The board has spoken! No more rule changes. So scoring is still 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6.

But, of course you should not feel obligated to fill out your ballot to ten if you can't come up with ten you like enough to rank.

Voting, as always, is open one week and finishes at midnight board time next Tuesday.

My entry:

This is the block where my options are really starting to shrink. So, instead of straining to fill out to ten I'm going to only include albums I would put in my top 400 or so.

1. Tool - Aenima
2. New Pornos - Mass Romantic
3. Bob Dylan - Oh, Mercy
4. Neil Young - Live Rust
5. King Crimson - Discipline
6. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
7. Alicia Keys - Songs In A Minor
8. Sublime - Sublime

I don't know if Aenima still belongs as my #1, but five or six years ago it was in my all time top ten, so I decided to give it a bit of a sentimental bump.

Sublime is a borderline inclusion because I really like the three singles off it but think it has way too much filler.

1. Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Live Rust
2. Flipper - Album - Generic Flipper
3. Kanye West - Graduation
4. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
5. Prefab Sprout - Jordan: The Comback
6. Ice-T - O.G. Original Gangster
7. Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)
8. Fela Kuti & Africa '70 - Zombie
9. Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune
10. Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood

Still making the 10 minimum with this cut. 11 albums listened to in total.

1. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - s/t
2. Postal Service - Give Up
3. Pink Floyd - Meddle
4. Fela Kuti - Zombie
5. Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album
6. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
7. Lily Allen - Allright, Still
8. Tool - Aenima
9. Kanye West - Graduation
10. Madonna - Music

1. Lou Reed and John Cale: Songs for Drella, 1990
2. Van Morrison: Tupelo Honey, 1971
3. Simon and Garfunkel: Sounds of Silence, 1966
4. Joe Jackson: Look Sharp!, 1979
5. King Crimson: Discipline, 1981
6. John Lee Hooker: The Healer, 1989
7. Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Live Rust, 1979
8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: Four-Way Street, 1971
9. Prince and The Revolution: Around the World in a Day, 1985
10. Destroyer: Destroyer's Rubies, 2006

1. Chuck Berry - Berry is on Top
2. Dolly Parton - Coat of Many Colors
3. Jay-Z - Black Album
4. Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence
5. Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
6. New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
7. The Raincoats - The Raincoats
8. Ice-T - O.G. Original Gangster
9. Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega
10. Blur - Modern Life is Rubbish

1. Stevie Ray Vaughn - Texas Flood
2. West Side Story Soundtrack
3. Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence
4. Modern Jazz Quartet - Dijango
5. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis
6. Harry Belafonte - Calypso
7. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
8. Kanye West - Graduation
9. The Police - Ghost in the Machine
10. Jay-Z - The Black Album

Lots of good older stuff here.

1. Matthew Sweet- Girlfriend
2. Postal Service- Give Up
3. Lily Allen- Alright, Still
4. Kanye West- Graduation
5. Harry Belafonte- Calypso
6. Pink Floyd- Meddle
7. Jay-Z- Black Album
8. Fela Kuti and Africa '70- Zombie
9. Art Brut- Bang Bang Rock and Roll
10. Meat Puppets- Up On the Sun

1. Tindersticks - Tindersticks (Second Album) (#1 in my all-time list)
2. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock and Roll
3. Lou Reed and John Cale - Songs for Drella
4. Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence
5. Supertramp - Crime of the Century
6. The Police - Ghost in the Machine
7. Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Africa '70 - Zombie
8. The Saints - (I'm) Stranded
9. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

1. Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish
2. The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
3. The Postal Service – Give Up
4. Sigur Ros – Takk
5. Joe Jackson – Look Sharp!
6. Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
7. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

I wouldn't feel right voting for anything else.

If participation in these polls is going to decline the farther down we get, maybe the right thing to do is to speed up the cycle so there's two blocks a week instead of one.

Sorry BillAdama, I feel kind of bad for suggesting the voting block expansion, but I do feel that it is the right thing to do. I know that the majority of people still participating are in favour of a status quo, but I do feel it will help reinvigorate the game which I do enjoy very much.

I suppose I am not averse to speeding up voting. Maybe not 2 a week, but once every five days?

1. Ella and Louis - Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong (Here is my comment when I voted it #13 all time in the albums poll - "As with rap, I simply do not have the knowledge to turn this into a jazz heavy list. I have a few albums, particularly vocal jazz, that I turn to… and this is at the top of that list. And I realize it's poppy and not real ground-breaking stuff. But it is so much fun. You look at the cover of the two of them sitting next to each other, and you feel like you could be looking at a family photo of your grandparents. You almost forget you are looking at two of the titans of 20th century music.")

