Less talk, more rock

Suckit, bitches. Here is the definitive list. This should all come as no surprise.

1968 The Transformed Man, William Shatner
Hahaha just kidding. For reals:
At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash. Or The Goddamn White Album (I am so old).

1969 Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Y que triste que no puedo vaya.

1970 Who's Next, The Who
They're all wasted!!

1971 Carpenters, The Carpenters
Am I fuckin with you? You think I'm fuckin with you.

1972 Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones
Like '61 Petrus: Made in France, 16% alcohol, great now, great 50 years from now.

1973 The Serpent is Rising, Styx
Early crunchy-guitar JY-driven material: Witch Wolf, Young Man. Who can you get to win the fight? Young Man. Who can you get to make love all night? Yo-oun-oun-oun-oung man. According to Wikipedia, "The band consider this to be their worst recording. Dennis DeYoung has gone far as saying it was 'one of the worst recorded and produced in the history of music.'"

1974 New Skin for the Old Ceremony, Leonard Cohen
He remembers her well, in the Chelsea Hotel.

1975 Between the Lines, Janis Ian
Ian defines "torch singer." This album is her best work: desperately sentimental, flawless, and all but forgotten.

1976 Frampton Comes Alive?
Hahaha no. Dirty Deeds it is.

1977 Animals, Pink Floyd
Cha-rade you are. Other charades: The Stranger, Billy Joel, and Bat out of Hell, Meat Loaf

1978 Pieces of Eight, Styx
It's not all Dennis DeYoung/Tommy Shaw -- James Young was the balls of this band.

1979 Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young
Young and Crazy Horse end the '70s.

1980 Remain in Light, Talking Heads
And David Byrne begins the '80s.

1981 Faith, The Cure
A vast, empty, frozen fucking wasteland. Smith was almost taken down by Foreigner's 4, but that was the '70s trying to hang on past their time.

1982 Business as Usual, Men at Work and Rhythm of Youth, Men Without Hats
The Year of Two Men. And yeah, Nebraska.

1983 90125, Yes
Although these days I listen at least as much to Good For Your Soul, Oingo Boingo and U2's War.

1984 Steeltown, Big Country
Big Country never bigger. Close 2nd: Chess, Andersson, Rice & Ulvaeus. Welcome to the Pleasuredome would have made #3, if Frankie had left off the "Born to Run" cover.

1985 This is Big Audio Dynamite, Big Audio Dynamite
Mick Jones buys a drum machine.

1986 Please, Pet Shop Boys
They were better later, but "West End Girls" made them famous. Runner up: Texas Campfire Tapes, Michelle Shocked

1987 Substance, New Order
I built a crappy computer out of TTL chips and wire while listening to this disc. Though I gotta give it up to KP... Clutching at Straws was Marillion's second peak (Script/Fugazi the first, I suppose).

1988 Tie: If I Should Fall from Grace With God, The Pogues and Straight Outa Compton, NWA.
"Fairytale of New York," "Medley," "Bottle of Smoke," all MacGowan at his finest and drunkest. I discovered NWA (and Uncle Tupelo) on Henry Holtzman's bookshelf-o-discs in the Garden. Also a big shout out to Trinity Session, Cowboy Junkies

1989 No Control, Bad Religion
Greg Graffin schools The Minutemen on how to pack the maximum ass kicking into the shortest tracks. And speaking of ass kicking, "Crime in the City" on Neil Young's Freedom: epic.

1990 No Depression, Uncle Tupelo
Tupelo invents cowpunk and kicks off their astonishing four-year run.

1991 Still Feel Gone, Uncle Tupelo

1992 March 16-20, 1992, Uncle Tupelo
Nearly unseated by New Miserable Experience, Gin Blossoms, and Magic and Loss, Lou Reed, which somehow always reminds me of Pater Gabriel's Passion soundtrack.

1993 Anodyne, Uncle Tupelo
Rid of Me, P.J. Harvey

1994 Grace, Jeff Buckley
Un-fuckin-touchable Edith Piaf reincarnation.

1995 The Bends, Radiohead
Whoa, the "Creep" guys are a real band? Who knew?

1996 Hot, Squirrel Nut Zippers
Flash-in-the-pan Benny Goodman imitators cashing in on Gap-manufactured swing resurgence, or authentic innovators driving an almost lost art to new heights? I dunno, but "Hell" kicked ass, they toured with Neil Young, and helped launch Andrew Bird's career. Close second: Fashion Nugget, Cake. "The Distance" and three of the greatest. covers. evar.

1997 Barrel Chested, Slobberbone
Slobberbone was the highest point in post-Tupelo alt-country, and Barrel Chested was almost as good as their 1994 Crow Pot Pie. Critic's pick: Buena Vista Social Club, Croder, Gonzales, etc.

1998 Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
"Greenville" kills me.

1999 The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine
Lights out.

2000 Swiss Army Romance, Dashboard Confessional
Hey, you asked what I listen to, so here it is. Oh wait, you didn't ask.

2001 Bleed American, Jimmy Eat World
Tasty pop. Mmmmm.

2002 Lifted, or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, Bright Eyes
Don't go blaming your knowledge on some fruit you ate.

2003 Give Up, The Postal Service
Gibbard/DNTEL perfect boopy bleepy I/O Error music.

2004 Hot Fuss, The Killers
By, like, a fuckin mile.

2005 The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew Bird
Despite his incredible fiddle playing skills, Bird proves his true strength is the songwriting. Runner-up: Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, Bright Eyes

2006 The Life Pursuit, Belle and Sebastian

2007 Life in Cartoon Motion, Mika
Freddie Mercury is back from the dead.