Your Albums of the Year Over Time

[KevShmev]

I will peruse my iTunes for fun and cover 1968-2020:

1968: The Moody Blues - In Search of the Lost Chord
1969: The Beatles - Abbey Road
1970: Black Sabbath - Paranoid
1971: Yes - Fragile
1972: Yes - Close to the Edge
1973: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
1974: Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
1975: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
1976: Boston - Boston
1977: Styx - The Grand Illusion
1978: Van Halen - Van Halen
1979: Pink Floyd - The Wall
1980: Rush - Permanent Waves
1981: Rush - Moving Pictures
1982: XTC - English Settlement
1983: The Police - Synchronicity
1984: Prince and The Revolution - Purple Rain
1985: Rush - Power Windows
1986: Van Halen - 5150
1987: INXS - Kick
1988: U2 - Rattle and Hum
1989: Tears for Fears - The Seeds of Love
1990: Queensryche - Empire (odd that it's my 4th favorite album by the band, yet the only one that was my favorite for a year)
1991: U2 - Achtung Baby
1992: Dream Theater - Images and Words
1993: Rush - Counterparts
1994: Dream Theater - Awake
1995: Porcupine Tree - The Sky Moves Sideways
1996: The Flower Kings - Retropolis
1997: Radiohead - OK Computer
1998: Dave Matthews Band - Before These Crowded Streets
1999: Dream Theater - Scenes from a Memory
2000: Transatlantic - SMPTe
2001: Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever
2002: Spock's Beard - Snow
2003: Muse - Absolution
2004: Neal Morse - One
2005: Porcupine Tree - Deadwing
2006: The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel
2007: Radiohead - In Rainbows
2008: Opeth - Watershed
2009: Devin Townsend - Addicted
2010: Haken - Aquarius
2011: Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
2012: Storm Corrosion - Storm Corrosion
2013: Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing
2014: Devin Townsend - Casualties of Cool
2015: Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
2016: Neal Morse Band - The Similitude of a Dream
2017: Steven Wilson - To the Bone
2018: Ghost - Prequelle
2019: Flying Colors - Third Degree
2020: Taylor Swift - Folklore

[TAC]

Kev, we have thee albums in common, which is three more than I thought we would.

[KevShmev]

Besides Power Windows, what are the other two?

[TAC]

Besides Power Windows, what are the other two?

 

All three were Dream Theater albums!

[KevShmev]

Besides Power Windows, what are the other two?

 

All three were Dream Theater albums!

 

[TAC]

1968  Iron Butterfly-In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
1969  Led Zeppelin-II
1970  Lucifer's Friend-Lucifer's Friend
1971  Alice Cooper-Killer
1972  Alice Cooper-Scool's Out
1973  Black Sabbath-Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
1974  KISS-Hotter Than Hell
1975  Alice Cooper-Welcome To My Nightmare
1976  UFO-No Heavy Petting
1977  Thin Lizzy-Bad Reputation
1978  Rush-Hemispheres
1979  Riot-Narita
1980  Black Sabbath-Heaven And Hell
1981  Michael Schenker Group-MSG
1982  Iron Maiden-The Number Of The Beast
1983  Metallica-Kill 'Em All
1984  Queensryche-Warning
1985  Accept-Metal Heart
1986  Tesla-Mechanical Resonance
1987  Helloween-Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 1
1988  Helloween-Keeper Of The Seven Keys Pt. 2
1989  Gary Moore-After The War
1990  Flotsam & Jetsam-When The Storm Comes Down
1991  Armored Saint-Symbol Of Salvation
1992  Dream Theater-Images And Words
1993  Metal Church-Hanging In The Balance
1994  Dream Theater-Awake
1995  UFO-Walk On Water
1996  Michael Kiske-Instant Clarity
1997  Bruce Dickinson-Accident Of Birth
1998  Helloween-Better Than Raw
1999  Dream Theater-Scenes From A Memory
2000  Iron Maiden-Brave New World
2001  Gary Moore-Back To The Blues
2002  Hammerfall-Crimson Thunder
2003  Iron Maiden-Dance Of Death
2004  Heavenly-Dust To Dust
2005  Helloween-Keeper Of The Seven Keys: The Legacy
2006  Iron Maiden-A Matter Of Life And Death
2007  Dream Theater-Systematic Chaos
2008  Metallica-Death Magnetic
2009  UFO-The Visitor
2010  Iron Maiden-The Final Frontier
2011  Dream Theater-A Dramatic Turn Of Events
2012  Vision Divine-Destination Set To Nowhere
2013  Michael Schenker-Bridge The Gap
2014  Riot V-Unleash The Fire
2015  Iron Maiden-The Book Of Souls
2016  Dream Theater-The Astonishing
2017  The Silent Wedding-Enigma Eternal
2018  Tribulation-Down Below
2019  Idle Hands-Mana
2020  Armored Saint-Punching The Sky
2021  Helloween-Helloween

