The polling station is officially open for the 2007/08 AM Forum Top 100 Albums Poll.

You've got a list of your 100 favorite albums of all time? Of course you do. Send it over (preferably in an Excel file) to me at: 2008AMAlbumPoll@gmail.com . I'll take all the lists, run 'em through my C64 and after a few days, a couple hundred keystrokes and an obscene amount of coffee, I’ll have a list of the 100 greatest albums - as chosen by this forum – which I will then reveal here in early January.

The formula that will be used is: score = 100*(1+20)/(position+20). To break it down into hard data, your #1 album is worth 100.00 points, #2 = 95.45…

#3 = 91.30
#4 = 87.50
#5 = 84.00
#6 = 80.77
#7 = 77.78
#8 = 75.00
#9 = 72.41
#10 = 70.00
.
.
.
#91 = 18.92
#92 = 18.75
#93 = 18.58
#94 = 18.42
#95 = 18.26
#96 = 18.10
#97 = 17.95
#98 = 17.80
#99 = 17.65
#100 = 17.50

***The deadline for submissions is 11:59:59PM MST, December 31, 2007.***

Please keep in mind: greatest hits, "best ofs", singles/b-sides compilations, etc. are NOT eligible for inclusion in this poll (sticking to AM rules here.)

As already mentioned, the poll results will be posted here at the beginning of January (in about, oh, 780 hours from now.) Individual lists will be available for public perusal on the forum shortly after the top 100 list is posted.

See you back here next year. Until then, I leave you with this...

“In essence, good art is merely what we say it is. In the realm of the abstract, general consensus is the closest we come to objective truth.”
- New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman

Nice quote, and my list is sent!

Can't wait! Just a couple questions- are you accepting lists of sizes other than 100? I've got 200 primed and ready to go.

Also, it might be interesting to see the albums that finish below the top 100 as well.

One more idea- I'm thinking of asking voters to submit quotes for the songs they rank in their top 10/20. It would make for an interesting read to peruse through the list with comments! That would take a great deal of effort on your part (and for those submitting lists), but it would enrich the list a great deal, in my opinion.

Well announced, Anthony!

I have a list ready, but I want to relisten and maybe reshuffle before sending. What better occupation can you think of during Christmas time?

Agree with Moonbeam, a "bubbling under" section in your reporting in January would be much appreciated as well.

I like the reporting format, Henrik is using for the 90's poll. I know that's gonna be a lot of work (and extra coffees), but would be excellent if you, Anthony and Moonbeam, could do it in a similar way.

Including comments / quotes for the higher positions sounds like a good idea as well.

Hm.. I'd have to resend my list then. (Don't have any comments, yet)

Hmmm.... here's what I'm thinking:

Comments - not required, but definitely welcome.

Lists - can we stick to lists of 100? That size will still result in a "bubbling under" section, and will reduce (probably significantly) the amount of work involved if I'm going to be reporting the results in the way Henrik has chosen to do with the 90s poll. Lists of 100+ can still be sent (and will be posted in Jan.), but I think I'll only use the first 100 in the calculations. Is that ok?

Anthony, do you want to make a template in excel and/or google docs? It might make your job a little easier if everything comes back the same way.

Slush - I was going to do that originally, but I'm not really concerned about the format the lists arrive in. As long as there's indication of rank, artist and album in each person's list, I'm a happy camper. (A year for each album is appreciated, but definitely not a requirement.)

I'm going to enter my list near the end of the month. My Top 100 is always changing.

My list isn't ready, but I'll definitely send one.

I'll probably only have 40 or 50 listed. I just barely *bought* 100 albums, much less like 100 albums.

Fugazi's "13 Songs" Eligible? I know this was discussed before somewhere.

"Fugazi's "13 Songs" Eligible? I know this was discussed before somewhere"

I would like to know this as well.

AMG has it listed as a compilation (in the Fugazi bio), but it's ranked in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". More importantly perhaps, this site has it listed as an album - and that's good enough for me.

I guess that would make it eligible. But if anyone has any objections...

As far as comments on each entry go I don't think I would be that motivated to write comments because there's a good chance most of them won't show up on the list.

