre - LP5 <<<not my favourite of theirs but it's still great
Six By Seven - The Things We Make
Shellac - Terraform

and that's leaving off the Ulver William Blake album (which is worth a listen despite being absurdly cumbersome)

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Gorky 5 <<<their first great album imo

uh.... nope

Gorky 5 was the drop-off, IMO, so obviously I disagree.

Bwyd Time and Barafundle are brilliant compared to Gorky5 - that album is patchy as heck.

much better pastoral folk band than scuzzy britpop band imo

xpost:

Truth be told, I don't actually mind Gorky 5 and think it's got some good songs on it, but for me it doesn't come anywhere near Patio, Tatay, Bwyd Time and Barafundle.

Almost voted for Godspeed though I think that particular album's kind of dull. Luckily I saw Mark Hollis. Would have voted for Six if it was there though in hindsight it's overproduced to fuck.

"CAAAAAAATCHING SIIIIIGNAAAAAAAAALS THAT SOOOOOOUND IN THEEEEEEEE DAAAAAAAAARK!"

*nails-on-chalkboard.gif*

oi, barafundle is not britpop you slanderous wretch

Looking at my iPod there is a ton of strong 1998 rock records not here:

Sonic Youth - A Thousand Leaves
Myracle Brah - Life On Planet Eartsnop
Liz Phair - whitechocolatespaceegg
Sarge - The Glass Intact
The Glands - Double Thriller
Rancid - Life Won't Wait
Quasi - Featuring "Birds"
Pearl Jam - Yield
Local H - Pack Up The Cats
Nada Surf - The Proximity Effect
Johnny Cash - American 2
Drive-By Truckers - Gangstabilly
Cadallaca - Introducing Cadallaca
Black Box Recorder - England Made Me

oi, barafundle is not britpop you slanderous wretch

― feargal czukay (NickB), Thursday, August 20, 2015 3:47 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM, and neither are the three that came before it!

oi, barafundle is not britpop you slanderous wretch

― feargal czukay (NickB), Thursday, August 20, 2015 4:47 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^ I'm actually really surprised by imago's take on this. Have you heard these albums? They're totally in your wheelhouse. Bwyd Time isn't exactly a million steps removed from a sort of folkier version of Cardiacs

manu chao's "clandestino" is superb, one of my favorite albums ever and is very important to me, too bad though that he never did anything else even close to the same universe as that one though. it has my vote.

aquemini is outstanding, my favorite outkast album

miseducation is amazing

i'm not really a belle and sebastian fan but "arab strap" is their best album imo

i don't really care about NMH, i enjoyed that album in college a lot but i don't have much use for it anymore
i like BoC but i think are totally overrated in general, i had all their albums but eventually sold off every one except that "in a beautiful place" EP. they are great at ambiance and mood but their beats are corny and wack imo

that dylan bootleg series is all-time but i don't think it really counts as a "1998" album

QOTSA and all associated acts are the most boring garbage to me

is that the godspeed with "dead flag blues"? if so that is a good album

Wait, there's a person who thinks End Hits is the best Fugazi album?

me

I've sort of skim-listened both Bwyd Time and Barafundle - they've both got cool moments but it doesn't quite come together until later for me - perhaps I should give both albums another go.

Trust you all to take the corniest thing off my amazing list and make a big deal out of it. Pfah!

That Air album came out of nowhere and was massive that year. I'm sure I dismissed it at the time for being "coffee table music" or "yuppie sex music". I like it now though. That Massive Attack album might be their best. I remember smoking weed for the first time around Xmas 98 and I listened to 'Risingson' and I felt like I was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I'll go for 'Deserters Songs" tho. It lacks the wildness the made early MR so great but it's a beautiful album for various different reasons.

I've sort of skim-listened both Bwyd Time and Barafundle - they've both got cool moments but it doesn't quite come together until later for me - perhaps I should give both albums another go.

― Yul Brynner playing table tennis with a deviled kidney (imago), Thursday, August 20, 2015 4:10 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You should give Patio and Tatay a go.

I think I'm in the minority here but I think 10,000hz the legend is Air's best album. so proggy compared to moon safari, which is a nice chill record but also sounds a bit 'brie' in places

I'm with you on that one tbf

10,000hz Legend is great. I like a lot of Moon Safari but have never fully connected with it. I looooooove Premiers Symptômes, though.

Talkie Walkie is the only Air album I ever have any desire to hear.

aw, it's nice enough but it's only got like 2 or 3 songs i'd call classics (cherry blossom girl is *extremely* classic, though, i'll grant, alpha beta gaga great too)

btw heads up, i've looked at the '99 list and hoo boy i'm gonna have a list of like not exaggerating 30+ albums i'd genuinely prefer to virtually all of them. get stoked ilm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAygQls6UNo