One small change to the rules for this block: You're now allowed to give less points than you would otherwise.

You can take away points, but you can't redistribute points. That is, you can decide 'Second place gets third place points', but you can't decide 'Take one point from the first place and give it to the second place'.

Maximum scoring is still 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6

This round there's only 21 albums for me to choose from. I'll put a list up a bit later.

01. Song Cycle. Van Dyke Parks
02. The United States Of America
03. The Belle Album. Al Green
04. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. TV On The Radio
05. Point Of Departure. Andrew Hill
06. Sunflower. The Beach Boys
07. White Chalk. PJ Harvey
08. Blondie
09. The Soft Machine
10. The Psychedelic Sounds Of. The 13th Floor Elevators

1. Blondie- Blondie
2. Björk- Medulla
3. PJ Harvey- White Chalk
4. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five- The Message
5. The Knife- Silent Shout
6. Depeche Mode- Music for the Masses
7. Justice- Cross
8. The Doors- Morrison Hotel
9. Lou Reed- Rock 'n Roll Animal
10. Sinead O'Connor- The Lion and the Cobra

1. Dandy Warhols- 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia
2. Beatles- Magical Mystery Tour
3. Beatles- Beatles For Sale
4. Harry Nilsson- Nilsson Schmilsson
5. Belle and Sebastian- Boy With the Arab Strap
6. John Lennon and Yoko Ono- Double Fantasy
7. Johnny Cash- American III Solitary Man
8. Toots and the Maytals- Funky Kingston
9. Nirvana- Bleach
10. Hold Steady- Boys and Girls in America

10 exactly!

1. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
3. The Beach Boys - Sunflower
4. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
5. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
6. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
7. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
8. TV On the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
9. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
10. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America

Just wanted to state again that this is a really fun game. It doesn't take much effort either which is a big plus right now for me!

My own ballot:

The Knife - Silent Shout
Belle And Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes
Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain
The Band - The Last Waltz
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Like Bad News
The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
Nirvana - Bleach
Steve Earle - Guitar Town

I find most of the albums I've heard in this range are 00's albums.

Then again, the more recent the album, the more likely it is to be underrated.

1. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. Eels - Beautiful Freak
3. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
4. Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
5. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
6. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
7. Happy Mondays - Bummed
8.The Beach Boys - Sunflower
9. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
10. Motorhead - Overkill

there are a few albums I would have like to listen before posting my list (Modest Mouse, Ride and the Roots for instance) but I doubt I will have time

1. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
3. Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
4. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
5. Grandmaster Flash - The Message
6. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
7. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
8. Ride - Nowhere
9. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
10. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With the Arab Strap

1. Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News
2. The Doors - Morrison Hotel
3. Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Welcome to the Pleasuredome
4. Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball
5. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
6. Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach - Painted from Memory
7. Depeche Mode - Music for the Masses
8. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap
9. Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
10. PJ Harvey - White Chalk

Honourable Mentions: Silent Shout; If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears; Magical Mystery Tour; Don't Give Up on Me; Funky Kingston

1. The Knife - Silent Shout
2. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap
3. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
4. Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports
5. PJ Harvey - White Chalk
6. Nirvana - Bleach
7. Eels - Beautiful Freak
8. Justice - Cross
9. Björk - Medulla
10. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

Only heard 15 albums. Biggest miss is probably Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) because I like much Here Come's the Warm Jets & Another Green World.
I have to get it before 1974 poll.

1. The Beach Boys, Sunflower (1970)
2. Talking Heads, Little Creatures (1985)
3. The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
4. The Beatles: Beatles for Sale (1965)
5. The Mamas and the Papas, If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966)
6. Rickie Lee Jones, Rickie Lee Jones (1979)
7. Belle and Sebastian, The Boy with the Arab Strap (1998)
8. Elvis Costello with Burt Bacharach, Painted from Memory (1998)
9. The Waterboys, Fisherman's Blues (1988)
10. Johnny Cash, American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)

1 Rubén Blades - Buscando América
2 Public Enemy - Apocalypse '91 - The Enemy Strikes Black
3 Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad
4 Rickie Lee Jones - Pirates
5 PJ Harvey - White Chalk
6 The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
7 Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up On Me
8 Dinosaur Jr. - Bug
9 Lou Reed - Rock'n'Roll Animal
10 Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers

Already 5 first place votes for Silent Shout, great !
Are we getting all pitchforky ?
One of the 18 albums I find perfect (should find a name to that group of albums...)

1. Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man
2. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
3. Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad
4. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
5. Bjork - Medulla
6. The Waterboys - Fisherman's Blues
7. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
8. Ruben Blades - Buscando América
9. Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
10. Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five - The Message

1. Common - Be
2. Belle & Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap
3. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
4. The Mamas and the Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
5. Modest Mouse - Good News for People who Like Bad News
6. The Roots - Phrenology
7. Toots & the Maytals - Funky Kingston
8. The Beatles - Beatles for Sale
9. Talking Heads - Little Creatures
10. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

1. Talk Talk, The Colour of Spring
2. The Beatles, Beatles for Sale
3. Steve Earle, Guitar Town
4. Blondie, s/t
5. The Beatles, Magical Mystery Tour
6. Billy Bragg & Wilco, Mermaid Avenue
7. XTC, Drums and Wires
8. Pearl Jam, Vitalogy
9. Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Welcome to the Pleasuredome
10. Johnny Cash, American IV

Wow...suddenly the well ran dry. I don't think any of these albums are great--they start with "very good" and after the top five I'm down to "eh, I guess I wouldn't mind hearing that again." Only one honorable mention this time: Little Creatures.

1. The Band - The Last Waltz
2. Steve Earle - Guitar Town
3. Elvis Costello/Burt Bacharach - Painted from Memory
4. Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
5. Count Basie - April in Paris
6. Muddy Waters - Hard Again
7. The Hold Steady - Boy and Girls in America
8. Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up on Me
9. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death
10. Rush - Moving Pictures

1. XTC - Drums and Wires
2. Eels - Beautiful Freak
3. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
4. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
5. Happy Mondays - Bummed
6. The Knife - Silent Shout
7. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
8. The Velvet Underground - VU
9. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
10. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands

Deliberated down from 27 to the following 10 finalists (and a couple non-scored honorable mentions for fun)

1) The Beach Boys SUNFLOWER- My favorite 70s Beach Boys album. More consistent than SURF'S UP though I love that one,too. Europeans seem to value this one more than Yanks but that's OUR loss.
2) Johnny Cash AMERICAN IV: THE MAN COMES AROUND- Possibly my favorite of the 5 American albums from Cash (the first one is the other one that ties with it off and on). I like almost every cut on it and the fact it closes with "We'll Meet Again" as a reassurance from the grave makes it fitting this was his last proper release. (I don't count 5 as his last because it was finished posthumously.)
3) The Beatles MAGICAL MYSTERY TOUR- It's not a "proper" album but I like nearly everything on it save "Blue Jay Way" and "Flying" and that counts for something.
4) The Mamas and the Papas IF YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR EYES AND EARS- An album that gives the lie to the usual critical attitude that only "rock" groups do good albums. This is most definitely a pop act...and most definitely a solid album.
5) E.L.O. OUT OF THE BLUE- A trifle bloated keeping it from being my favorite E.L.O. (That prize goes to ELDORADO) but lots of good songs here.
6) Bonnie Raitt NICK OF TIME- Her best work is her earlier stuff but this is very solid and proved Bonnie still had some good tunes left. Love the Hiatt cover on "Thing Called Love" and title track especially.
7) Rush MOVING PICTURES- Though Rush fans probably wouldn't call me a "real fan" since I don't own the full catalogue, I do have about 9 from them and this is my 2nd favorite. (after PERMANENT WAVES)
8) The Beatles BEATLES FOR SALE- Other than compilations and the mostly-filler YELLOW SUBMARINE, this is the Beatles' weakest effort in my opinion. That said, "bad" Beatles is still better than most bands' "good".
9) John Lennon and Yoko Ono DOUBLE FANTASY- John comes back in fantastic form. Commercially AND artistically successful. I even like some of the Yoko cuts.
10) Johnny Cash AMERICAN III: SOLITARY MAN- Not his best albums but solid.

HONORABLE MENTIONS (just missing)
Nilsson NILSSON SCHMILSSON
Belle and Sebastian THE BOY WITH THE ARAB STRAP
Eels BEAUTIFUL FREAK

1. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
2. Rush - Moving Pictures
3. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
4. Eels - Beautiful Freak
5. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap
6. The Microphones - The Glow, Pt. 2
7. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
8. Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue
9. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
10. The Velvet Underground - VU

I liked this group - the first three are in my Top 100 albums, with number 4 very close.

1 - Beach Boys - Sunflower
2 - Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
3 - Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring
4 - Costello, Elvis with Burt Bacharach - Painted from Memory
5 - Eels - Beautiful Freak
6 - Cash, Johnny - American III: Solitary Man
7 - Black Uhuru - Red
8 - O'Connor, Sinéad - The Lion and the Cobra
9 - Jones, Rickie Lee - Rickie Lee Jones
10 - Talking Heads - Little Creatures

I haven't added any of the totals yet, but I am seeing like 7 or 8 titles come up over and over. Interesting...

