Voting will be open a week, ending at midnight board time next Monday. Scoring is 20-17-15-13-11-10-9-8-7-6, but you can give less points at any given position if you just feel much strongly about the very top ones.

Also, if you write your list out to 20, 11th-20th place nods will resolve tiebreakers, but otherwise not count for points.

This round there's so little I've heard that I'm confident in giving points to, I'm cutting all my points in half, rounding down. (So 10-8-7-6-5-5-4-4-3-3) Although, the top two or three are probably in my top 300.

Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production Of Eggs
Feist - Let it Die
Pixies - Come On Pilgrim
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
Lucinda Williams - Essence
Elton John - Captain Fantastic
Dungen - Ta Det Lungt
The Drive By Truckers - The Dirty South
Mission Of Burma - Signals, Calls, and Marches
The Offspring - Smash

1. Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
2. Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy
3. Drive-By Truckers - The Dirty South
4. Bruce Springsteen - Live 1975-1985
5. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
6. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
7. Gang Starr - Daily Operation
8. James Carr - You Got My Mind Messed Up
9. Van Morrison - Avalon Sunset
10. Dion - Born to Be with You

11. Neil Young - Harvest Moon
12. Counting Crows - August and Everything After
13. Gregory Isaacs - Night Nurse
14. Chet Baker - Sings
15. Bill Haley and His Comets - Rock Around the Clock
16. Bronski Beat - The Age of Consent
17. Slayer - South of Heaven
18. Parton, Ronstadt, Harris - Trio
19. Mantronix - The Album
20. Duke Ellington - Indigos
21. Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - King & Queen
22. John Phillips - s/t/The Wolfking of L.A.
23. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
24. Ella Fitzgerald - Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook, Vol. 1
25. Pulp - We Love Life
26. Mercury Rev - All is Dream
27. X - Under the Big Black Sun
28. Tom Waits - Blue Valentine
29. Donny Hathaway - Live
30. David Bowie - LodgerT

Don't start bashing this bracket. I've got two of my top 20 of all time in here! I think as we get deep down on the list, there will be an eccentric or personal favorite or two that might be widely acclaimed within our little group.

That being said, only 11 out of 200 that I even listened to here.

1. The Who - The Who By Numbers
2. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
3. The Who - A Quick One
4. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
5. Caribou - Andorra
6. Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
7. Iron Butterfly - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
8. The Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics
9. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
10. M. Ward - Post-War

1. Elliott Smith- Figure 8
2. The Monkees- The Monkees
3. Frank Black- Teenager of the Year
4. Mission of Burma- Signals Calls and Marches
5. Dead Boys- Young, Loud and Snotty
6. Fiona Apple- Extraordinary Machine
7. Rufus Wainwright- Poses
8. Beach Boys- Smiley Smile
9. Warren Zevon- Excitable Boy
10. Jurassic Five- Quality Control

I agree that this is a solid block. The top 2 are among my top 30 albums of all time! Songs to Remember is jumping up the list as well (thanks netjade!).

1. Eurythmics- Touch
2. Blondie- Eat to the Beat
3. Siouxsie and the Banshees- Juju
4. David Bowie- Lodger
5. Echo and the Bunnymen- Porcupine
6. Scritti Politti- Songs to Remember
7. Lou Reed- Street Hassle
8. The Doors- Waiting for the Sun
9. New Order- Republic
10. Mary J. Blige- What's the 411?

01) Zevon, Warren - Excitable Boy
02) Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
03) Counting Crows - August and Everything After
04) Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters
05) U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky
06) Smith, Elliott - Figure 8
07) Marley, Bob and The Wailers - Kaya
08) Springsteen, Bruce - Devils & Dust
09) Marley, Bob and The Wailers - Rastaman Vibration
10) Cave, Nick & The Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part

An EXCELLENT list for Soundtrack albums.

