2011 had plenty of nominations for the polls but ultimately didn’t fare well against pretty much any other year from the modern era, and sits 38th in the table out of our 42 threads to date. The series now returns to the decade that has been the highest scoring on average so far, as we turn our minds back to the halcyon days of 1998 - I’m expecting better things here but time will tell.
A reminder of the premise of the thread
After a period of posting and reminiscing, Polls will be posted to rate the music of the year out of ten (based on the albums, singles, gigs, whatever that stand out for you that year) and voting for your favourite of the nominated albums and songs.
Everyone can nominate one album and one song from the year which will then be collated into side-polls which will be open for a few days - please make it clear when you post a nomination for the poll (as opposed to when just posting about songs and albums you like, which are very welcome).
Leaderboard
| Rank | Year | Rating | Top Album | Top Song |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1994 | 9.46 | Portishead - Dummy | Beastie Boys - Sabotage |
| 2 | 1991 | 8.98 | Slint - Spiderland | Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy |
| 3 | 1988 | 8.93 | Pixies - Surfer Rosa | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - The Mercy Street |
| 4 | 1968 | 8.67 | Van Morrison - Astral Weeks | Glen Campbell - Wichita Lineman |
| 5 | 1997 | 8.6 | Radiohead - OK Computer | The Beta Band - Dry The Rain |
| 6 | 1967 | 8.48 | Love - Forever Changes | Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Some Velvet Morning |
| 7 | 1995 | 8.45 | Radiohead - The Bends | The Smashing Pumpkins - 1975 |
| 8 | 1977 | 8.41 | Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express | Donna Summer - I Feel Love |
| 9 | 1969 | 8.35 | The Velvet Underground | The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog |
| 10 | 2013 | 8.29 | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Push the Sky Away | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Jubilee Street |
| 10 | 1992 | 8.29 | Pavement - Slanted & Enchanted | Pulp - Babies |
| 12 | 2019 | 8.14 | Self Esteem - Compliments Please | Big Thief - Not |
| 13 | 2007 | 8.13 | LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver / Radiohead - In Rainbows | LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends / M.I.A. - Paper Planes |
| 13 | 1975 | 8.13 | Neil Young - Tonight’s the Night / Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks | Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Cortez the Killer |
| 15 | 2004 | 8.1 | Madvillain - Madvillainy / Arcade Fire - Funeral | The Walkmen - The Rat |
| 15 | 2001 | 8.1 | The Strokes - Is This It | Roots Manuva - Witness (1 Hope) / Mogwai - My Father My King |
| 17 | 2002 | 8.06 | Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights | LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge |
| 17 | 1981 | 8.06 | The Cure - Faith | New Order - Ceremony |
| 19 | 1979 | 7.96 | Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures | Joy Division - Transmission |
| 20 | 1982 | 7.76 | The Cure - Pornography / Kate Bush - The Dreaming | The Associates - Party Fears Two |
| 21 | 2014 | 7.69 | FKA Twigs - LP1 | FKA Twigs - Two Weeks |
| 22 | 2010 | 7.66 | Kanye West - MBDTF / Joanna Newsom - Have One One Me / Beach House - Teen Dream | Robyn - Dancing On My Own |
| 23 | 1970 | 7.61 | Neil Young - After the Goldrush | Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up |
| 24 | 1972 | 7.53 | Can - Ebe Gamyasi | Stevie Wonder - Superstition |
| 25 | 1976 | 7.47 | David Bowie - Station to Station | Bob Dylan - Hurricane |
| 25 | 1990 | 7.47 | Sonic Youth - Goo | The Cure - Pictures of You |
| 27 | 2015 | 7.44 | Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell | Sufjan Stevens - No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross |
| 28 | 1986 | 7.42 | Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring | New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle |
| 29 | 2005 | 7.39 | Sufjan Stevens - Illinois | Amerie - 1 Thing |
| 30 | 1965 | 7.38 | The Beatles - Rubber Soul | Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) |
| 31 | 2017 | 7.36 | Protomartyr - Relatives in Descent | Kendrick Lamar - Humble |
| 32 | 1987 | 7.32 | Sonic Youth - Sister | The Cure - Just Like Heaven |
| 33 | 1999 | 7.3 | Mogwai - Come On Die Young | Björk - All Is Full Of Love |
| 34 | 2006 | 7.28 | J Dilla - Donuts | TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me |
| 35 | 1983 | 7.26 | REM - Murmur | Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding |
| 36 | 2009 | 7.1 | Fever Ray - Fever Ray | Animal Collective - My Girls |
| 37 | 1974 | 6.95 | Neil Young - On The Beach | Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - The Bottle |
| 38 | 2011 | 6.88 | PJ Harvey - Let England Shake | Low - Especially Me |
| 39 | 1963 | 6.57 | Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan | The Ronettes -Be My Baby |
| 40 | 1985 | 6.53 | Tom Waits - Rain Dogs | Prince and the Revolution - Raspberry Beret |
| 41 | 1962 | 6 | Howlin’ Wolf - Howlin’ Wolf | Dick Dale - Misirlou |
| 42 | 1961 | 5.16 | John Coltrane - My Favourite Things | Roy Orbison - Crying |
1998 was the year when Bill Clinton first told us he did not have, before ultimately admitting that he did have, sexual relations with that woman; it was the year of the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland being voted in via referendum on both sides of the border and marking an end of sorts to the Troubles after nearly thirty years; Titanic won a record-equalling 11 Oscars and Viagra was first approved and sold in the USA.
We said goodbye to Frank Sinatra, Linda McCartney, Tammy Wynette, Akira Kurosawa, Pol Pot and Sonny Bono, and hello to Chappell Roan, Kylian Mbappé, Doechii, Maya Hawke and Trent Alexander Arnold.
But how good was the music?
There will be a week or two to nominate one album and/or one song which will then go into polls along with a number rating poll for year overall out of 10, which will close a few days later. Please state when something you share is a nomination so I can catch it for the poll, but feel free to share as much as you wish during the thread!
Some lists for inspiration:
The 50 Best Albums of 1998 | Pitchfork
Best Albums of 1998 : Best Ever Albums
https://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/1998/
https://www.albumoftheyear.org/ratings/6-highest-rated/1998/1
NME's best albums and tracks of 1998
Nominations will be tallied here as the week goes on:
Album Nominations
Song Nominations
