Pitchfork's Top 25

Pitchfork, the original hipster music blog, is approaching their 25th anniversary, and to celebrate, they are asking readers to rank their top 25 albums of the past 25 years (1996 till today). Y'all know I'm a sucker for this shit.

I mean, I have a lot of problems with such a list in such a context. I think that the time period is a little too arbitrary to allow the list to really mean something at the end of the day (though I guess "decades" and "years" are arbitrary too when you think about it, so what the fuck do I know). I think that the exercise is a bit too much like a pat on the back for a website that has long since lost its original appeal (though I do still check it most days, if only to see what the reviews are).

And I think that the music that I love and have traditionally ranked high on any personal list is going to mostly be from this time period anyway, so asking for my "favorite between 1996 and 2021" is, for the most part, akin to asking me what my favorite albums of all time are. Sure, this list is going to miss a couple all-timers from Led Zeppelin, Dylan, Springsteen, Pink Floyd, that kind of shit. But the vast majority of my favorite albums of all time were released after January 1, 1996.

So yes! Making this list was pointless! But c'mon, you knew as soon as you saw that Pitchfork was asking for Top 25s that Puke on Your Birthday was gonna do it. So here it is. Don't @ me.

Joe K***'s Top 25 Albums from 1996 to 2021

25. Kids in Philly by Marah

24. Sleep Well Beast by the National

23. Everything Goes Numb by Streetlight Manifesto

22. The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance

21. Guitar Romantic by the Exploding Hearts

20. Twin Cinema by the New Pornographers

19. Stuck on Nothing by Free Energy

18. American Idiot by Green Day

17. Return to Cookie Mountain by TV on the Radio

16. Hold On Now, Youngster... by Los Campesinos!

15. The Lonesome Crowded West by Modest Mouse

14. Home, like Noplace Is There by the Hotelier

13. The Execution of All Things by Rilo Kiley

12. Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend

11. Pedestrian Verse by Frightened Rabbit

10. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

9. Cardinal by Pinegrove

8. Funeral by Arcade Fire

7. Celebration Rock by Japandroids

6. In the Aeroplane over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel

5. Boxer by the National

4. Illinois by Sufjan Stevens

3. Apologies to the Queen Mary by Wolf Parade

2. The Monitor by Titus Andronicus

1. Boys and Girls in America by the Hold Steady

Of course there are honorable mentions, of which I've limited to 25 as well (originally I had 62 albums listed, so culling that bottom dozen was probably the most difficult part of this exercise). They are in alphabetical order:

After the Party by the Menzingers, All Killer No Filler by Sum 41, American Slang by the Gaslight Anthem, Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One by the Olivia Tremor Control, Bon Iver, Bon Iver by Bon Iver, Chutes Too Narrow by the Shins, De-Loused in the Comatorium by the Mars Volta, Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon, Harlem River Blues by Justin Townes Earle, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by the Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Painted Shut by Hop Along, Picaresque by the Decemberists, The Reminder by Feist, Sam's Town by the Killers, Scrambles by Bomb the Music Industry!, The Silver Gymnasium by Okkervil River, The Soft Bulletin by the Flaming Lips, Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest, Tomorrow's Hits by the Men, Torches by Foster the People, Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me!, The Trials of Van Occupanther by Midlake, Wakin on a Pretty Daze by Kurt Vile, You're Gonna Miss It All by Modern Baseball

That was fun, I guess! At the very least a good way to kill an hour! I thought about linking the album titles to previous blog posts in which I've written about that album, but that would not be a fun way to kill another hour, so if you wanna learn more, utilize that search function at the top of the blog. It works pretty well!

I have no idea how to end this blog post, so let's just say this: Fuck Pitchfork. Motherfuckers are gonna make sure My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is the top of this list, aren't they?