"Top 5 Album of the Year" Poll Results and Discussion

boroff89

It's the new year, some I ending the poll and providing the results here. I believe 111 people voted, although many of those lister fewer than 5 albums. A huge variety of albums received votes, many of which just received one or two votes. Again, Into the Wild was not included in this voting. I will list the top 15 albums based on your votes, and I will include the number of votes the album received. I will also include the albums' Metacritic scores. For those of you who don't know, Metacritic compiles critics' reviews of albums and ratings for the albums that range from 1-100. It is like the Rottentomatoes of music. So the results:

1. Radiohead- In Rainbows (41 Votes; Metacritic score: 88)
2. Arcade Fire- Neon Bible (32 Votes; Metacritic score: 87)
3. The White Stripes- Icky Thump (25 Votes; Metacritic score: 80)
4. Kings of Leon- Because of the Times (23 Votes; Metacritic score: 79)
5. Modest Mouse- We Were Dead Before. . .(22 Votes; Metacritic score: 78)
6. Queens of the Stone Age- Era Vulgaris (20 Votes; Metacritic score: 75)
7. Wilco- Sky Blue Sky (18 Votes; Metacritic score: Metacritic score: 73)
8. Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (15 Votes; Metacritic score: 84)
9. Nine Inch Nails- Year Zero (13 Votes; Metacritic score: 76)
10. Band of Horses- Ceases to Begin (11 Votes; Metacritic score: 78)
11. Bruce Springsteen- Magic (10 Votes; Metacritic score: 73)
11. Foo Fighters- Echoes, Silence, Patie. . (10 Votes; Metacritic score: 70)
13. The National- Boxer (9 Votes; Metacritic score: 86)
13. The Shins- Wincing the Night Away (9 Votes; Metacritic score: 79)
13. Wintersleep- Welcome to the Night Sky (9 Votes: Metacritic score: NA)

boroff89

As you can see, the albums in the top 15 all received high ratings from critics as well. The album that received the most votes that was destroyed by critics was Smashing Pumkins' Zeitgeist (Metacritic score: 59). Honestly, I was worried that would be the album receiving a ton votes and pissing me off. It did not place in the top 15, but still, the 8 votes it got were 8 too many. What a colossal piece of garbage.

Instead, it was Queens of the Stone Age that shocked me in our poll. I love Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies, but Era Vulgaris, to me, is a terribly weak effort. I have given it several listens, and not one song grabs me.

Many will argue that The National's album should have been higher, and I agree (as do the critics). It really is a great album, and if you haven't heard it, give it a try.

The same goes for all of the albums that made the top 15. If you haven't heard them, find a way to hear them. I would hope that this poll is a way for people to discover new music. Anyway, let the discussion begin.

JSBE

the national's album would be in my top 5. i would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

out of the top 15 i guess the foo fighters making the cut would be my biggest gripe. each and every album they put out after the colour and the shape hasn't really done anything for me. it just feels like they have become an "alternative rock radio" singles band. again, just my opinion.

i was happiest that bloc party did not make the top 15. after silent alarm their new one (a weekend in the city?), wow, what a load of crap.

i liked era vulgaris a lot, but not enough to be in my top 15 albums.

i didn't think zeitgeist was garbage, but i took it for what it was - a billy cash grab job using the smashing pumpkins name. there were some good songs (doomsday clock, that's the way, tarantula, united states to name a few) and some bad songs (for god and country, pomp and circumstance).

boroff89

I actually love the new Foo Fighters album. In fact, it is the first Foo Fighters album I have ever loved. Biggest surprise of the year for me. It would have made my top 10.

JSBE

boroff89 wrote:

I actually love the new Foo Fighters album. In fact, it is the first Foo Fighters album I have ever loved. Biggest surprise of the year for me. It would have made my top 10.

you never liked their debut or the colour and the shape? interesting. it is weird that two people can like the same (insert number here) bands/albums with such passion and then feel the total opposite about another band/album. (and if you notice, i didn't say the album sucked with a capital S, but that it just didn't do anything for me).

boroff89

JSBE wrote:

you never liked their debut or the colour and the shape? interesting. it is weird that two people can like the same (insert number here) bands/albums with such passion and then feel the total opposite about another band/album. (and if you notice, i didn't say the album sucked with a capital S, but that it just didn't do anything for me).

I liked songs off of their first two but not the whole albums. I love the new one all the way through. It's a perfect mix of their rocking stuff and their mellow stuff.

And yeah, it's amazing how music reaches people differently, even when they have mostly similar musical tastes.

facepollution

boroff89 wrote:

I liked songs off of their first two but not the whole albums. I love the new one all the way through. It's a perfect mix of their rocking stuff and their mello stuff.

And yeah, it's amazing how music reaches people differently, even when they have mostly similar musical tastes.

I feel exactly the same about the new Foos album. I was expecting 'more of the same' from them, but I genuinely feel they've finally delivered their best album, it's damn near perfect.

xSmackSoundx

boroff89 wrote:

As you can see, the albums in the top 15 all received high ratings from critics as well. The album that received the most votes that was destroyed by critics was Smashing Pumkins' Zeitgeist (Metacritic score: 59). Honestly, I was worried that would be the album receiving a ton votes and pissing me off. It did not place in the top 15, but still, the 8 votes it got were 8 too many. What a colossal piece of garbage.

