Since we're all getting into year-end summary mode, I thought I'd ask what older albums (at least 10 years or more, but I won't be strict) you have listened to in the last year that are very likely to make your all-time 100 albums.

My two candidates are Beach Boys Surf's Up and Zombie's Oddyssey and Oracle. Unlike much pitch-perfect harmony pop that nonetheless can sometimes sound dated, overplayed, or over-canonized, these two offer stylistic breath and interesting nuance accompanied with the same euphoric multi-layered harmony breakdowns. These breakdown moments occured in many music through the sixties and early seventies, and I think the most pure examples of this are of course the Beach Boys singles, the bombastic finale of “Happy Together” by the Turtles, and in stuff by The Association (you all know about them, right?) But if not handed delicately, the harmonies can become overused and make even the best of those songs disjointed.

I don’t mean to lump both of these albums together, but I think they will last a while on my CD player because they use vocals perfectly. Odyssey in particular seems to have a perfect song for every mood, even though I think the sequencing of a song about a soldier in World War I right before a silly tune about the different couples the band knows is a little inappropriate.

The resignation across Surf’s Up is also pretty moving. You can feel the band knowing they are capable of making beautiful music but having trouble reconciling their creativity with their world-weariness.

I’ve caught up with a lot of older records over the past year, but these two have something extra special.

twinkle twinkle little star... basically this DIY-album from the early 1970's was meant to be blown far into oblivion if this rather unexpected re-issue had not stumbled into last year's margin notes... and months later finally into my heart. #37 that is..

For me that's Purple Rain. I didn't have it in my original list of the top 100 but after I stumbled across it and decided to listen to it (I had before, but kinda forgot about it), I just HAD to include it. Now it's been climbing almost every time I look over my list. Fantastic album.

Well, there is one album that could potentially make it soon. It's the debut album from Neu! (same title) from 1972. The album opener Hallogallo is just brilliant and most certainly in my favorite 100 songs ever.

I only know the album for about 1.5 years now and it sounds better than any Kraftwerk album, and I like those too (the band members left Kraftwerk in early stadium, 1971).

The album was recorded in only 4 days in late 1971. That's amazing, considering it definitely does not sound like "Beep Beep Boop Whirrr Buzzz Bleep Bloop Beep Bop Whirr Buzz Buzz Beep Boop"!

Well at least 10 of my top 100 would be ones I've got in the last year - I've only been buying albums for 3 or 4 years so I've still got so many classics to catch up on...Kid A,Funeral,Disintegration are ones that come to mind