2. Live Rust - Neil Young & Crazy Horse (My second favorite Neil Young album.)

3. West Side Story - Original ***Broadway*** Cast Recording (How embarrasing. Last week I thought I was voting for this album, not the movie soundtrack which did not deserve a vote. Chita Rivera > Rita Moreno. And moving "Officer Krupke" to the middle of Act One, instead of its Shakespearean comic relief place leading Act Two was a travesty.)

4. 1977 - Ash (I quite like this and Free All Angels. Flip back and forth as to which is better.)

5. Give Up - Postal Service (Has not worn as well, but got a lot of play on my new iPod when it came out.)

6. The Black Album - Jay-Z

7. Songs for Drella - Lou Reed and John Cale

8. Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

9. Coat of Many Colors - Dolly Parton

10. Girlfriend - Matthew Sweet

Just left out: Sublime and Graduation.
Disappointed in myself that I have yet to listen: Zombie and Funkentelechy...

Still some gold in this group, seriously. 2 of these in my all-time top 40, and another 2 in my Top 200.

1. Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Africa '70 - Zombie
2. Prefab Sprout - Jordan: The Comeback
3. The Raincoats - The Raincoats
4. Parliament - Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome
5. Ella Fitzgerald - Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook
6. Max Roach - We Insist! Freedom Now Suite
7. Flipper - Album: Generic Flipper
8. Pink Floyd - Meddle
9. Aphex Twin - Richard D. James Album
10. Duke Ellington with Charles Mingus and Max Roach - Money Jungle

***

11. Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
12. The Pretty Things - S.F. Sorrow
13. The Last Poets - The Last Poets
14. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Ella and Louis
15. Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)
16. King Crimson - Discipline
17. Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish
18. Chick Corea - Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
19. Jay-Z - The Black Album
20. The Police - Ghost in the Machine

1. Matthew Sweet, GIRLFRIEND
2. Husker Du, CANDY APPLE GREY
3. Max Roach, WE INSIST! FREEDOM NOW SUITE
4. Lou Reed/John Cale, SONGS FOR DRELLA
5. Lily Allen, ALRIGHT, STILL
6. Kanye West, GRADUATION
7. Dolly Parton, COAT OF MANY COLORS
8. The New Pornographers, MASS ROMANTIC
9. Lynyrd Skynyrd, STREET SURVIVORS
10. THE RAINCOATS

1. THE POSTAL SERVICE “Give Up”
2. TINDERSTICKS “Tindersticks”
3. LOU REED & JOHN CALE “Songs for Drella”
4. PINK FLOYD “Meddle”
5. KING CRIMSON “Discipline”
6. BOB DYLAN “Oh Mercy”
7. THE KLF “Chill Out”
8. MILLIE JACKSON “Caught Up”
9. NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS “Your Funeral… My Trial”
10. MATTHEW SWEET “Girlfriend”

1. Meat Puppets - Up on the Sun (As great a record as II imo)
2. Flipper - Album: Generic
3. ZZ Top - Tres Hombres
4. The Raincoats
5. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock & Roll
6. Husker Du - Candy Apple Grey
7. The Good the Bad and the Queen
8. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Your Funeral, My Trial
9. Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish
10. Sublime (I wish I listened to more Neil Young)

Actually, I'd like to change my vote (if that's ok). I skipped over one of the albums...

1. Blur – Modern Life Is Rubbish
2. The Good, The Bad And The Queen - The Good, The Bad And The Queen
3. The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
4. The Postal Service – Give Up
5. Sigur Ros – Takk
6. Joe Jackson – Look Sharp!
7. Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
8. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

And I agree that it may be a good idea to put the albums into groups of 200 now.

1. Pink Floyd - Meddle
2. Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry Is on Top
3. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
4. ZZ Top - Tres Hombres
5. King Crimson - Discipline
6. Prefab Sprout - Jordan: The Comeback
7. Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
8. Supertramp - Crime of the Century
9. The KLF - Chill Out
10. Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence

1. Stevie Ray Vaughn - Texas Flood
2. The Postal Service - Give Up
3. Pink Floyd - Meddle
4. Simon and Garfunkle - Sounds of Silence
5. Kanye West - Graduation
6. Jay Z - The Black Album
7. Miles Davis - Round About Midnight
8. Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry is On Top
9. Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune
10. Sublime - Sublime

01 - Pink Floyd - Meddle
02 - Supertramp - Crime of the Century
03 - Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence
04 - War - The World Is a Ghetto
05 - Postal Service - Give Up
06 - Vaughan, Stevie Ray - Texas Flood
07 - Dire Straits - Making Movies
08 - Keys, Alicia - Songs in A Minor
09 - Madonna - Music
10 - Vega, Suzanne - Suzanne Vega

Interesting change in this round. Whereas in all the previous rounds I've had like 4 or 5 of the top five, in this round I haven't heard a single one of the current top five.