I just want to throw out the idea of keeping a thread open for us to write medium length essays on our favorite albums. None of us are regular music critics but I think when it comes to our personal top 10 albums or songs of all time we would have some very interesting and eloquent stories to tell.

The inspiration for this suggestion is Moonbeam's Best Album of 2007 thread and his excellent essay on Sound of Silver. When the year's over I promise I'll try to write something nice about my favorite album of the year!

I find it really hard to make comments on albums and songs anyway...

Thanks for the compliments, Jonah! Writing an album review forces me to put everything in context and deeply analyze my feelings, which proves to be a great exercise! I'd love to hear your thoughts on your favorite 2007 album, no matter which thread they appear in!

I have another request
Is this album eligible ?
It's a Leadbelly album Amg listed as a compilation, but it was issued as an album in 1956. Read the review and tell me
It's one of my favorite records, and I doubt anybody will list it anyway
So if you count it out, I'll be disappointed but will put the songs in the songs list

I used to post here and although I no longer do I check things out occasionally. My question is, can I vote?

I wasn't around when you posted here, and hosted the top 100 albums of 05, but I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say: Of course!

Hi Jacek. Of course you can contribute a list; heck, it's the least I can do. After all, I am using your previous poll as a template for this one (nice work, by the way. I'll try to do it justice.)

nicolas - all the sources I've checked list your Leadbelly disc as a "compilation", which unfortunately would make it ineligible. It hurts, I know. Don't hate me.

Is The Beta Band - The Three EP's eligible ?

Any record on AM is eligible, so yes.

I'm sad of course but not surprised. It is true that this record (especially with this misfit name) is not technically speaking an album. I've been listening to it and others (like the Robert Johnson sessions) like any other album of my collection. I'm probably the only one in this situation
The album list just won't be representative of my musical tastes, but I'll make up for it in the songs and artists list.
No hard feelings !

There's some Robert Johnson, Guthrie and Leadbelly stuff I really like, but that's mainly compilations as well. None of their songs really stand out to me, so they probably won't be in my songslist, but some of those compilations are really really good.

Actually, nicolas, I'm in the same boat - I removed both Leadbelly and Robert Johnson from my list as well. It's painful.

Ok, I just had a brainfart. At some point we should do an Desert Island Discs poll, AM style! Essentially, each of us post a list of our eight favorite pieces of recorded music - anything goes. And like the show, everyone posts their favorite book and the one luxury item they would take.

Could be fun.

Anthony, Neoptolemos, thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated. That's how things are, older generations pass away and are replaced by young blood. I think now only Moonbeam and Honorio are left from "my generation" of posters. Although, when I think about it Moonbeam was here long before then. Moonbeam is ancient.

It's only the 5th, but the lists they are a-flowin'. I wanted to give a little update...

The top 10 (hell, top 30!) is looking delicious - there are six different decades represented in the top 10 alone. And I'm really pleased to see the album ranked #7 high up on the list; it's something of a lost gem.

Oh my, I've said too much.

How many lists do you have ?

A dozen.

Okay okay. A half dozen.

ALRIGHT! Just one! And it's my own. Is that what you want to hear?!?!

I was just asking...

Awww, nicolas - I'm just playin' wit cha.

Let's just say there are enough lists to see trends emerge...

Try to resist giving any hints. I want to be suprised. I'm intrigued by the lost gem. Eventually all the occasional bashing of the 'greatest album' canon (OK Computer, 5 Beatles albums) could take its toll, and a new standard classic should emerge.

Ok. Mum's the word until early January.

F$%#. I'm terrible at keeping secrets!

I started looking at this tonight. I have 34 albums to cut from the preliminary list to get to 100.

"I'll take all the lists, run 'em through my C64..."

Haven't got around to buying a new computer in the last oh I don't know... 25 years? Seriously though, is the Commodore 64 good for statistical analysis or are you just joking around?

You’d be surprised, John - the Commodore 64 is great for many things. Sure, it’s mostly known for its high-quality 3D-rendering RPG games, but most people don’t know that it supports a really great spreadsheet application (in GEOS), and its Internet functionality is second to none. I was thinking about upgrading, but I just don't need anything better at this point; 64KB is enough hard drive space for me.