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

2008  Metallica-Death Magnetic

You lost me here.

[TAC]

1. I like that album, and

2. It was a slow year

[SoundscapeMN]

2. It was a slow year

2008 was a fantastic year for new albums for me. I consider it 1 of my favorite years for music ever.

[TAC]

2. It was a slow year

2008 was a fantastic year for new albums for me. I consider it 1 of my favorite years for music ever.

Not for this fogey.

[KevShmev]

Yeah, some of my all-time favorite albums had to be left off cause they came out in such strong years, and then albums by Opeth and Queensryche ended up being favorites of weak years despite not being a top 3 album for me by either band.

[TAC]

Yeah, there's probably 4 or 5 albums that "won" their years, but would have trouble cracking the Top 10 of many other years.

[wolfking]

2021  Helloween-Helloween

Big call this.

[425]

Really cool seeing people's lists. I keep seeing an album I really like and having to go back and find what I put ahead of it!

I don’t think 425 is asking us to definitively name the best album of each year, just our personal favorites from each year.

Of course not, this isn't a WildRanger thread.

I'm not ranging wildly here, no. I'd also add that this is something that I expect definitely would change for people over time. E.g., 2018 is a year I didn't pay much attention to new music, and while I really liked Tiara, it's probably one of my less favored albums on that list as a whole. I'm catching up soon on a few albums from 2018, so that spot could potentially change for me soon.

[ProfessorPeart]

I will echo what many have already said, many albums that ended up being my top album for their respective year weren't even my favorite by said band/artist and many favorites didn't make it. Many that were my album of the year got overtaken by someone I discovered years later. Hard to wrap my head around that.

I went birth year plus one (tried to go further than '75 but gave up):

1975: Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
1976: Boston - Boston
1977: Steely Dan - Aja
1978: Rush - Hemispheres
1979: AC\DC - Highway To Hell
1980: Rush - Permanent Waves
1981: Rush - Moving Pictures
1982: Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast
1983: Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
1984: Rush - Grace Under Pressure
1985: Marillion - Misplaced Childhood
1986: Metallica - Master Of Puppets (killed me to not go Maiden)
1987: Anthrax - Among The Living
1988: Fates Warning - No Exit
1989: Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining
1990: Anthrax - Persistence Of Time
1991: Galactic Cowboys - Galactic Cowboys
1992: Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
1993: Lillian Axe - Psychoschizophrenia
1994: Queensryche - Promised Land
1995: Mad Season - Above
1996: The Refreshments - Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy
1997: Psycho Motel - Welcome To The World
1998: Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding
1999: Opeth - Still Life
2000: Spock's Beard - V (hardest year for me, way too much good stuff)
2001: Opeth - Blackwater Park
2002: Rush - Vapor Trails
2003: Killing Joke - Killing Joke
2004: Biffy Clyro - Infinity Land
2005: Spock's Beard - Octane
2006: Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance
2007: Machine Head - The Blackening
2008: Opeth - Watershed
2009: Beardfish - Destined Solitaire
2010: Ihsahn - After
2011: Anthrax - Worship Music
2012: Esthero - Everything Is Expensive
2013: Bruce Soord & Jonas Renkse - Wisdom Of Crowds
2014: Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed
2015: Veruca Salt - Ghost Notes
2016: The Dead Deads - For Your Obliteration
2017: Soen - Lykaia
2018: Rikard Sjöblom's Gungfly - Friendship
2019: Tool - Fear Inoculum
2020: Deathwhite - Grave Image
2021: Soen - Imperial (for now)

[HOF]

I went through every year that I have an album for, although the 60s are basically defaults (I don't even like In The Court of the Crimson King that much by KC standards, but it's the only album I have from 1969). Parenthesis are for close calls where I could flip one way or the other.