Current leaders' scores are:

106
101
98
74
72
--
67
58
57
56
53

So, three of the qualifiers are pretty locked in, but after that there are tons of albums that could steal spots.

1 - Lily Allen - Alright, Still
2 - The Good, the Bad and the Queen - The Good, the Bad and the Queen
3 - Kanye West - Graduation
4 - Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
5 - Dizzee Rascal - Showtime
6 - Sigur Rós - Takk
7 - Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

Well, Lily Allen at #1 tends to prove I don't like much that row...
I regret not to have heard the Postal Service's album, I'm pretty sure I would like it.

1 Tindersticks - Tindersticks (Second Album) - 1995
2 Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey - 1986
3 Bob Dylan - Oh, Mercy - 1989
4 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Your Funeral … My Trial - 1986
5 Prefab Sprout - Jordan: The Comeback - 1990
6 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Orange - 1994
7 Tim Buckley - Greetings from L.A. - 1972
8 Suzanne Vega - Suzanne Vega - 1985
9 Prince and The Revolution - Around the World in a Day - 1985
10 The Birthday Party - Prayers on Fire - 1981

This particular stretch has a LOT of albums I'm unfamiliar with so I suspect this list has the capacity to change a lot were I asked again a year from now.

Here's my 10 based on current knowledge, though:

1. Chuck Berry CHUCK BERRY IS ON TOP
2. Chuck Berry ONE DOZEN BERRYS
3. Simon and Garfunkel SOUNDS OF SILENCE
4. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young FOUR-WAY STREET
5. Matthew Sweet GIRLFRIEND
6. Terence Trent D’Arby INTRODUCING THE HARDLINE ACCORDING TO TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY
7. Culture Club COLOUR BY NUMBERS
8. ZZ Top TRES HOMBRES
9. XTC APPLE VENUS VOL. I
10. The Police GHOST IN THE MACHINE

1 dire straits - making movies
2 neil young - live rust
3 blue oyster cult - agents of fortune
4 husker du - candy apple grey
5 joe jackson - look sharp
6 meat puppets - up on the sun
7 kanye west - graduation
8 clap your hands say yeah
9 van morrison - tupelo honey
10 the good the bad and the queen

1 The Saints I'm Stranded
2 Chuck Berry Is On Top
3 Bob Dylan Oh Mercy
4 Gillian Welch Time (The Revelator)
5 Van Morrison Tupelo Honey
6 Bo Diddley Go Bo Diddley
7 Modern Jazz Quartet Django
8 Tim Buckley Greetings From LA
9 Lou Reed John Cale Songs For Drella

And, the results:

1. Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds Of Silence (113/9/0)
2. Postal Service - Give Up (106/7/1)
3. Pink Floyd - Meddle (101/7/2)
4. Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend (85/7/2)
5. Chuck Berry - Chuck Berry Is On Top (82/5/2)

Falling short:

Lou Reed And John Cale - Songs For Drella (79/6/1)
Neil Young - Live Rust (74/5/1)
Kanye West - Graduation (72/7/0)
New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (67/5/0)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - s/t (61/5/1)

In the end voting was actually up a bit from last time with 22 votes. I'll keep the time at a week until participation actually does decline more.

I have a question for the people who voted Sounds of Silence: That's probably the only big Simon and Garfunkel album I don't have. Is it a uniformly strong album, or is it mostly just about the title track?

Re: Sounds of Silence

Defintiely not just about the title track, which I always kind of preferred without all the production on _Wednesday Morning, 3 AM_. Simon's songwriting is getting better on this album, but it's not as strong as on Parsely Sage... and Bookends. While the duo are still easing away from the folk half of their "folk rock" sobriquet.. the fact that only one song is not Simon's makes a big difference.

Two of what I think are his best early songs are here: "April Come She Will" and "Leaves that are Green." I've always thought "I Am A Rock" is fairly good also. In the end, it's not as good as their final three albums, but worth getting if you like their other stuff.

Thanks Bill for another week of fun!

"Is on top" is in the grey zone between a regular album and a compilation, but it's really cool that Chuck Berry made it to the elimination brackets. And I think it will do well in those brackets, because who will vote out such a milestone?

Wow. Texas Flood didn't even make the top 10? An album tied for the most #1 votes?

More people here need to have a listen.