Great albums released in December (throughout history)

It’s well known that publications tend to release their AOTY lists well ahead of December. Music nerds like us also like to get a jump start on compiling and sharing our lists for discussion. For these reasons, it seems inadvisable to release anything late in the year if hoping to get any publicity. But that doesn’t mean everyone has stuck to that rule.

So, what are some great albums that have come out late in the year? Late November examples are ok too.

Personally, it always takes a while to sort through what I’ve listened in any given year, revisit a ton of stuff, as well as get around to things I hadn’t gotten to yet. And of course, actually wait till the end of the year in case I was anticipating anything, or if there are any surprise drops. I probably take it a little too seriously and should think of it as a snapshot in time, because obviously the list will change over time.

The Avalanches - We Will Always Love You (probably my favourite in recent history)

8 Likes

No question I do. It keeps me semi-sane having a monthly/yearly focus though. Pretty much the only hobbie I’ve stuck out lol

2 Likes

I don’t know about great but El Camino by the Black Keys came out in December 2011. It had Lonely Boy so obv a smash hit

As I said in the listageddon thread, my AOTY last year was released on 10th December

Monuments to an Elegy by the Pumpkins came out in December. It’s my least favorite release of theirs but still very good.

Lots of great stuff in November though. November 2020 had two of my top 5 albums of the year, and possibly the decade so far in Jesu’s Terminus and the Pumpkins’ CYR.

1 Like

November 2019 had two classics too

Billy Corgan’s Americana album Cotillions (seriously, it’s a great album)

Greeth Death’s New Hell (crunchy shoegaze / slowcore)

Run the jewels 3

This gem

7 Likes

November 2018 was great too

Pumpkins’ Shiny and Oh So Bright

Drug Church’s Cheer

Ex:Re S/T

3 Likes

I’m pretty sure that this is the answer, released on December 14th 1987.

9 Likes

Snap

1 Like

D’Angelo and the Vanguard - Black Messiah, released on 15th December 2014. Cracking album.

12 Likes

440px-Beyoncé_-_Beyoncé.svg

3 Likes

A few proper classics:

David Bowie - Hunky Dory (December 1971)
Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (December 1973)
Patti Smith - Horses (December 1975)
The Clash - London Calling (December 1979)
The Fall - Perverted by Language (December 1983)
Dr Dre - The Chronic (December 1992)

8 Likes

15 December 2017, the goat album dropped

7 Likes

TIL December kinda slaps actually

Burial also is known to release in December presumably to avoid hype cycles.

Come Down to Us (11 December 2013) is a masterpiece imo

1 Like

There you have it. This is why we wait.

1 Like

It looks like there have been definite shifts in release patterns over the years. Releasing big albums in December seemed pretty common in the 60s, 70s and 80s and then more or less stopped in the mid-nineties.

In recent years there has been a bit of a trend of releasing unexpected albums late in the year.

1 Like