1966: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

1968: Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
1969: King Crimson - In The Court of the Crimson King
1970: Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water
1971: Genesis - Nursery Cryme
1972: Genesis - Foxtrot
1973: Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
1974: King Crimson - Red
1975: PFM - Chocolate Kings
1976: Genesis - A Trick of the Tail (or Wind & Wuthering)
1977: Camel - Rain Dances
1978: Steve Hackett - Please Don’t Touch
1979: Steve Hackett - Spectral Mornings
1980: Genesis - Duke
1981: Journey - Escape
1982: Rush - Signals (King Crimson - Beat, Peter Gabriel - Security)
1983: Journey - Frontiers (Yes - 90125)
1984: Rush - Grace Under Pressure (The Blue Nile - A Walk Across the Rooftops)
1985: Rush - Power Windows 
1986: Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring (Peter Gabriel - So)
1987: Marillion - Clutching at Straws
1988: Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
1989: The Blue Nile - Hats (Hats wins, but have to mention The Seeds of Love and Presto as well)
1990: King’s X - Faith Hope Love
1991: Marillion - Holidays in Eden (U2 - Achtung Baby)
1992: Gin Blossoms - New Miserable Experience (Dream Theater - Images and Words)
1993: Winger - Pull
1994: Marillion - Brave (1993 and 1994 were incredible, lots of favorites and too many to mention)
1995: Marillion - Afraid of Sunlight
1996: Eric Johnson - Venus Isle
1997: Spock’s Beard - The Kindness of Strangers (Dream Theater - Falling into Infinity)
1998: Enchant - Break (another tough year with several candidates)
1999: Liquid Tension Experiment - 2
2000: Kip Winger - Songs From The Ocean Floor
2001: Transatlantic - Bridge Across Forever
2002: Spock’s Beard - Snow (Peter Gabriel - Up)
2003: OSI - Office of Strategic Influence
2004: Marillion - Marbles
2005: The Clientele - Strange Geometry
2006: Ty Tabor - Rock Garden (kind of a meh year)
2007: Big Big Train - The Difference Machine
2008: Moon Safari - Blomljud (Big Big Train - English Boy Wonders)
2009: Big Big Train - The Underfall Yard
2010: Big Big Train - Far Skies Deep Time
2011: Gotye - Making Mirrors (this year was really thin, but this is a great album)
2012: Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Crown and Treaty 
2013: Big Big Train - English Electric: Full Power
2014: Fernando Perdomo - Warm
2015: Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Motorcade Amnesiacs
2016: Marillion - FEAR 
2017: Public Service Broadcasting - Every Valley   
2018: Fernando Perdomo - Out to Sea
2019: Big Big Train - Grand Tour
2020: McStine & Minnemann - s/t (Dyble Longdon - Between a Breath and a Breath)

Definitely gets harder in more recent years where there are more albums to consider and less time to have lived with some of them (although I haven't lived with a lot of the older albums all that long necessarily either). 

[ariich]

2. It was a slow year

2008 was a fantastic year for new albums for me. I consider it 1 of my favorite years for music ever.

Not for this fogey.

I'm in the 2008 Was Fantastic camp. Two 10/10 albums, seven 9/10 and around thirty 8/10 albums (one of which is indeed Death Magnetic).

[MirrorMask]

I decided I'll give it a try.

For now, some assumptions about how it will go:

- The '70s won't have that many contestants, so Alice Cooper, Judas Priest and Rainbow will dominate 'em, maybe Bruce Springsteen will sneak in with Born to Run or Darkness on the Edge of Town.

- The '80s will be dominated by Iron Maiden.

- The '90s will be saved by the rise of power metal and probably Savatage, also it will bring us Dream Theater.

- The third millennium is probably gonna be more varied.

