What are your ten favourite albums from the year you turned 20, + additional question too!

prince sign of the time
add: rem, the smiths, etc too many to quote

 

A baker's dozen off the top of my head (so I'm probably overlooking some better picks) from 1993:
Sebadoh- Bubble & Scrape
Screeching Weasel- Wiggle
Fugazi- In on the Killtaker
ALL- Breaking Things
Flaming Lips- Transmissions from the Satellite Heart
Superchunk- On the Mouth
Dinosaur Jr.- Where You Been
Smudge- Tea, Toast & Turmoil (if compilations are ok)
Yo La Tengo- Painful
Beatnik Filmstars- Laid Back and English
Unrest- Perfect Teeth
Guided by Voices- Vampire on Titus
Archers of Loaf- Icky Mettle

If compilations aren't ok, my 13th pick is Frank Black- s/t

 

Man....I always forget Unrest when these lists threads come up. I think because they don't fit into any genre whatsoever, they seem almost timeless....sounds stupid but I'm just an unrest fanboy always will be. Unrest's Perfect Teeth might be my favorite record of that decade.

 

Stanley Clarke School Days
Ornette Coleman Dancing In Your head
Bob Dylan Desire
Dexter Gordon Biting The Apple
Keith Jarrett The Survivors' Suite
Jaco Pastorius Jaco Pastorius
The Rolling Stones Black and Blue
Woody Shaw Little Red's Fantasy
Weather Report Black Market
Warren Zevon Warren Zevon

 

1976 for me.

Prog:
Picchio Dal Pozzo - Picchio Dal Pozzo /Killer Italian Canterbury.
Van Der Graff Generator - Still Life
Sloche - Stadacone / Great prog-fusion band from Quebec
Art Zoyd - Symphonie Pour Le Jour Ou Bruleront Les Cités / Monster avant-prog from France
Magma - Üdü Ẁüdü
Camel - Moonmadness
Genesis - Trick of the Tail
Gentle Giant - Interview
Celeste - Celeste / Beautiful, pastoral, tranquil Italian prog
Pollen - Pollen / Beautiful Canadian prog

Jazz:
Return to Forever - Romantic Warrior
Iceberg - Coses Nostres
Herman Szobel - Szobel / Brilliant one and done, Zappa influenced fusion
Anthony Braxton - Creative Orchestra Music 1976
Don Cherry - Brown Rice
Shakti - Shakti
Jaco Pastorius - Jaco Pastorius
Jean Luc Ponty - Imaginary Voyage
Weather Report - Black Market
Enrico Rava Quartet - The Pilgrim And The Stars

 

Some of us seem to have lost the ability to count.

 

I turned 20 in 2005. Some favorites from that year:

Nada Surf- The Weight Is a Gift
Beck - Guero
Coldplay - X&Y
Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
My Morning Jacket - Z
Sea Power - Open Season
The Decemberists - Picaresque
Starflyer 59 - Talking Voice vs. Singing Voice
Switchfoot - Nothing Is Sound
The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan

 

Born in 1974 so 1994

Neil Young And Crazy Horse - Sleeps With Angel
Beastie Boys - Ill Communication
Pearl Jam - Vitalogy
Danzig - 4
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Slayer - Divine Intervention
Alice Cooper - The Last Tempation
Liz Phair - Whipsmart
The Rolling Stones - Voodoo Lounge
Johnny Cash - American Recordings

 

1982

Donald Fagen - Nightfly
Roxy Music - Avalon
Elvis Costello - Imperial Bedroom
Talking Heads - The Name of this Band is The Talking Heads
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska
Prince - 1999
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Dire Straits - Love Over Gold
The Clash - Combat Rock
Kate Bush - The Dreaming

 

I turned twenty in 1988. Alphabetically by artist:

Fishbone-Truth And Soul
Metallica-...And Justice For All
Oingo Boingo-Boingo Alive
Robert Plant-Now And Zen
The Pursuit Of Happiness-Love Junk
Queensrÿche-Operation: Mindcrime
R.E.M.-Green
The Smithereens-Green Thoughts
Sonic Youth-Daydream Nation
Frank Zappa-Broadway The Hard Way​

I wouldn't have wanted to be born any earlier. Sure, it would have been cool to have been twenty in 1973, but I'd be a lot closer to death than I am now. Besides, can you imagine how many 8-track tapes I would had to have disposed of?

 

1974

I suppose I could edit this down to ten, but looking at various lists, these all stand-out. I discovered Big Star and Richard Thompson a couple of years later, and my passion for George Jones and all things New Orleans/Meters hadn’t kicked-into high-gear yet, but I liked them, and had them in my collection. The rest were favorites in 1974, and I still enjoy them.

Bridge of Sighs – Robin Trower
Country Life - Roxy Music
Explores Your Mind - Al Green
Fear - John Cale
From The Mars Hotel - Grateful Dead
Fulfillingness’ First Finale - Stevie Wonder
Grievous Angel - Gram Parsons
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight - Richard And Linda Thompson
Natty Dread - Bob Marley & The Wailers
No Other - Gene Clark
On The Beach - Neil Young
Radio City - Big Star
Rejuvenation - The Meters
Slow Dancer - Boz Scaggs
Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy - Brian Eno
The Grand Tour - George Jones
This Time - Waylon Jennings
Veedon Fleece - Van Morrison

I was listening to a lot of Jazz at that point, but the records that I was buying were from the 1960’s and 1950’s. I was also exploring Soul and Blues, but mainly from earlier years as well.