1. O Brother Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
2. Hair Soundtrack
3. Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
4. The Sound of Music Soundtrack
5. The Offspring - Smash
6. Amadou & Mariam - Dimanche à Bamako
7. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Evan Sank
8. Bruce Springsteen - Live 1975-1985
9. The Supremes - The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland
10. The Flaming Lips - At War with the Mystics

I liked a pretty good number of these but towards the bottom of my 10 I'm less certain so if I'm able to scrape out the time, I'll relisten to the last couple and the first "honorable mentions" and possibly submit an updated version later in the week:

1) Aimee Mann WHATEVER: Absolutely the single greatest bargain bin "discovery" I have ever made.
2) Elton John CAPTAIN FANTASTIC AND THE BROWN DIRT COWBOY: Probably my 2nd favorite Elton John album after TUMBLEWEED CONNECTION
3) Beach Boys SMILEY SMILE: Most bands WISH they could "bunt" this well. Underrated.
4) Ray Charles MODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC, VOLUME TWO: Would probably be higher if I'd heard it recently..need to dig it out again
5) The Monkees THE MONKEES: Pretty solid pop album
6) Various Artists O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?: Singlehandedly proved modern "country" radio doesn't care what listeners want. Any album selling this kind of numbers wasn't only being bought by bluegrass purists...but Nashville didn't care.
7) Mary J. Blige WHAT’S THE 411?
8) Drive-by Truckers THE DIRTY SOUTH
9) Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris TRIO
10) Jurassic 5 QUALITY CONTROL

HONORABLE MENTION

Counting Crows AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER
Michelle Shocked SHORT SHARP SHOCKED
Johnny Cash AMERICAN V: A HUNDRED HIGHWAYS
Iron and Wine OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS
Death Cab for Cutie TRANSATLANTICISM
Fiona Apple EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE
Fleetwood Mac TUSK (love the band but it's overlong..if they had pared it down to a single disc I'd probably rank it higher)
Neil Young HARVEST MOON

1. Super Furry Animals – Fuzzy Logic
2. Elliott Smith – Figure 8
3. Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism
4. Andrew Bird – Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
5. Pete Townshend – Empty Glass
6. Low – I Could Live in Hope
7. Feist – Let It Die
8. Doves – Lost Souls
9. The Who – The Who By Numbers
10. Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile

First two albums are great, the others are pretty good.

1. PJ Harvey - Is This Desire?
2. Mercury Rev - All Is Dream
3. Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene
4. Calexico - Feast of Wire
5. Doves - Lost Souls
6. The Original Soundtrack - The Sound of Music
7. Faust - The Faust Tapes
8. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile
9. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
10. Amon Düül II - Yeti

Two of my all time favorite albums.

1. Rufus Wainwright - Poses
2. Bonnie Prince Billy - Master and Everyone
3. Original Broadway Cast - Hair
4. Various - O Brother, Where Art Thou?
5. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
6. Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright
7. Sisters of Mercy - Floodland
8. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
9. Rufus Wainwright - Want Two
10. Various - Concert of Bangladesh

11. Echo and the Bunnymen - Porcupine
12. U2 - Under a Blood Red Sky
13. Andrew Bird - Mysterious Production of Eggs
14. Clinic - Internal Wrangler
15. The Raincoats - Odyshape
16. Mercury Rev - All is Dream
17. Placebo - Placebo

01. Smiley Smile. The Beach Boys
02. The Faust Tapes. Faust
03. Songs To Remember. Scritti Politti
04. Commercial Album. The Residents
05. Playing With A Different Sex. Au Pairs
06. Odyshape. The Raincoats
07. Outward Bound. Eric Dolphy
08. Blueberry Boat. The Fiery Furnaces
09. Yerself Is Steam. Mercury Rev
10. Live At The Witch Trials. The Fall
11. We Love Life. Pulp
12. Les Stances a Sophie. Art Ensemble Of Chicago
13. Fusion. Jimmy Giuffre 3
14. One Nation Underground. Pearls Before Swine
15. África Brazil. Jorge Ben
16. Free Fall. Jimmy Giuffre
17. High Priestess Of Soul. Nina Simone
18. Fanfare For The Warriors. Art Ensemble Of Chicago
19. Heliocentric Worlds Vol. 2. Sun Ra
20. Road To Freedom. Young Disciples

Wow, LOTS of good albums here. All of the Top 20 would be in my Top 500, first 8 or so Top 200, Top 2 in my Top 60. These lower reaches are where some of the different genres start to make their mark, though there's some pretty fine rock in here too.