P.S. Looking forward to receiving your list, and schleuse's, and everybody else who hasn't sent one yet. There's still plenty of time for agonizing, but complete satisfaction is an impossible goal. Sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet and hit SEND.

P.P.S. The lists that I have received so far are excellent. Lots of variety!

Sorry Anthony but Im gonna keep you waiting
I'm a perfectionist, which means I'll be the last to send my list
I want to hear as many records as possible, and I don't add a record to the list if I haven't listened to it before.
So when everybody's done,I'll send my list.

Hey, Jacek is back! Great! We'll have some top-notch anything-but-mainstream input

You probably won't get mine til the 30th or 31st. I update my album list constantly based on what I've been listening to whenever I update my iPod/iTunes. Plus, I want to give some time for some 2007 albums to climb onto the list (only one has made it so far, although there are now 6 potentials for the whole year).

Incidentally, Anthony, I just love that thing about computers. I had to swap my 9 years old laptop for a newer model recently, and I thought **I** was being conservative, clinging to the old Windows 95 thing. My sincere respect for getting by on 64KB -- I must be using the wrong word procesor

He's kidding, I hope. Can you even hook C64's up to the net?

Got me there, Neo, I'm too gullible. But he sounded convincing, didn't he?

Well, knowing that he sent Excel files to Henrik and that a C64 only has VisiCalc and the likes, and no Office..

Awright, I'm not only naive, but computer ignorant into the bargain

I thought you were joking, but I had some roommates in college that swore by a couple old computers for doing certain programming so I had to check.

Anthony - a stupid question: Once we send it,is it locked in? (Just hoping I don't send it and then think 'Nooo I shouldn't have had that shit on there')

Not a stupid question, Midaso. In fact, I figured it was only a matter of time before someone asked it.

The way I look at it is this: if you (or anyone else) submit a list and subsequently realize that a slight adjustment needs to be made, I'm willing to make the requested change(s). No problem. I see no reason to be a dick about it - after all, this is supposed to be fun little poll.

Now, do I want this to turn into a trend? Not really. I would hope that everyone is pleased enough with their list prior to sending it so that no changes are necessary. But like I alluded to in an earlier post, I'm not sure if anyone can be 100% satisfied with their list, so I completely understand if a tweak needs to be made (last time I checked, these lists aren't chiseled out of stone tablets.)

Keep in mind, the voting window is still open for another 24 days. With the holidays approaching, realistically, the number is probably lower than that, but there's still a significant amount of time remaining. Before you send your list, just make sure to give it a good "once over" - cross the t's and dot the lower-case j's. If it turns out that Album A should be ranked a little higher than Album B (and this is after you've hit the Send button,) worry not, Anthony will make it all better.

Hi, Snusmumrik. I think you might be disappointed, my list hasn't changed much since 2005 and it wasn't very non-mainstream back then. I mean, indie-rock is considered pretty mainstream nowadays, isn't it?

Anthony, is there any specific way the lists should be formatted before we send them to you? Like, artist name first, then album or vice versa etc. etc. And word file or excel or something else? Thanks.

Jacek – I’d prefer the lists be sent in Excel (or via Google spreadsheet), but I’m not picky about the format. From the lists I’ve received thus far, the trend seems to be RANK, ARTIST, ALBUM, YEAR (a separate column for each.) The year is not a requirement, but definitely appreciated.

I'm not really concerned about the format the lists arrive in. As long as there's indication of rank, artist and album in each person's list, I'm a happy camper. (A year for each album is appreciated, but definitely not a requirement.) - Anthony

I personally submitted a list with artist in column A, song/album in column B and year in column C. Optional comments in column D.

In Excel, that is.

Whoops, Anthony beat me to it.

Wow, I just went through my collection and picked titles that I thought might be good for it and after just one run through I ended up with exactly 100!

Nice work jonmarck. I was wondering if you'd send a list; guess you are!