I’m pretty happy with the year that I was born, 1954. If I was born a couple of years earlier, I would have seen more seminal bands live, but military conscription ended in 1972, the year that I graduated from high school, so I missed the Viet Nam War. That was a good thing.

 

1990:

1. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de la Habitual
2. Sinéad O'Connor - i do not want what i haven't got
3. Concrete Blonde - Bloodletting
4. Depeche Mode - Violator
5. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet
6. Neil Young - Ragged Glory
7. Steve Earle - The Hard Way
8. Paul Simon - The Rhythm of the Saints
9. Dwight Yoakam - If There Was a Way
10. Alice In Chains - Facelift

Honorable Mention: A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels...

 

Great list. Yes, best year imo…..you could have bought 2 albums a week and not been finished.

 

The Beatles (White Album)
Beggars Banquet - Rolling Stones
Electric Ladyland - Jimi Hendrix
Gris Gris - Dr. John
Music from Big Pink - the Band
Notorious Byrd Brothers
S.F. Sorrow - Pretty Things
Strictly Personal - Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band
Wee Tam and the Big Huge - Incredible String Band
We’re only in it for the money - Mothers of Invention

all albums I bought that year; excluding those I wouldn't hear until later on.

 

1992

Beastie Boys - Check Your Head
Cracker - Cracker
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Peter Gabriel - Us
Colin Hay - Peaks & Valleys
Michael Nesmith - ...tropical campfires...
Prince and the NPG -
REM - Automatic for the People
Saigon Kick - The Lizard
Social Distortion - Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

1984 would probably be my favorite alternative year, ever so slightly edging out '82 and '83.

 

Cheating [again/21/more noteworthy]:

"NMTB:HTSP ~ Sex Pistols"
"Talking Heads: 77 ~ Talking Heads"
"Rumors ~ Fleetwood Mac"
"My Aim Is True ~ Elvis Costello"
"S/T ~ Foreigner"
"Book of Dreams ~ Steve Miller"
"Aja ~ Steely Dan"
"Exodus ~ Bob Marley & The Wailers"
"Animals ~ Pink Floyd"
"S/T ~ The Clash"
&
Every year in the last half century + has ten albums will enjoy for the rest of my life.

 

So, how did the MOI do that year for you?

 

I can’t come up with 10 albums from 2014, so I’ll do 20 years before I was born…

1. Queen - Queen II
2. Yes - Relayer
3. Lou Reed - Rock 'n' Roll Animal
4. King Crimson - Starless and Bible Black
5. Sparks - Propaganda
6. Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
7. Miles Davis - Get Up with It
8. King Crimson - Red
9. Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets
10. Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)

 

1989

Tom Petty Full Moon Fever
Bob Dylan Oh Mercy
Mellencamp Big Daddy
Stevie Ray Vaughan In Step

Dang! That’s all I can come up with!

 

De La Soul - 3 Feet
Stone Roses - S/T
The Blue Nile - Hats
Galaxie 500 - On Fire
Tears For Fears - The Seeds of Love
The Cure - Disintegration
Pixies - Doolittle
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
The Wedding Present - Bizarro
XTC - Oranges & Lemons

incredible year for music!

 

1984 for me:-

Born in the USA - Bruce Springsteen
Fugazi - Marillion
Stop Making Sense - Talking Heads
Rattlesnakes - Lloyd Cole & The Commotions
Reckless - Bryan Adams
Three of a Perfect Pair - King Crimson
Grace Under Pressure - Rush
A Walk Across the Rooftops - The Blue Nile
Mister Heartbreak - Laurie Anderson
The Unforgettable Fire - U2

 

1990
Black Crowes - Shake Your Moneymaker
World Party - Goodbye Jumbo
Uncle Tupelo - No Depression
Allman Brothers - Seven Turns
Jellyfish - Bellybutton
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Ragged Glory

 

Damn good list ! I have each in my canon !

 

2002:

Bruce Springsteen - The Rising
Elvis Costello - When I Was Cruel
Beth Nielsen Chapman - Deeper Still
Tori Amos - Scarlet Walk
Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Out Of Season
Aimee Mann - Lost In Space
Beck - Sea Change
Jackson Browne - The Naked Ride Home
George Harrison - Brainwashed
Mark Knopfler - The Ragpicker's Dream

Although I'm happy born in 1982, turning 20 in 1973 (my favourite year for music) wouldn't have been a bad thing either:

1973:
Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon
Genesis - Selling England By The Pound
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells
Steely Dan - Countdown To Ecstasy
Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure
Tom Waits - Closing Time
Gene Clark - Roadmaster (only released in the Netherlands, I was born in the right country)
Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes
Sandy Denny - Like An Old Fashioned Waltz

 

1987:
Big Black- Songs About Effing
Chorchazade - Made to be Devoured
Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me
The Bats - Daddys Highway

Not a favorite year for me.