Going through the AM lists, in how many years does your favorite album of the year agree with AM's choice? For me, there are only 2 years: 1967 (The Velvet Underground and Nico) and 1987 (Sign o' the Times). I was guessing it would be a small number, but I didn't realize it would be that small. So, fellow AM colleagues, what about you?

I don't have a finished personal best-of list for every year, but clicking down AM, I only find three years where I agree without a second's hesitation:

1965, "Hignhway 61 Revisited"
1970, "After the Goldrush"
1983, "Murmur"

For the rest, there are several years where I'd say "Yes, quite probably agree" (1973, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2004), and some where I haven't even heard the AM no. 1.

And then there's a year like 1975 so absurdly overloaded with genius that I want to appoint five no. 1's ...

I took the 42 year period from 1965-2006 and was shocked to see that I agreed with 17 out of 42. I won't say what years, what with the albums poll coming up, but there was only one year in the '60s and one year in the '00s that I agreed with. So in the three decades in between I agreed with half of the years. Before I started counting I thought there might be about 10 max I agreed with.

1965 (Highway 61 Revisited), 1966 (Pet Sounds), 1967 (VU & Nico), 1972 (Exile on Main St.), 1975 (Born to Run), 1979 (London Calling), 1982 (Thriller), 1992 (Automatic for the People)

That's 8. What do I win?

Hm.. seems there have been some posts meanwhile. I don't win.

Going through the lists now I want to change my list.. heh.

9!

66 - Pet Sounds
70 - After the Gold Rush
71 - What's Going On
72 - Exile on Main St.
80 - Remain in Light
82 - Thriller
83 - Murmur
86 - The Queen is Dead
92 - Automatic for the People

1940 : Woody Guthrie "Dust Bowl Ballads"
1969 : Abbey Road
1970 : After The Goldrush
1971 : What's Going On
1975 : Born To Run
1979 : London Calling
1987 : Sign O The Times
1991 : Nevermind
2001 : Is This It
2004 : Funeral

Me academic ? sometimes yes it seems (never knew the list would be so long)

3

1966 : "Pet sounds"
1997 : "OK computer"
1999 : "The soft bulletin"

So I'm ahead with 10 albums, but that won't make me change my list
For the '00s (2001 and 2004) I don't know a lot of albums so I listened to the ones in AM first, and this may change

I had a feeling there would be a lot for me: I concur with the AM list in 14 years: 1940, 1959, 1962-65, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1988, 1992, 2002 and 2004. (Although 1940 is a weird outlier and shouldn't really count.)

More alarming still, my top pick is the AM #2 in six more years!

I've got 6 albums.

'66 (Pet Sounds), '72 (Exile on Main Street), '75 (Born to Run), '78 (This Year's Model), '79 (London Calling), '83 (Murmur), '86 (The Queen is Dead), '92 (Automatic for the People), '97 (OK Computer), '01 (Is This It), '02 (Yankee Hotel Foxtrot).

That's 11...I thought I was more of an iconoclast than I am.

Sorry to break it to you nicolas, but if you check my original post, you weren't first. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, though. Now you've slipped to fourth.

Let's See:

1960: Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain
1962: Ray Charles - Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music
1963: James Brown - Live at the Apollo
1965: Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
1967: The Velvet Underground and Nico
1973: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
1976: Ramones - Ramones
1979: The Clash - London Calling
1983: REM - Murmur
1985: Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy
1986: The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
1989: The Stone Roses - s/t
1991: Nirvana - Nevermind
1992: REM - Automatic for the People
1997: Radiohead - OK Computer
2000: Radiohead - Kid A
2004: Arcade Fire - Funeral

17, wow, that's a lot more than I expected.

1969: Abbey Road
1972: Exile On Main St
1978: This Year's Model
1979: London Calling
1980: Remain In Light
1984: Purple Rain
1986: Queen is Dead
1991: Nevermind
1992: Automatic For The People
1996: Odelay
1997: OK Computer
2000: Kid A
2002: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
2003: Elephant

Wow. I did not expect that many years.

yeah that's true Rocky Raccoon
I realized that after posting (too soon as usual)

1964, 1965,1970, 1979, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1997. My #1 is usually in the top 10 though if not the top five before we get to 1990 or so.

1965 & 1999 are the lot for me.