Well, Jacek, I probably define mainstream too narrowly, I just remembered some delightfully scandalized yelps of disapprovement from you when yet another American magazine published a list with 7 Rolling Stones albums on it

How do you guys make your lists ?
Personnally I've been listening to almost 300 albums since last August (some of them twice or even three times)and gave them points based on
- a song-to-song basis : every song gets a mark (from 1 to 5) and you can calculate a general rate. The mark is not only for the song in itself, but for the way it fits in the whole album
- bonuses for concept albums or albums that have such a personality that the whole is more than the sum of its parts
- bonuses for excellent songs (those which get 5)


Then I look at the list and correct it, asking myself "what album should I take on a desert island, this one or that one"
so the points do not dictate the list, they help me to make a first list. Then I correct it the way I want.
my criterias are only pleasure; I don't give a damn if a record is important or influent, it just got to please me.
The list reflects my tastes I think, without cheating : i'm not trying to make a beautiful list well balanced between decades, styles, mainstream and underground, popular anthems and hidden gems.
Do you like this teaser ?
Online the 31st of December (or a little bit sooner)
And you ?
What are your methods ? Your criterias ? How do you see these lists ?

I'm with you on everything but the points. I basically picked a whole bunch of albums I thought were best and threw them into my script and kept comparing them until I had a pretty decent top 100. Then I went through the list and checked if for example #24 was better than #23. After that was done I listened to some more music and replaced a few albums at the bottom of the list.

For songs I did pretty much the same except I picked a lot more songs.

This is the first time I've tried to put together a top 100 albums list, and it's bloody difficult-the list has changed markedly five times in the course of a week. Nicolas is spot on in saying personal enjoyment should be the only criterion- the influence and cultural importance of an album should be completely academic when compiling lists.
My (current) list looks like a strange mix of established all time classics, indie milestones and some generally overlooked stuff. However, none of them are token inclusions. As a teenager I collected a lot of critics lists perennials-Beatles,Dylan,VU etc.-some of which lived up to the hype, some of which were disappointing. My musical tastes have changed over the years, but a lot of these AM favourites are still close to my heart.
Sorry to ramble on, nicolas-the only technique is the old desert island discs thing-what album would you take first,second, third...all the way down to 100.
Hope you find it easier than I'm doing

I'm just going by personal taste with the albums I always go back to. That's going to limit the amount of new albums I rank but I figure that's better anyway. The songs poll can make up for that. I think I'm pretty much finished up but I'm going to give it a few days and see what I think about it.

A couple of years ago, I decided to keep track of all my owned albums on a spreadsheet. I accompanied each entry with a rating on 1-10 scale with one decimal place, similar to Pitchfork's system.

After getting the top 100 scores I looked at the list again and moved albums around, ignoring the scores I had originally made but instead seeing which albums should be higher on the list compared to another.

Over the last 2-3 years I haven't updated the spreadsheet but when I get a sense that an album has a little something special I look at my top 100 and see where it will fit in. Of course I also demote albums depending on whether I still have an actual desire to listen to a record. Rateyourmusic is very helpful in updating your list this way.

Four of my albums are perfect 10.0, in case you're curious.

Snusmumrik, there are so many great albums out there, representing different styles and time periods, that it just makes me angry when RS or some other magazine tells me all the best albums were made by a small cabal of artists this particular publication "endorses". I don't mind people loving the Stones, but if you put 6 Stones or Beatles albums on your list, but don't have space for a single one by Sonic Youth or Yes or Brian Eno than something's very wrong.

Maybe it's my definition of mainstream that is too wide. I would say nowadays bands like Pixies or Talking Heads are almost mainstream, but it might be that just my perception of music is blunted. I mean, when I started listening to rock music I thought King Crimson was wayyyyyy out there. And nowadays Captain Beefheart almost seems listener-friendly.

Wow, some of you guys make quite a science of it. I'm impressed. I'm only beginning the list, but the procdure for me will probably be like in the 2005 poll:
- leaf through the collection and pick out favourites
- write them down and divide then into 3 or four categories, ranging from "simply perfect" to just "very, very good"
- sort each group further till it looks like a list
- and, as Neo said, go through the preliminary list and see if anyplace no. 24 is really better than no. 23

At least it makes for some enjoyable listening, although the actual grading can be as painful as grading student papers (yeah, I teach, among other things)

I like that, Jacek! I really, really like some of Beefheart, but my nearest and dearest are not gonna agree that Trout Mask Replica is easy listening. You rule!