[Zydar]

This looks like a real challenge for me if I decided to make a list. Don't know quite where to start, but I'd guess the mid 60s (my favourite music decades are the 60s and 70s).

[MirrorMask]

I've done it.... here we go by decades!

1970: BLACK SABBATH - Black Sabbath (as a reward for starting the genre, they really had no competition)
1971: ALICE COOPER - Killer
1972: ALICE COOPER - School's Out
1973: ALICE COOPER - Billion Dollar Babies
1974: QUEEN - Queen II
1975: RAINBOW - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
1976: JUDAS PRIEST - Sad Wings of Destiny
1977: JUDAS PRIEST - Sin After Sin & MEAT LOAF - Bat Out of Hell
1978: RAINBOW - Long Live Rock n' Roll & BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Darkness on the Edge of Town
1979: JUDAS PRIEST - Unleashed in the East

Decades consideration: 1970 and 1979 had really no other choices for me, and since for lack of competition Judas Priest was basically winning four year straight, I removed Hell Bent from Leather from 1978 to give a shoutout for Bruce Springsteen, alongside with Rainbow that already won over Bruce's 1975 Born to Run.

==========

1980: IRON MAIDEN - Iron Maiden
1981: BLACK SABBATH - Mob Rules
1982: IRON MAIDEN - The Number of the Beast
1983: IRON MAIDEN - Piece of Mind
1984: METALLICA - Ride the Lightning
1985: HELLOWEEN - Walls of Jericho
1986: METALLICA - Master of Puppets
1987: HELLOWEEN - Keeper of the Seven Keys part I
1988: IRON MAIDEN - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son & HELLOWEEN - Keeper of the Seven Keys part II
1989: SAVATAGE - Gutter Ballet

Decades consideration: we all know how chock full of classics this era is. For example it's obvious that Operation Mindcrime is a masterpiece, but I decided to not give more than two awards per year. So many bands got the short end of the stick here, for example Manowar.

==========

1990: JUDAS PRIEST - Painkiller
1991: SAVATAGE - Streets: A Rock Opera & METALLICA - Metallica
1992: DREAM THEATER - Images and Words & BLIND GUARDIAN - Somewhere Far Beyond
1993: SAVATAGE - Edge of Thorns & MEAT LOAF - Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell
1994: DREAM THEATER - Awake
1995: RAGE - Black in Mind & BLIND GUARDIAN - Imaginations from the Other Side
1996: RAGE - End of All Days
1997: BRUCE DICKINSON - Accident of Birth
1998: BRUCE DICKINSON - The Chemical Wedding & BLIND GUARDIAN - Nightfall in Middle Earth
1999: DREAM THEATER - Scenes from a Memory

The rise of power metal. Stratovarius and Virgin Steele couldn't get a win, but they released so many great albums in the decade. Also shoutout for Iced Earth, they never bested an insane competition but Stormrider, Dark Sage and Something Wicked this Way Comes are awesome. 1998 was so ridiculously full of awesome album: the IE one, Rage'x XIII, Virgin Steele's Invictus...

==========

2000: IRON MAIDEN - Brave New World & TRANS SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA - Beethoven's Last Night
2001: AVANTASIA - The Metal Opera part I & KAMELOT - Karma
2002: BLIND GUARDIAN - A Night at the Opera & RAGE - Unity
2003: IRON MAIDEN - Dance of Death & KAMELOT - Epica
2004: THERION - Sirius B & Lemuria (released together)
2005: DREAM THEATER - Octavarium
2006: IRON MAIDEN - A Matter of Life and Death
2007: SONATA ARCTICA - Unia & HELLOWEEN - Gambling with the Devil
2008: AVANTASIA - The Scarecrow & ELVENKING - Two Tragedy Poets (...and a Caravan of Weird Figures)
2009: ELUVEITIE - Evocation I - The Arcane Dominion

Decades consideration: Some clear victories here, but once again my self imposed restraint to two albums left out many worthwile choices in the power / heavy / symphonic genre. At least a pure folk metal album won

