33 Years of Albums

This meme, cribbed from The Onion's AV Club Blog, is nicely straightforward - your favorite album from each year of your life. Clearly, all are not albums I listened to originally, but these are what I from today's perspective value most dearly from each of the past 33 years:

1974 - Queen II, Queen - Great concept rock pomposity.

1975 - Blood on the Tracks - - Bob Dylan - Maybe my favorite Dylan album.

1976 - Desire - Bob Dylan - A default pick; only 1976 album I have. (A fine album, albeit no Blood on the Tracks)

1977 - My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello - . . . and the News!

1978 - This Year's Model - Elvis Costello and the Attractions - Such a difference a band makes.

1979 - Quadrophenia - The Who - I liked this album a lot more when I stopped trying to figure out the nonexistent "story."

1980 - Get Happy!! - Elvis Costello - Just edging out U2's Boy.

1981 - October - U2 - But the Boys beat Trust here.

1982 - Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen

1983 - Synchronicity - The Police - Another album I need to upgrade on. Well, maybe not "Mother."

1984 - Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen - And yet another!

1985 - Scarecrow - John Cougar Mellencamp - Mellencamp matures.

1986 - Graceland - Paul Simon - "Homeless" is still one of the prettiest things I've ever heard.

1987 - The Joshua Tree - U2 - Of course. Although Mellencamp's The Lonesome Jubilee does make a strong showing.

1988 - Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman - Check out "For You" - an undiscovered gem.

1989 - Oh Mercy - Bob Dylan - In extolling the greatness of the late 90s-early 00's triptych, I often forget how this precursor to those albums is.

1990 - Rhythm of the Saints - Paul Simon - Is it now a cxliche to say you prefer this to Graceland?

1991 - Achtung Baby - U2 - And Sting's luminous The Souls Cages weeps.

1992 - Amused to Death - Roger Waters - I'm not a big Pink Floyd fan, but I love this.

1993 - The Juliet Letters - Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet - A gorgeous song cycle.

1994 - Grace - Jeff Buckley - and yet if he hadn't died, I'm willing to bet that I'd never have heard of him.

1995 - The Bends - Radiohead - Amazing how their music has changed, no?

1996 - Boys for Pele - Tori Amos - A default pick, really

1997 - Time Out of Mind - Bob Dylan - And I thought U2's Pop and Radiohead's OK Computer would have to fight it out.

1998 - Painted from Memory - Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach - I haven't listened to this in ages. Must remedy.

1999 - Brand New Day - Sting - A slim year!

2000 - All That You Can't leave Behind - U2 - I wouldn't have guessed then how omnipresent a song "Beautiful Day" would be. That sucker's going to last.

2001 - Love and Theft - Bob Dylan - OK. Maybe this is my favorite.

2002 - The Bootleg Series Vol. 5 - 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue - Bob Dylan - My favorite of the Bootleg series.

2003 - North - Elvis Costello - Elvis is always there with a mellow pop album in slow years.

2004 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - Which reminds me - new U2 album just a few months away!

2005 - Illinois - Sufjan Stevens - I am suspect to his charms.

2006 - Modern Times - Bob Dylan - Such a deliciously ironic title for such a classic album.

2007 - Neon Bible - Arcade Fire - A new sound.

Until Whenever