I’m with Snusmumrik. Wow. You guys are really scientific when it comes to making your lists (not that there’s anything wrong with that.) I can appreciate the method, but it doesn’t really work for me - I find it really difficult trying to quantify my preference for certain songs and/or albums over others. How can I really assign numeric values to my favorite pieces of art?

That said, here’s my very UN-scientific method:

I use the hypothetical desert-island scenario, except, in my case it’s a prison (a minimum-security resort that permits each inmate a certain number of discs in their cell.) My sentence is 21 years – I was secretly extorting funds from my multimillion dollar dot-com venture and depositing the money in an offshore holdings account under the name of a numbered corporation. To make matters worse, rumors of my illicit activity began to surface within middle-management, and through my mob connections I hired associates to make certain people within the organization “disappear.” In any event, I was caught, sentenced and jailed. Each year, the prison allows me five albums; in the first year of my sentence I get five; in the second year, another five, and so on… until I have 100 in my cell.

As you can imagine, this kind of limitation necessitates focused choices, and in my case it resulted in a list that I’m quite happy with.

So, the moral of the story is two-fold: 1) white-collar crime does not pay, and 2) if you are struggling to make your list, feel free to use my tried-and-true method.

Well, the reason I did this list with points was that I had stopped listening to pop/rock for the last 5-6 years.
The latest top 100 I had was exactly 10 years old and essentially consisted of '70s rock with a few exceptions.
So I really wanted to listen to each and every album cause ther's sometimes a big gap between what you think/remember of an album and how it really sounds when you go through it 10 years after, in both ways.
For instance I used to rank "Layla" by Derek at 28, and now it's something like 150.
If I had made a list by memory only it would have been much higher than that -unproperly.

Wow. You guys are really spending a lot of thought on this. I thought I overdid by putting three hours into my list. Here's why I think this isn't worth agonizing over: 1) None of us know even half as much as we should about even ONE year, let alone 5 decades, in order to get a reasonably accurate representation of our tastes. 2) We're all going to change our minds in the next few months anyways. Heck, I don't expect mine will last till January!
It's still a fun exercise but I won't ever be able to take it too seriously.

I unintentionally managed to spread my selections pretty evenly over the decades. The 60's and 80's were particularly low at only about a dozen albums each, and the 60's was represented almost entirely by Dylan and Beatles albums. I surprised myself by including 21 albums from the new millenium. That's strange considering how often I complain about how terrible the last decade has been for music.

When you think about it, if it weren't for the Beatles and Dylan, the 60's wouldn't be all that appealing albums-wise. There would still be some great albums for sure. But, if you take those two out of the mix the decade looks a lot different. Heck, take one of those out of the mix and the decade's musical superiority takes a big hit. I think that needs to be considered when comparing the 60's to any other decade.

2) We're all going to change our minds in the next few months anyways.
I don't think so.
maybe it's age, maybe it's got nothing to do with it, but I have the feeling I know what I like
70% of my 1997 top 10 are still in my 2007 top 10 (and the first album from the last millenium is currently nb. 32.
'40s : 1 album
'50s : 6
'60s : 21
'70s : 32
'80s : 11
'90s : 25
'00s : 4
(During 2001-07, I was discovering pre-65 music so I missed these years)

Well, now I think I've said enough
I'm not better than Anthony at keeping secrets

I don't know what to do with #1 Record/Radio City. I've always known that as one album but it's not. This is a post to inform people that they are two seperate albums and to express my dismay at having to figure out how to rank them.

P.S.- I've always known they were two seperate albums...I'm just saying I've always listened to as one album so it's kind of become one single (or maybe double?) album to me.

