24 votes in the last round, up again from the previous round but not as high as in the beginning.

I'm thinking about how to do the elimination rounds. Maybe, one new post every three days, with 1/4 of the matchups in any given round in each post? If we just do matchups of two that would make the elimination round last 54 days.

Also, for the elimination round, do you think it should be a blind vote or an open post vote? We could just have people vote in the threads as we've been doing, or I could set up a script on my website to collect votes. I could also set up the script to tell the voter how many votes have already been cast and how close it is, without revealing which one is ahead. That might be fun.

Anyway, same rules as before, votes are 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6, you can give fewer points to any position if you feel that much more strongly about your top few.

My ballot will come later.

1. Rick James - Street Songs
2. Mobb Deep - The Infamous
3. The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies
4. Van Morrison - Into the Music
5. Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas
6. Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
7. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
8. The Spinners - s/t
9. Cheap Trick - Heaven Tonight
10. Astor Piazzolla - Tango: Zero Hour

11. Augustus Pablo - East of the River Nile
12. Junior Boys - Last Exit
13. Morrissey - Your Arsenal
14. Supertramp - Breakfast in America
15. Pet Shop Boys - Please
16. Graham Parker & the Rumour - Heat Treatment
17. Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack
18. The Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach
19. Sade - Diamond Life
20. Santana - Caravanserai

I'm really starting to run dry in terms of albums I've heard that I really like, so I'm going to make heavy use of the 'fewer points' rule this round. Because my #1 is around my top 50 and the next couple aren't even in my top 300.

20 Sleater-Kinney - One Beat
10 Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears
9 The Decemberists - Picaresque
8 Spoon - Gimme Fiction
5 Doves - The Last Broadcast
2 Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
1 Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape
1 Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
1 System Of A Down - Mesmerize

I'm going to use the point changes this time I think. This is the first one that I really only like about 5-6 albums but looking into the future rounds it should be cool again. There are a bunch of albums in this group that I've been meaning to listen to and I bet 3 years from now I'll have 10 that I like.

1. Sleater Kinney- One Beat (20)
2. Go Team- Thunder Lightening Strike (17)
3. Hives- Veni Vidi Vicious (5)
4. Flaming Groovies- Shake Some Action (5)
5. Harry Belafonte- Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (5)
6. Decemberists- Picaresque (3)
7. Kinks- Muswell Hillbillies (1)
8. Sonic Youth- Murray Street (1)
9. Doves- Last Broadcast (1)
10. Magazine- Real Life (1)

1. Van Morrison: Into the Music, 1979
2. Fleetwood Mac: Then Play On, 1969
3. Iron & Wine: The Shepherd's Dog, 2007
4. The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies, 1971
5. Buffalo Springfield: Buffalo Springfield, 1966
6. The Four Tops: Reach Out, 1967
7. Sade Diamond: Life, 1984
8. Lucinda Williams: World Without Tears, 2003
9. Spoon: Gimme Fiction, 2005
10. Astor Piazzolla: Tango: Zero Hour, 1986

1. Pet Shop Boys - Please
2. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
3. Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
4. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow
5. Sleater Kinney - One Beat
6. Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood
7. Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours
8. Doves - The Last Broadcast
9. Junior Boys - Last Exit
10. Supertramp - Breakfast In America

This group has many more top choices than the last one did for me, probably because there seem to be many from this decade.

1. The Decemberists - Picaresque
2. Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers
3. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
4. Buffalo Springfield - S/T
5. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
6. Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
7. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
8. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
9. The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica
10. Harry Belafonte - Belafonte at Carnegie Hall

1. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightening Strike (20)
2. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (17)
3. Astor Piazzolla - Tango: Zero Hour (15)
4. Magazine - Real Life (10)
5. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain (6)
6. Virgin Prunes - …If I Die, I Die (5)
7. Supertramp - Breakfast in America (4)
8. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away (3)
9. Nico - The Marble Index (2)
10. John Cougar Mellencamp - Scarecrow (1)

Very top heavy this time. I'm only voting for 6 albums, but they're all very good.