Instead, it was Queens of the Stone Age that shocked me in our poll. I love Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies, but Era Vulgaris, to me, is a terribly weak effort. I have given it several listens, and not one song grabs me.

Many will argue that The National's album should have been higher, and I agree (as do the critics). It really is a great album, and if you haven't heard it, give it a try.

The same goes for all of the albums that made the top 15. If you haven't heard them, find a way to hear them. I would hope that this poll is a way for people to discover new music. Anyway, let the discussion begin.

Just wondering... what exactly don't you like about Zeitgeist... could you explain that a little?

pjoasisrule

Very predictable list

itsevobaby

pjoasisrule wrote:

Very predictable list

the masses have spoken

mrwalkerb

xSmackSoundx wrote:

Just wondering... what exactly don't you like about Zeitgeist... could you explain that a little?

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=250334

I cut and pasted this review a few months ago, this is why it sucks

boroff89

mrwalkerb wrote:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=250334

I cut and pasted this review a few months ago, this is why it sucks

I'd also add to it this bit from Filter's review:

. . .Beyond hypothetical questions of Matrix-like proportions, one has to ask if this is even really the return of the Pumpkins. Version 3.0 is merely Billy and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, because, sadly, original guitarist James Iha and bassist D’Arcy Wretzky are nowhere to be found (replacement bassist Melissa Auf der Maur is AWOL, too). Also gone are the dreamy, stoner landscapes of Gish, the fine-tuned extravagance of Siamese Dream and the sprawling ambition of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, replaced by the simple, bludgeoning sound of a megalomaniac, his guitar and his drummer. This is Smashing Pumpkins in name alone.

Opening with the pounding gloom of “Doomsday Clock,” Zeitgeist sets its dulled and repetitive tone from the get-go. Sure, it rocks, but it’s Big Dumb Rock in the worst possible way. The lead single, “Tarantula,” courts modern rock radio on such a base level that it’s hard to believe that this is the same group that once opened the MTV Music Awards by performing “Tonight, Tonight” with a symphony orchestra. Corgan’s deft ear for a melody has slithered off into the ether (there’s nothing as catchy as “Cherub Rock” or “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” here) and the choruses wouldn’t be worthy of a My Chemical Romance B-side. Though there are a few bright moments here—the jubilant, Zwan-esque “That’s the Way” and the anthemic mantra “Bring the Light”—Zeitgeist is mostly a grinding, straightforward affair that demonstrates none of the innovation and vision of the band’s previous efforts. Though it was produced by both Roy Thomas Baker (Queen, the Cars) and Terry Date (Pantera, Rob Zombie), it would seem that Date’s sonic aesthetic won over for the most part, though the appropriately-titled parting shot, “Pomp and Circumstance,” harkens back to the Mellon Collie glory days of strings and things.

Ultimately, Zeitgeist just sounds like a man trying to cash in on a legacy, because this LP would tank if it was merely Billy’s second solo outing (remember how well his first one did?). It’s just sad that we waited this long for something this disappointing. We’d gladly wait another seven years, seven days and seven hours for an album that lived up to the true potential of the Smashing Pumpkins.

JSBE

JSBE wrote:

i didn't think zeitgeist was garbage, but i took it for what it was - a billy cash grab job using the smashing pumpkins name.

yes, i'm quoting myself here.

i pretty much summed up the two reviews that people posted - and i never read either review until just now.

pjl44

Where's the metal???? You damn kids and your indie rock!

South of Seattle

boroff89 wrote:

Instead, it was Queens of the Stone Age that shocked me in our poll. I love Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies, but Era Vulgaris, to me, is a terribly weak effort. I have given it several listens, and not one song grabs me.

I didn't have a lot of high hopes coming into Era Vulgaris, since LTP was a let down for me. But I love the guitar on EV, they've gone back to the crunchy robot riffs which is what initially got me into QOTSA years ago.

How can ya not like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwCaKXrW_g0&feature=related

boroff89

South of Seattle wrote:

I didn't have a lot of high hopes coming into Era Vulgaris, since LTP was a let down for me. But I love the guitar on EV, they've gone back to the crunchy robot riffs which is what initially got me into QOTSA years ago.

How can ya not like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwCaKXrW_g0&feature=related

I actually completely hated that. It was hideous. And I don't like the crunchy robotic riffs. I liked LTP quite a bit. Someone's In the Wolf is probably my favorite QOTSA song.

South of Seattle

boroff89 wrote:

I actually completely hated that. It was hideous. And I don't like the crunchy robotic riffs. I liked LTP quite a bit. Someone's In the Wolf is probably my favorite QOTSA song.

Interesting, because SFTD was full of Crunchy Robotic riffs just like that.

xSmackSoundx

mrwalkerb wrote:

http://forums.pearljam.com/showthread.php?t=250334

I cut and pasted this review a few months ago, this is why it sucks

Meh... I don't judge my music by the people who are or aren't in the band and senseless biases... or who they once were... I judge my music by what it sounds like (good lyrics help too!) and IMO this record sounds very good... I can't understand how anyone can not like Tarantula, 7 shades of black, or Doomsday clock... its just so catchy... but maybe its just me.

Strangest Tribe

Fuck yeah

Band of Horses top 10

intodeep

Thanks for counting everything up and getting it all together. Pretty predictable but what is to be expected.

I like most of the albums in the top 15.

boroff89

I am shocked there weren't more votes for Soulsavers. I think it only got one vote. I love that album.