Interesting to see how the lists are coming together. I'm an avid listmaker and have various methods depending on the scenario. Sometimes, I rank items based on year first, then I join neighboring years until the whole thing coalesces into a whole. In other instances, I'll rank items based on artist first, and then combine artists. Lately, I've been also employing a rating system out of 100 and arranging the items that way, checking for any inconsistencies.

Yeah, #1 Record/Radio City have been combined on CD for as long as I can remember, a la SurferRosa/Come on Pilgrim. To my mind Radio City is the better of the two.
On a similar theme, I'm surprised The Beta Band's 3EPs is considered eligible for this poll. I suppose its on AM due to critical acclaim recieved at the time, but it isn't a studio album by any stretch of the imagination.

I have the same problem with the twofer of the Beach Boys "Sunflower/Surf's up". I love these 2 albums but for me it's always been ONE record that I listen every time from start to finish. It's hard to separate the 2 albums and say which one is the best.

100!?! damn, thats going to be hardest list I would ever do, well lets see what I can do.

Oh and I do have one question, does Movie soundtracks count?

I guess that if they are original soundtrack it counts, if it is made by songs from various albums, it does not.

I've been slowly working on my all time top 100 list for a while in my free time.

I've finished everything except sorting out 1-3 and 5-8. Since it's only a matter of a few points in this poll I decided to just be arbitrary with those, and replace the bottom 7 with albums I didn't buy until after I started that I think should be on the list.

Ah yes #1 Record/Radio City...Very hard to seperate them - I always just put the whole 24 songs on random...

I'm bringing this thread back to the top for the sake of anyone who may have missed it.

Also, for those of you who are aware of the poll (and those who have already cast a ballot,) here's a snapshot of the percentage of votes each decade ('50s through '00s) has received, thus far:

27.56
21.44
17.22
16.67
16.44
0.67

Of course, I'm not going to reveal which percentage goes with which decade. All I'm going to say is that any guesses you have are most likely incorrect.

Anthony- here are a few eligibility questions:

The Cure- Japanese Whispers
Prince- Crystal Ball
Soundtrack- Edward Scissorhands

I'm pretty sure the 0.67 belongs to the 50's

Oh geez, Moonbeam - I don't know. There seems to be this gray area (is it an album? is it not?) from which albums keep popping up. I think it was decided that compilations of any sort would be ineligble, but even then, there seems to be varying degrees of what constitutes a "compilation." I really don't want to allow anything that's even questionable, for fear of the whole "slippery slope" thing. But on the other hand, I'd hate to deny anyone from including their favorite pieces of music.

Conclusion? I defer this matter to other AM'ers.

No compilations at all is my vote. If the majority of an album was released prior to the album in question's release it shouldn't count. Even if it was on an EP or a single. If we include Beta Band's 3 EP's don't we have to include Beatles Past Masters 1+2. I don't think either of those belong and neither does the Beta Band.

The 3 EPs is, as the title suggests, a compilation. It is certainly a classic collection of material, but I can't see how it would be any more elligable for this poll than Abba Gold or Queen's Greatest Hits.

The problem is, Three EPs is generally considered an album, as evidenced by this website. It's the other examples that people keep bringing up that I don't have a frame of reference for.

I don't see why the soundtrack to Edward Scissorhands wouldn't be eligible. It's all original anyways.

If one of my albums is ineligible, does that make my whole list ineligible for calculations. Sorry but im new to this whole acclaimed music thing.

Original soundtracks are fine (the operative word being, of course, original.)

It's these EP and previously unreleased song compilations that are proving to be a nuisance. The general feeling I'm getting is that they shouldn't be eligible - no ifs, ands or buts.

The Edward Scissorhands soundtrack unfortunately has an old Tom Jones song included, which is why I felt I needed to ask.

As for the other items I mentioned, Japanese Whispers was released in 1983 after the singles "Let's Go to Bed", "The Walk" and "The Love Cats". It includes them plus most of their B-sides. None of the songs were available on an album prior to being released on Japanese Whispers.

Crystal Ball is a collection of previously unreleased outtakes and remixes spanning from 1983 to 1996.

I think the Edward Scissorhands soundtrack and Japanese Whispers are ineligible, but I don't have a problem with Crystal Ball (if indeed those outtakes were never released previously, in any form.)

