Publication End of the Year Lists 2019

Guess it’s time!

The Quietus | Features | Quietus Charts | Quietus Albums Of The Year 2019 (In Association With Norman Records)

 

The intro to this list is really well-written and fascinating, but I'm really struck by this writing off of rankings:

But ranking albums is even worse in some respects and I’ve always suspected that people who have a pathological need to rank things are remarkably afraid of dying. The overwhelming and slightly demented need to impose order onto a world that is essentially chaotic and constantly shifting. “I will make sense of it all and define my place in it before I go!”

because, first of all, yes, many, many people are afraid of dying. But also, we tell ourselves stories in order to live (--Joan Didion, "The White Album"). We construct a narrative around things in life so that life doesn't feel like it doesn't have any purpose. Stories give us beginnings, ends, and with ends, any sort of lesson, meaning, feeling, and so on. Even the art that purposefully bucks the trend in an attempt to say that life isn't like a story, doesn't have a narrative, shouldn't fit inside these boxes, are making a comment on that idea and making a point by creating something in direct response to the notion. All art, music included, is an attempt to make some sort of sense of a world that doesn't offer up any easy answers. Maybe list-making based on art is our (non-artistic civilians) own way of imposing that control and order onto what is otherwise chaos, in the same way that Joan Didion's essays, or Bob Dylan's songs, or Paul Thomas Anderson's films, do for them. Artists try to make sense of things and thus, define their place within those things, and it's nothing to scoff at. I sort of think just because we everyday folk make our own small attempt to do the same by writing and creating narratives around and ranking art doesn't make it any more or less silly.

 

The 50 Best Albums of 2019

 

Wow it's unbelievably embarrassing that they misspelled the name of their number one album's artist.

 

OH MY GOD I just realized they got the album name wrong also, WOW

 

Looking forward to NPR and Passion of the Weiss. That’s about it.

 

If you can't remember the name of your favorite album of the year, it's probably not your favorite album of the year. Just sayin'.

 

I guess the benefit of everyone launching their end-of-the-decade lists in early October is that the deluge of EOTY lists was delayed a bit. They usually start dropping before Thanksgiving.

 

The 50 Best Albums Of 2019

Stereogum

 

Hnm

 

Hype to check out the Quietus list. I do not agree with a lot of the mainstream pubs this year.

 

I feel like a lot of mainstream pubs have FOMO and make their top 10/15 based around only what they think will be in zeitgeist instead of just making a list around what they actually like - they’ve all become safe and predictable

 

Pretty much. I am happy to see Charly Bliss getting the love they deserve, though

 

I always enjoy checking out these lists to see what I missed. As a primarily indie/rock fan, I have to say 2019 had the most new releases from personal favorites that I can remember.
I found very little to enjoy in 2018 and now after all the releases of 2019 I am fearful there won't be much for me to come in 2020.

 

As far as "mainstream" publications go, I always like NPR because they do include albums from genres I can't really navigate on my own. Maybe NPR isn't mainstream though, I don't know.

 

This absolutely seems like it's the case, to me. Or maybe it's just that a lot of them have contributor overlap so they are getting the same ballots. It's just super weird, especially in a year like this where there really didn't seem to be a dominant, consensus "classic."

 

My favs are usually NPR and American Songwriter. They both go a little outside of what most of the pubs are featuring.

 

the best album of the year is legacy! legacy! by jamila woods, lemme know when a publication realizes it

 

#3 on CoS

 

Anyone find anything good on the Quietus list yet? Haven’t had a chance to dig in but the ~25% that I already know is an impressive bunch.

 

Listen to Theon Cross

Haven’t had time to go through the list much yet unfortunately

 

Will! Added the International Teachers of Pop record, which sounded interesting, and listening to the Oli XL rn too and I’m absolutely loving it.

 

I’ll second the Theon Cross album. If you enjoy that one also give Matana Roberts and The Comet is Coming a try.

I also highly recommend the Vanishing Twin and Yugen Blakrok albums. The Vanishing Twin album is easily one of the most overlooked albums this year. Oh and the Richard Dawson album rules as well, but I’m guessing you already know that.

 

Best rock-pop-rap albums of 2019: Fierceness from Jamila Woods, blast furnace sounds from Sturgill Simpson