1. Manic Street Preachers – This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours
2. Flamin’ Groovies – Shake Some Action
3. Fountains of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers
4. Spoon – Gimme Fiction
5. Doves – The Last Broadcast
6. The Go! Team – Thunder Lighting Strike

Y'know, I keep thinking the quality will start waning, and then I keep getting surprised. Another fine batch...

01. The Ronettes - Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica
02. Nico - The Marble Index
03. Magazine - Real Life
04. John Zorn - Naked City
05. Terry Riley - A Rainbow in Curved Air
06. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat
07. Charles Mingus - Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus
08. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
09. Faith No More - Angel Dust
10. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein

11. McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy
12. Townes Van Zandt - Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas
13. Jimmy Smith - Back at the Chicken Shack
14. 13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere
15. Cecil Taylor - Conquistador!
16. Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
17. Morrissey - Your Arsenal
18. Skip James - Skip James Today!
19. Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles
20. The Spinners - Spinners
21. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
22. Sonic Youth - Murray Street

The Top 5 would make my all-time Top 200, and 6-16 are hot on their heels.

1. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
2. Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood
3. The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
4. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
5. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
6. System of a Down - Mezmerize

2 of my top100 albums, but not much album I like after that.
The Colour and the Shape is one of the first rock album I liked, I don't listen to it as much as back then, but I still have lot of tenderness for it!

This is the weakest batch so far...in terms of # of albums I've actually heard, so I'm doing an abbreviated list. May try and update the list later if I'm able to check off a couple more albums..:

1) John Cougar Mellencamp SCARECROW, 20 pts
2) Sarah McLachlan FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY, 17 pts
3) Fountains of Wayne WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS, 15 pts
4) Harry Belafonte BELAFONTE AT CARNEGIE HALL,13 pts
5) Doves THE LAST BROADCAST (0/12, %, need to hear), 8 pts
6) Fleetwood Mac THEN PLAY ON (4/13, %, 1 great), 6 pts

heres another incomplete list, but I still really like the top 5...its mostly newer stuff


1 Sonic Youth - Murray Street (favorite SY 00 release, unless the buzz the Eternal's getting is true)
2 Sleater Kinney - One Beat
3 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
4 Spoon - Gimme Fiction
5 The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
6 Foo Fighters - The Colour & the Shape
7 Faith No More - Angel Dust
8 Billy Idol - Rebel Yell

1. Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
2. Nico - The Marble Index
3. The Decemberists - Picaresque
4. Sonic Youth - Murray Street
5. Faith No More - Angel Dust
6. Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene
7. Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours
8. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
9. Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
10. Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow

1. The Decemberists, PICARESQUE
2. Spoon, GIMME FICTION
3. Graham Parker and the Rumour, HEAT TREATMENT
4. Cheap Trick, HEAVEN TONIGHT
5. Sleater-Kinney, ONE BEAT
6. The Hives, VENI VEDI VICIOUS
7. John Cougar Mellencamp, SCARECROW
8. Fountains of Wayne, WELCOME INTERSTATE MANAGERS
9. THE ROCHES
10. The Go! Team, THUNDER, LIGHTNING, STRIKE

Van Morrison - Into the Music - 1979
Inner City - Paradise/Big Fun - 1989
The Spinners - The Spinners - 1973
Robert Fripp - Exposure - 1979
Lucinda Williams - World Without Tears - 2003
Junior Boys - Last Exit - 2004
Adam and The Ants - Kings of the Wild Frontier - 1980
Sade - Diamond Life - 1984
Swans - Children of God - 1987
Throbbing Gristle - 20 Jazz Funk Greats - 1979

1. Astor Piazzolla – Tango: Zero Hour
2. Pet Shop Boys – Please
3. Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain
4. Art Tatum – Group Masterpieces, Vol. 8
5. Jean Michel Jarre – Oxygene
6. The Ronettes – Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes featuring Veronica
7. Junior Boys – Last Exit
8. Fleetwood Mac – Ten Play On
9. Sade – Diamond Life
10. The Spinners – Spinners

Sorry for the gobbledy-gook in there in my last post. I write my "starter" lists in Word and then cut and paste until I end up with the final result. I got some stray characters in there.

The point values for the 6 albums ARE correct though..