Fair enough! Honestly, that Tom Jones song is reason enough not to include Edward Scissorhands! The other tracks all blend together so well, and then here comes Tom Jones schmaltzing his way into the scene, pissing all over the mood!

It was actually very easy for me to come up with a top 100,but now the hard part is to put it in order...

I really think we ought to use the AM list for eligibility, meaning 3 EPs is in. I've been using the AM list as a guide for all my lists on this forum, and I think if critics deem that album a complete album, then we should too. How difficult was it to find the original EPs, anyway, especially in the States?

It's a very blurry line, though, but there are just a handful of albums whose status is confusing. Of my top 100, I had to admit 2 albums... the Jackie Brown soundtrack (clearly ineligible) and Buzzcocks Singles Going Steady. SGS was actually ranked high in Pitchfork's 70s albums list, but it is a compilation, albeit probably the easiest way for any current album consumer to find those particular songs.

Okay, I'm here to throw a further wrench in the soundtrack discussion:

Is a soundtrack that mixes old, previously-released songs with original songs (e.g., Velvet Goldmine) eligible? I know O Brother Where Art Thou is on the AM list, but that only had two unoriginal tracks on it. What about when the mix is closer to 50/50?

There seem to be some confusion around the inclusion criteria for albums at AM, but I try to follow a simple rule, namely that the songs (or the version of songs) are brand new or have been released on singles or EPs after the artist's last album release.

...namely that the songs...

I probably need to clarify this with

"...namely that the majority of songs..."

Thanks Henrik.

Frankly, this entire discussion has gone from necessary to laughable to just plain silly now. I really thought we had all come to an agreement (prior to the beginning of this month) about what is and isn’t acceptable, but judging from that fact that we’re still trying to establish eligibility rules, I guess we didn’t.

I suppose it’s partly (mostly?) my fault. I really didn’t think the eligibility aspect of this poll would be as big of an issue as it has become; the reason being, I looked at my list and only had to replace two items – both pre-album era artists (Leadbelly and R. Johnson.) I assumed – incorrectly - that everyone else’s list would be similar in that regard. But this whole issue of EPs, compilations, soundtracks, etc. reared its ugly head – again – and it’s made me realize that everyone’s favorite pieces of music come in a variety of different forms.

The thing is, from the beginning when this idea was first presented, this has been an ALBUM poll – not a “Favorite Pieces of Music” poll. Now, it seems that everybody has a different definition of what an ”album” is, and herein is where the problem lies. I think what everybody needs to remember is this: a collection of music on a CD, cassette, LP, 8-track does not necessarily constitute an album. In other words, just because you can pop it into your car stereo doesn’t mean you’re playing an album.

Yes, “album” does have a broad and varying definition, but for all intents and purposes we should limit it to something like this (to elaborate on Henrik’s post):

1. a cohesive body of work
2. released by a single band/artist
3. comprising a group of songs recorded more or less during the same period of time
4. comprising a group of songs that have not been previously released
5. comprising songs released at the same time (ie. on the same day)

Of the several lists received thus far, there has only been a single case of an ineligible album, which I’m quite pleased at. For those who have yet to send a list, if you’re digging into Joe Schmo’s back catalogue of b-sides/unreleased outtakes/cutting-room floor scraps, you’re really overthinking this entire thing. Again, this is an album poll – please keep the above definition in mind.

Anthony -

I don't deny that my contributions and questions to the forum can be plain silly -- sometimes purposely so, oftentimes inadvertently. This time I was being serious, and I'm sorry for rehashing already established ground. I know that can be annoying on forums such as this, and all I can say in defense is I must have missed some of the past discussions on nuances of eligibility. I happen to like the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack as a cohesive whole, with the new pastiche tracks up against cover versions up against originals from the 70's. I recognize now it does not fit the criteria.

Okay, Anthony, hurt feelings are now purged and forgotten. And that leaves me with nothing but gratitude to you for taking charge on the album poll.

In my last I meant that I ommitted the Jackie Brown soundtrack and Buzzcocks. Just clearing things up.