20. Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
19. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
18. Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
17. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
16. Vampire Weekend - Contra
15. Warpaint - The Fool
14. Jónsi - Go
13. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
12. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
11. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
Certainly not a bad list so far, but I'm slightly annoyed that Joanna Newsom only ended up at #17 even though they gave her a (rare) five star review in January. She's not doing nearly well enough on the year-end lists published so far. I realise that it's maybe not the most exciting sounding album this year and therefore probably at the back of critics' minds considering its early release. But still - WTF?!
Certainly not a bad list so far, but I'm slightly annoyed that Joanna Newsom only ended up at #17 even though they gave her a (rare) five star review in January. She's not doing nearly well enough on the year-end lists published so far. I realise that it's maybe not the most exciting sounding album this year and therefore probably at the back of critics' minds considering its early release. But still - WTF?!
I think it's staff consensus. I was pretty much disappointed too, but then i realized that the people that gave the album 5 stars is still giving the album raves, the only difference is the staff, they just don't share the same feeling, it's not "taking the raves back", but the whole thing that music critics arE: bombarded by music 24/7 a year, not everyone is going to give the time that Have One on Me needs (is 2h of music for god sake, and Joanna Newsom's music). People who reviewed were amused because they gave the time to album to show its charms, it happened to me something similar, but it was because they needed to review it, so they spent a good amount of time with the disc.
An another way around example is PopMatters, they gave the album a 4 and suddenly Good Intentions Paving Company is their 18th favorite of the year and she was one of recently honorably mentioned as one of their favorite female artists of the year, maybe opening door to Have One on Me to make the list. It's all about the staff, in the deep she still is a divisive artist or seen as one, even if this is a hell of an album and her most accessible one.
1. The National - High Violet
2. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
3. Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid
4. Caribou - Swim
5. Beach House - Teen Dream
6. LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening
7. Deerhunter - Halcyon Digest
8. Foals - Total Life Forever
9. Four Tet - There Is Love In You
10. John Grant with Midlake - Queen Of Denmark
11. Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
12. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
13. Yeasayer - Odd Blood
14. Jónsi - Go
15. Warpaint - The Fool
16. Vampire Weekend - Contra
17. Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me
18. Edwyn Collins - Losing Sleep
19. Surfer Blood - Astro Coast
20. Field Music - Field Music (Measure)
21. Menomena - Mines
22. Owen Pallett - Heartland
23. Grinderman - Grinderman 2
24. Best Coast - Crazy For You
25. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty
26. Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here
27. Jaga Jazzist - One Armed Bandit
28. Bellowhead - Hedonism
29. Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill
30. Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
31. 65daysofstatic - We Were Exploding Anyway
32. Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy
33. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
34. Marnie Stern - Marnie Stern
35. The Irrepressibles - Mirror Mirror
36. Titus Andronicus - The Monitor
37. Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
38. Sleigh Bells - Treats
39. The Walkmen - Lisbon
40. Allo Darlin' - Allo Darlin'
41. These New Puritans - Hidden
42. Nedry - Condors
43. Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
44. Wild Nothing - Gemini
45. Mulatu Astatke - Mulatu Steps Ahead
46. Everything Everything - Man Alive
47. Hot Chip - One Life Stand
48. Liars - Sisterworld
49. Bryan Ferry - Olympia
50. Gold Panda - Lucky Shiner