1. Pharoah Sanders - Karma
2. Jorge Ben - África Brazil
3. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie
4. Don Ellis - Electric Bath
5. Chet Baker - Chet Baker Sings
6. The Raincoats - Odyshape
7. Faust - IV
8. James Carr - You Got My Mind Messed Up
9. Pulp - We Love Life
10. Amon Düül II - Yeti
11. Dungen - Ta Det Lugnt
12. The O'Jays - Ship Ahoy
13. Mercury Rev - Yerself Is Steam
14. Anthony Braxton - For Alto
15. Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
16. Nina Simone - High Priestess of Soul
17. Sun Ra - Space Is the Place
18. John Coltrane - Live at Birdland
19. Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
20. The Lounge Lizards - The Lounge Lizards

21. Wayne Shorter - Juju
22. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Fanfare for the Warriors
23. Faust - The Faust Tapes
24. Au Pairs - Playing with a Different Sex
25. The Meters - Rejuvenation
26. Townes Van Zandt - The Late Great Townes Van Zandt
27. Miles Davis - E.S.P.
28. Charlie Parker - Charlie Parker with Strings
29. Duke Ellington - Such Sweet Thunder
30. The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile
31. Rufus Wainwright - Poses
32. Rufus Wainwright - Rufus Wainwright
33. Gang Starr - Daily Operation
34. Joe Henderson - Page One
35. Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain
36. Willie Colón & Ruben Bladés - Siembra
37. Blondie - Eat to the Beat
38. Pete Townshend - Empty Glass
39. 10,000 Maniacs - In My Tribe
40. Frank Black - Teenager of the Year

Lots of great albums. For some reason a much better batch than last week's IMO.

1. Low – I Could Live in Hope
2. The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go
3. Fleetwood Mac – Tusk
4. The Sisters of Mercy – Floodland
5. The Sisters of Mercy – First and Last and Always
6. Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings
7. Ali Farka Touré with Ry Cooder – Talking Timbuktu
8. Bonnie "Prince" Billy – Master and Everyone
9. Bob Marley & the Wailers – Rastaman Vibration
10. James Carr – You Got My Mind Messed Up

11. Au Pairs – Playing with a Different Sex
12. The Church – Starfish
13. Jorge Ben – Africa Brasil
14. Neil Young – Harvest Moon
15. Marillion – Misplaced Childhood
16. Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche à Bamako
17. Ann Peebles – I Can’t Stand the Rain
18. Calexico – Feast of Wire
19. Gregory Isaacs – Night Nurse
20. Eurythmics - Touch

1. The Dandy Warhols - Come Down
2. Bauhaus - In the Flat Field
3. PJ Harvey - Is This Desire?
4. dEUS - Worst Case Scenario
5. Low - I Could Live in Hope
6. Echo and the Bunnymen - Porcupine
7. The Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always
8. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
9. Clinic - Internal Wrangler
10. Art Ensemble of Chicago - Les Stances a Sophie

I'm a little surprised that Odyshape isn't getting more votes. It's one that I always hear about and music geeks rave about it but I've never been able to get into.