==========

2010: BLIND GUARDIAN - At the Edge of Time
2011: NIGHTWISH - Imaginaerum
2012: ELVENKING - Era
2013: RAGE / LINGUA MORTIS ORCHESTRA - LMO
2014: ELVENKING - The Pagan Manifesto
2015: IRON MAIDEN - The Book of Souls
2016: AVANTASIA - Ghostlights
2017: RAGE - Seasons of the Black & ELVENKING - Secrets of the Magick Grimoire
2018: JUDAS PRIEST - Firepower & GHOST - Prequelle
2019: CELLAR DARLING - The Spell & ELVENKING - Reader of the Runes - Divination
2020: NIGHTWISH - Human || Nature

Decades consideration: once again, I would have loved to pay homage to some bands that never won, but the competition is tough and I felt there needed to be clear winners, rather than giving double awards every year

==========

2021 so far: THERION - Leviathan; predicted: HELLOWEEN - Helloween

[The Realm]

I commend everyone for doing this. These lists are a great read. I have to admit I'd find this extremely challenging and nearly impossible to do..

[wolfking]

I commend everyone for doing this. These lists are a great read. I have to admit I'd find this extremely challenging and nearly impossible to do..

Yeah, this would take me heaps of time too.  Everyone is whipping these up quick, it's quite incredible.

[wolfking]

1989: Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining

That could be the first time I've ever seen Midnight Oil mentioned on DTF.  some nice classics on that one.  Forgotten Years maybe my fav track from them.

[The Realm]

1989: Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining

That could be the first time I've ever seen Midnight Oil mentioned on DTF.  some nice classics on that one.  Forgotten Years maybe my fav track from them.

Yes agree. Love Midnight Oil, a classic aussie band.

[ProfessorPeart]

1989: Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining

That could be the first time I've ever seen Midnight Oil mentioned on DTF.  some nice classics on that one.  Forgotten Years maybe my fav track from them.

Yes agree. Love Midnight Oil, a classic aussie band.

Yeah, this album just struck a chord with me back in the day. No idea why. I just absolutely adore this record. It's a desert island disc type love. I only own this one and Diesel and Dust. Nothing else really hit me from them.

I regularly revisit this album. Just a classic in my book.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I commend everyone for doing this. These lists are a great read. I have to admit I'd find this extremely challenging and nearly impossible to do..

Yeah, this would take me heaps of time too.  Everyone is whipping these up quick, it's quite incredible.

I keep constant tabs on all my music via rateyourmusic.com, so it was super easy for me. I can track every album I own (including what format it's in) and rate/review them and the site also allows you to view your music collection by year of release or by rating or alphabetically or whatever.

[TAC]

I pulled up my Top 50 Thread from 2012. That filled in 26 of the 52 years. Then I just pulled up the years in hard rock in wiki for each year. It was actually an easy exercise.

[HOF]

I’ve got everything ripped to my computer so I just sort by year. There are a few releases that got tagged wrong here and there or are reissues which messes things up, but generally it was just go year by year and pick a favorite.

[wolfking]

I pulled up my Top 50 Thread from 2012. That filled in 26 of the 52 years. Then I just pulled up the years in hard rock in wiki for each year. It was actually an easy exercise.

Wiki probably the way I'd do it too.  Might have a crack on the weekend.

[Mladen]

I need to find time to figure this out. 

[MirrorMask]

I commend everyone for doing this. These lists are a great read. I have to admit I'd find this extremely challenging and nearly impossible to do..

Yeah, this would take me heaps of time too.  Everyone is whipping these up quick, it's quite incredible.

I guess the point is to not overthink it. It stops becoming fun if you agonize 2 hours over which of three albums of vastly different genres is the actual best, for each year 

[Fritzinger]

This is so difficult. I will try to make a list but it will take me some days and will cause some inner fights with myself 

[Zydar]

Looks like I have something to do this weekend

[Mladen]

I actually tried to do this once but I'm not sure I made it all the way through. I'll have to look for it.

[jingle.boy]

I will peruse my iTunes for fun and cover 1968-2020:

That's pretty much what I'm going to do ... when I have the time to knock this out.  Maybe over lunch today/tomorrow.  I'll likely start back in '68 or '69.  Looking forward to reading everyone's choices.