Lately I did some research for the 1985 poll and the amount of good music was a surprise to me. Then I looked at my favourite songs and found out 1970 was very well represented. So I did some research on 1970 and came up with this list. 1970 is scarily good and this list might be a small taste of what our yearly polls will be about in the near future.


1970

Albums:

1. Neil Young – After The Goldrush
2. Nick Drake – Bryter Layter
3. Beach Boys - Sunflower
4. Velvet Underground – Loaded
5. Tim Buckley – Lorca
6. Tim Buckley – Starsailor
7. Stooges – Fun House
8. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Cosmo’s Factory
9. Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
10. Bob Dylan – New Morning


Songs:

1. Neil Young – After The Gold Rush
2. Curtis Mayfield – Move On Up
3. The Guess Who – American Woman
4. George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag
5. Nick Drake – Three Hours
6. Van der Graaf Generator – House With No Door
7. Ahmad Jamal Trio – I Love Music
8. Beach Boys – This Whole World
9. Doors – Roadhouse Blues
10. Gil Scott-Heron – The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
11. Led Zeppelin – Since I’ve Been Loving You
12. Lee Hazlewood – The Night Before
13. Nick Drake – Northern Sky
14. Simon & Garfunkel – The Only Living Boy In New York
15. Velvet Underground – Rock’n Roll
16. Nick Drake – Hazey Jane, pt. 2
17. Amon Düül II – Archangels Thunderbird
18. Beatles – You Know My Name – Look Up The Number
19. Carpenters – We’ve Only Just Begun
20. Chicago – Colour My World
21. Five Stairsteps – Ooh Child
22. Frank Zappa – Oh No
23. Isaac Hayes – Ike’s Mood
24. Nico – Janitor Of Lunacy
25. Velvet Underground – Ocean
26. Van der Graaf Generator – Killer
27. Minnie Riperton – The Fleur
28. Ananda Shankar – Raghupati
29. Matthew’s Southern Comfort – Woodstock
30. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Ramble Tamble
31. Kinks – Strangers
32. Van Morrison – Into The Mystic
33. Tim Buckley – Lorca
34. The Band – Whispering Pines
35. Frank Zappa – Peaches En Regalia
36. Flying Burrito Brothers – Farther Along
37. Llaura Nyro – Blackpatch
38. Velvet Underground – Oh! Sweet Nuthin’
39. Beach Boys – Forever
40. Derek & The Dominos – Bell Bottom Blues
41. Bob Dylan – If Not For You
42. Kris Kristofferson – Darby’s Castle
43. Tim Buckley – Song To The Siren
44. Frank Zappa – Sharleena
45. Stooges – T.V. Eye
46. Neil Young – I Believe In You
47. Wings – Maybe I’m Amazed
48. Velvet Underground – Sweet Jane
49. Derek & The Dominoes – Layla
50. Elton John – Your Song
51. Toots & The Maytals – Pressure Drop
52. Beatles – Let It Be
53. Freda Payne – Band Of Gold
54. Kinks – Lola
55. Beatles – The Long And Winding Road
56. Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky
57. Neil Young – Only Love Can Break Your Heart
58. T. Rex – Ride A White Swan
59. Elvis Presley – Kentucky Rain
60. Edison Lighthouse – Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
61. Stooges – 1970
62. David Bowie – Conversation Piece
63. Sly & The Family Stone – Everybody Is A Star
64. Beatles – One After 909
65. Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
66. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Ohio
67. Joni Mitchell – Woodstock
68. Alice Cooper – I’m Eighteen
69. Diana Ross – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
70. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Helpless
71. Lee Marvin – Wandrin’ Star
72. Jackson 5 – ABC
73. Deep Purple – Child In Time
74. Chicago 25 Or 6 To 4
75. Melanie – Lay Down
76. Elvis Presley – Inherit The Wind
77. Beach Boys – It’s About Time
78. Christie – Yellow River
79. Eric Clapton – After Midnight
80. Beach Boys – Cottonfields
81. Frank Zappa – Twenty Small Cigars
82. Frank Zappa – The Orange County Lumber Truck
83. Bobby Bloom – Montego Bay
84. Country Joe & The Fish – I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die Rag
85. Van Morrison – Domino
86. Anne Murray – Snowbird
87. Friends Of Distinction – Love Or Let Me Be Lonely
88. Tim Buckley – Moulin Rouge
89. Tim Buckley – Starsailor
90. Lee Hazlewood – Forget Marie
91. Kris Kristofferson – Sunday Morning Comin’ Down
92. Syd Barrett – Feel
93. John Phillips – Mississippi
94. Llaura Nyro – When I Was A Freeport And You Were The Main Drag
95. Bob Dylan – Time Passes Slowly
96. Flying Burrito Brothers – Man In The Fog
97. Contact – Hon Kom Över Mon
98. Neil Young – Southern Man
99. George Harrison – My Sweet Lord
100. John Lennon - Instant Karna!

Good question. According to Excel the year with the most albums in my top 250 (15) is the year with the most songs in the top 500 (20) as well and that's 1969. I'm not sure if this is actually the best year though. Most of the albums are somewhat more near the bottom of the list. I'll have to think on it.

1975

ALBUMS

1)Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks
2)Bruce Springsteen - Born to run
3)Patti Smith - Horses
4)Led Zepplin - Pysical Graffiti
5)Pink Floyd - Wish You were here
6)Neil Young - Tonight's the night
7)Bob Dylan and The Band - The Basement Tapes
8)Joni Mitchell - Hissing Fauna of summer lawns
9)Brian Eno - another Green world
10)Emmylou Harris - Pieces of the sky

1982 or 1983

2006 is second :)

1970 for me too

Probably 1967 but I like 2002 a lot as well.

Love 2006. Lots of melody and cheesy fun novelty acts.

1997 or 2000 for me

1997

Radiohead - OK Computer
Elliott Smith - Either/Or
Teenage Fanclub - Songs From Northern Britain
Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On
Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
Pavement - Brighten the Corners
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One
The Sundays - Static & Silence
Snapcase - Progression Through Unlearning
Bjork - Homogenic
Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape

2000

Radiohead - Kid A
Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
The Cure - Bloodflowers
Elliott Smith - Figure 8
Teenage Fanclub - Howdy!
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea
Deftones - White Pony
Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide

Funny, both years have great albums by Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Yo La Tengo, Teenage Fanclub, and Elliott Smith...

1956
1965
1977
1991

I guess those are the usual suspects, but there's a reason.

Ironically, my favorite decade is the 1980's.

I'm more of a "songs" than albums guy so I consulted my Excel spreadsheet with the songs I'm trying to trim down to a "favorite 1000" list.

The "analysis" tab (yeah, I'm a geek) has a pie chart splitting the songs by genre and decade.

My top 5 genres are rock (incorporating alternative),pop,country, CCM and R&B.

my top 5 decades are 1980s (26%), 1960s (22%), 1970s (21%), 1990s (14%), and 1950s (8%).

Top year is 1982 far and away (I was 12 then.) 137 of the 2716 songs come from that year.

1971, pretty easily.