1. Nick Lowe, LABOUR OF LUST
2. Aimee Mann, WHATEVER
3. Bruce Springsteen, LIVE 1975-1985
4. Swamp Dogg, TOTAL DESTRUCTION TO YOUR MIND
5. Elliott Smith, FIGURE 8
6. Nine Inch Nails, THE FRAGILE
7. THE WHO BY NUMBERS
8. Lou Reed, STREET HASSLE
9. Pete Townshend, EMPTY GLASS
10. Bryan Ferry, "THESE FOOLISH THINGS"

The first half of EXCITABLE BOY (plus "Lawyers, Guns and Money") would comprise the greatest EP ever made - these are the songs that ensured Zevon's legacy, and deservedly so. Unfortunately, I have to concur with Dave Marsh, who wrote in one of the earlier editions of THE ROLLING STONE RECORD GUIDE that the second half of the album contained "some of the most obvious filler ever released by a major artist." Pointless jam serving as a showcase for two guitarists who really aren't that great to begin with - check! Hard-luck hard-guy tale that plays like a self-parody - check! Gloppily sentimental ballad co-written with mentor/buddy that also plays like a self-parody - check! Even at 31 minutes, the album's too long.

This is a great group of 200. There's so many albums here that I would drop everything and listen to again right now if only I could.

1. Is This Desire? - PJ Harvey (Her most underrated album. Seems a more conscious attempt to ratchet up the beauty in her work, and to my ear, that effort pays off grandly.)
2. Rufus Wainwright - s/t (I have found his albums to be a case of diminishing returns, but his debut is a very enjoyable set of songs -- a welcome check on what would come to be a bad case of grandiosity.)
3. Fuzzy Logic - Super Furry Animals (Of course it's a bit messy, but their supreme tunefulness shines through.)
4. O Brother Where Art Thou? (My wife hasd this on constantly while she was pregnant with our twins. It's probably specious to draw a line between our venture into increased domesticity and family-hood and the lovely southern comforts found in this set. Let's just say it's a good album that Burnett put together.)
5. Broken Social Scene - s/t (Loses steam, but packs enough of a whallop at the begining to justify this placement.)
6. Under A Blood Red Sky - U2 (My first memory of U2 was the video of Bono waiving his flag at Red Rocks. I got this album pretty soon thereafter.)
7. Placebo - s/t
8. Aoxomoxoa - Grateful Dead
9. Transatlanticism - Death Cab for Cutie
10. Sings the Irving Berlin Songbook, Vol. 1 - Ella Fitzgerald

I love Elliott Smith, but never got into Figure 8.

This is an interesting block. Everyone is saying "What a great block this is!" then voting for completely different albums. With 16 votes, 101 albums have been voted for.

Current leaders:

Not even going to bother covering this one up, it's Elliot Smith: 67
Broadway soundtrack: 56
Too cool for radio in the grunge era: 55
Friend to the greats: 43
Greatest boy band of all time: 42
Manicure procrastinator: 42
Egotistical artist soundalike: 40
The one word that best sums up 90's youth culture: 37
Indie cult fave: 36
Live album: 36

34 albums within 20 points of the top ten.

I'm just guessing that "broadway soundtrack" is O Brother, because there is no way hair or sound of music got that many points. Problem is that it isn't broadway, its a movie soundtrack.

Since there've been no votes since Friday I trust nobody will mind if I put the results up a few hours early.

1. Elliot Smith - Figure 8 (67/6/0)
2. O Brother Where Art Thou OST (56/4/1)
3. PJ Harvey - Is This Desire? (55/3/2)
4. Warren Zevon - Exciteable Boy (42/3/1)
5. Beach Boys - Smiley Smile (42/3/1)
6. Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile (42/4/0)
7. Dandy Warhols - Come Down (40/2/0)
8. Aimee Mann - Whatever (37/3/1)
9. Broken Social Scene - Broken Social Scene (36/3/0)
10. Bruce Springsteen Live 1975-1985 (36/3/0)
-
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk (35/2/1)
Broadway Cast - Hair (32/2/0)
Low - I Could Live In Hope (31/2/1)
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (30/4/0)
The Who - The Who By Numbers (29/2/1)

Bill,

Your results are based on 16 voters while I am counting 17 voters. I think you missed the votes of Penguin.