Now all the votes cast so far are counted.

You might think The Knife is in first place with it's 5 first place votes, but it's not. Another album is just slightly ahead of it, being on 10 out of 18 ballots so far.

Three albums are really running away with it so far, but like usual there's lots of 4th and 5th place drama. Although there are fewer albums than usual (5) within a single first place vote of #5.

1)Ride - Nowhere
2)Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
3)Talking Heads - Little Creatures
4)Galaxy 500 - On Fire
5)XTC - Drums and Wires
6)Solomon Burke - Don't Give Up on Me
7)Dinosaur Jr. - Bug
8)Brian Eno - Ambien 1: Music for Airports
9)The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
10)The Velvet Underground - VU

1. THE BAND "The Last Waltz"
2. THE BEATLES "Magical Mystery Tour"
3. ELVIS COSTELLO with BURT BACHARACH "Painted from Memory"
4. DEPECHE MODE "Music for the Masses"
5. RUBEN BLADES Y SEIS DEL SOLAR "Buscando America"
6. THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS "If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears"
7. DAVID SYLVIAN "Brilliant Trees"
8. JOHNNY CASH "American IV: The Man Comes Around"
9. VAN DYKE PARKS "Song Cycle"
10. TALK TALK "The Colour of Spring"

I haven't heard it yet but definitely I'm intrigued about Henrik's #1, the Modest Mouse 2004 album. Definitely I should check it...

1) Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
2) Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man
3) The Knife - Silent Shout
4) Bruce Springsteen - The Ghost of Tom Joad
5) Chuck Berry - St. Louis To Liverpool
6) The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
7) The Velvet Underground - VU
8) The Band - The Last Waltz
9) Depeche Mode - Music For The Masses
10) Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap

I *really* love those Cash albums.

1. Good news for people who love bad news - Modest mouse
2. The last waltz - The band
3. I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass - Yo La Tango
4. Boys and girls in america - The hold steady
5. Desperate youth, blood thirsty babes - TV on the radio
6. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
7. Silent shout - The knife
8. White chalok - PJ Harvey
9. Cross - Justice
10. Rather ripped - Sonic youth

Honorio, Good news... is one of my all time top 10 albums and the best discription I have come across for it is "essentially an album that makes you a little bit happier with every listen". I guess thats the case with all good music, this just more so then most.

Okay, let's try this again:

1. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America
2. The Roots - Phrenology
3. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
4. Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
5. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With the Arab Strap
6. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
7. Steve Earle - Guitar Town
8. Billy Bragg & Wilco - Mermaid Avenue
9. The Jesus and Mary Chain - Darklands
10. Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass

1 Dinosaur Jr. - Bug
2 Nirvana - Bleach
3 Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
4 Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa
5 Big Black - Atomizer
6 Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
7 Ride - Nowhere
8 Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
9 Jesus & Mary Chain - Darklands
10 TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes

Oddly, this may well be my favorite group to choose from. The top 2 are in my Top 100 all-time, and while 3-25 aren't near that, I certainly enjoy them all very much (10-25 are all pretty much on the same par in my book).

01. PJ Harvey - White Chalk

One of the best albums of the decade.

02. The United States of America - The United States of America

Brilliant avant-psych one-off.

03. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

Sometimes overshadowed by his other great "pop" albums, this nevertheless includes a clutch of his very best songs.

04. Andrew Hill - Point of Departure

His best work, and yet another mid-'60s Blue Note special.

05. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump

Recently dug this out ... it's already a touch dated, but still warms me heart.

06. Rush - Moving Pictures

They get undeserved flak.

07. Procol Harum - A Salty Dog

There was far more to them besides "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

08. Al Green - The Belle Album

The last step before full-on preaching.

09. Miles Davis - A Tribute to Jack Johnson

And we thought he was touching on rock with Bitches Brew...

10. Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man

Worth it for his take on "The Mercy Seat" alone.

***********

11. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
12. Rubén Blades - Buscando América
13. XTC - English Settlement
14. Sinéad O'Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
15. The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
16. The Beach Boys - Sunflower
17. Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson
18. Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music
19. Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
20. Brian Eno - Ambient 1: Music for Airports
21. Public Enemy - Apocalypse '91 - The Enemy Strikes Black
22. The Knife - Silent Shout
23. Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around
24. The Roots - Phrenology
25. The Isley Brothers - 3+3

A lot of albums in this group that I am ashamed to say I have not heard. This is only going to get worse as time goes on. A lot of love for White Chalk here. Despite my adoration of PJ Harvey, I have not been able to get into that album.

This is my second Spoon album in a row at #1, and my favorite of theirs doesn't even come up for another five weeks.

1. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
2. I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass - Yo La Tengo
3. Boys And Girls In America - The Hold Steady
4. Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
5. Medulla - Bjork
6. Fox Confessor Brings The Flood - Neko Case
7. Silent Shout - The Knife
8. Moving Pictures - Rush
9. The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
10. Beautiful Freak - Eels

Here's the current score of all the albums within one vote of the top five:

163
154
113
96
94
93
89
77
75

So, we've got another situation where a single vote could drastically swing the outcome.

I will also point out that it currently only takes 85 points to get in the wild card top ten. This round's been a lot more top heavy than the last couple. I wonder if it'll get more or less so as you get lower on the chart.

1. BEATLES FOR SALE
2. Modest Mouse, GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BAD NEWS
3. Mott the Hoople, ALL THE YOUNG DUDES
4. The Hold Steady, BOYS AND GIRLS IN AMERICA
5. Grandaddy, THE SOPHTWARE SLUMP
6. Spoon, GA GA GA GA GA
7. Neko Case, FOX CONFESSOR BRINGS THE FLOOD
8. NILSSON SCHMILSSON
9. PJ Harvey, WHITE CHALK
10. Johnny Cash, AMERICAN III: SOLITARY MAN

Although I think Magical Mystery Tour will move on, I find it weird that it isn't getting a ton of votes. I know a lot of people consider it an EP, but I also know that we've had the discussion of it being underrated and some even call it the Beatles masterpiece.

Well, even if we are just judging the EP, that's a pretty darn good EP.

One more gripe... 4 votes for 13 Tales From Urban Bohemia? This is one of the greatest albums of the decade, if you haven't heard it go buy it, go download it, whatever.

With only a few hours left to vote I thought I'd point out what Harold Wexler's vote did to the totals.

t-4th place: 103 points
t-4th place: 103 points
6th place: 102 points

Qualifiers:

Band - Album (Points/votes/first place votes)

1. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (163/12/0)
2. The Knife - Silent Shout (154/10/5)
3. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap (113/10/0)
t4. PJ Harvey - White Chalk (103/10/1)
t4. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (103/8/1)

Runners up:

The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America (102/8/2)
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes (96/8/0)
Johnny Cash - American III (83/8/1)
The Beatles - Beatles For Sale (79/6/1)
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Like Bad News (77/5/2)

Notes:

-I smirked a bit when somebody complained that nobody was voting for Magical Mystery Tour.

-Spoon got 35 points in the first 21 votes, then 68 in the last 6.

-American IV got 73 points. I wonder if American III and American IV split each others' votes.

Wildcard leaderboard:
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One: 105
Pulp - This Is Hardcore: 102
The Hold Steady - Boys And Girls In America: 102
Beck - Midnite Vultures: 101
The Cure - Seventeen Seconds: 98
The Kinks - Face To Face: 98
TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes: 96
Modest Mouse - The Moon And Antarctica: 94
Weezer - Pinkerton: 90
Cocteau Twins - Treasure: 89

I didn't say nobody was voting, I just expected that it would run away with the week.

Sorry, Bill. My calculations give other results. I've looked and they are correct:

01. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour 163 12 0
02. The Knife - Silent Shout 154 10 5
03. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy with the Arab Strap 113 10 0
04 Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 103 8 1
05. The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls in America 102 8 2
PJ Harvey - White Chalk 101 10 1
TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes 96 8 0
The Beach Boys - Sunflower 93 6 3
Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around 92 9 1
Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring 85 7 1


28 voters, but 0 points to:
Alice Cooper - Killer
Average White Band - AWB
Blind Faith - Blind Faith
Bob Seger - Night Moves
Boz Scaggs - Silk Degrees
Buju Banton - 'Til Shiloh
Chick Corea - Return to Forever
Graham Parker & The Rumour - Howlin' Wind
Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
Sonny Rollins - Night at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1
Sonny Rollins - Way Out West
The Black Crowes - The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
The Faces - A Nod Is as Good as a Wink...to a Blind Horse
The Isley Brothers - 3+3
The Yardbirds - The Yardbirds/Over Under Sideways Down/Roger the Engineer
Thelonious Monk - Monk's Music
Traffic - Traffic
XTC - English Settlement

1. The Soft Machine - The Soft Machine
2. The United States of America - The United States of America
3. Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
4. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
5. Justice - Cross
6. 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
7. Van Dyke Parks - Song Cycle
8. Toots and The Maytals - Funky Kingston
9. John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy
10. Galaxie 500 - On Fire

You're right.

I accidentally missed marc's vote. So, Sunflower does indeed have 93 points, placing it in the wild card leaderboard.

And, I made an arithmetic error counting PJ Harvey's points, placing it in 6th place, and putting The Hold Steady in the top five.