1. Veni Vidi Vicious- The Hives
2. Favourite Worst Nightmare- Arctic Monkeys
3. The Colour and the Shape- Foo Fighters
4. Youth and Young Manhood- Kings of Leon
5. Mezmerize- System of A Down
6. Wincing the night away- The Shins

Only 17 votes so far. If we don't rake in a few more before the vote closes we'll move down to a five day cycle.

The leaderboard is very 00's oriented this round.

2000-2004 album: 106
1995-1999 album: 77
2005-2009 album: 70
2005-2009 album: 67
2000-2004 album: 61
--
2000-2004 album: 61
2005-2009 album: 58
2000-2004 album: 56
1975-1979 album: 53
1985-1989 album: 47

For obvious reasons there's been some point deflation this round. (Both fewer votes and more people giving less points). At this point it might be safe to say the wild card top ten isn't going to change any more.

Well, I finally had to punch out... only 9 this round, including 2 I just recently listened to.

1. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightning Strike
2. Sonic Youth - Murray Street
3. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
4. Devanandra Barnhardt - Cripple Crow
5. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
6. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
7. The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
8. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime
9. Robert Cray - Strong Persuader

01 - McLachlan, Sarah - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
02 - Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours
03 - Sade - Diamond Life
04 - Pet Shop Boys - Please
05 - Piazzolla, Astor - Tango: Zero Hour
06 - Faith No More - Angel Dust
07 - Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies
08 - Supertramp - Breakfast in America
09 - Fleetwood Mac - Then Play On
10 - Allman Brothers Band - Eat a Peach

1. Spoon - Gimme Fiction
2. The Decemberist - Picaresque
3. The Go! Team - Thunder Lightening Strike
4. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
5. System of a Down - Mezmerize
6. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
7. Iron & Wine - The Shepard's Dog
8. Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood
9. Doves - The Last Broadcast
10. Fountains of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers

I've hit a stretch where I can't fill it up. But boy oh boy do I have a strong #1:

1. Gimme Fiction - Spoon - I had this album #4 on my all-time poll list in 2008. I'm now thinking I was too high with it, but it's still a definite top-25 album of all time for me. Daniels' songwriting is at its most pitch perfect. Here's what I wrote in my comments: "Britt Daniel's songs oftentimes fail to live up to his cool-guy delivery. On this album, though, all but possibly one of the songs are really, really great. As a result, he does sound really cool through the entire album. Us brainy music nerds forget the importance of cool sometimes. But maybe we can delight in a brainy, music nerd like Daniel acheiving such cool here. I was as surprised as you might be to see this land at #4 on my list, but I now see this album as the perfection of a template started by Velvet Underground and furthered by Bowie and Television."

2. Dinah Jams - Dinah Washington - An incendiary live set with Max Roach, Clifford Brown, Clark Terry, Maynard Ferguson, and others. As fierce as the fifties got.

3. Veni Vidi Viscious - The Hives - I have a number of albums that are mentally filed under the category "Fun." They could be in any genre. This is one of those albums.

4. Muswell Hillbillies - The Kinks - An average Kinks is better than an average anyone-else album. Ray Davies' songwriting is just that consistent.

5. Buffalo Springfield - s/t - - Inconsistent. Its best songs are wonderous. Its worst are not.

6. Thunder Lightning Strike - The Go! Team

7. Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde - The Pharcyde

And two last minute first place votes vault Spoon into the top five.

1. The Go Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike (115/9/2)
2. Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (106/7/2)
3. Spoon - Gimme Fiction (98/7/2)
4. The Decemberists - Picaresque (84/6/2)
5. Foo Fighters - The Colour And The Shape (77/6/2)
--
The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious (76/6/1)
Fountains Of Wayne - Welcome Interstate Managers (73/7/0)
Astor Piazolla - Tango: Zero Hour (58/5/1)
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain (56/5/0)
Manic Street Preachers - This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours (55/4/1)

Colour And The Shape becomes possibly the highest selling album after 1990 to qualify. After that, a bunch of 00's indie won this round. Spoon gets it's third and Decemberists' their second.

Damn, I should have given that 10th place to The Hives!