The Wire Top 50 Albums
 

01. Burial - Burial [Hyperdub]
02. Scott Walker - The Drift [4AD]
03. Joanna Newsom - Ys [Drag City]
04. Carla Bozulich - Evangelista [Constellation]
05. Wolf Eyes - Human Animal [Sub Pop]
06. Ornette Coleman - Sound Grammar [Sound Grammar]
07. Ekkehard Ehlers - A Life Without Fear [Staubgold]
08. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go [Domino]
09. Om - Conference Of The Birds [Holy Mountain]
10. Phill Niblock - Touch Three [Touch]
11. Scritti Politti - White Bread Black Beer [Rough Trade]
12. Matmos - The Rose Has Teeth In The Mouth Of A Beast [Matador]
13. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped [Geffen]
14. Wolf Eyes & Anthony Braxton - Black Vomit [Victo]
15. The Knife - Silent Shout [Mute/Brille]
16. Christian Wolff - 10 Exercises [New World]
17. Keiji Haino & Sitaar Tah! - Animamima [Archive/Important]
18. Brightblack Morning Light - Brightblack Morning Light [Matador]
19. Arthur Russell - First Thought Best Thought [Audika/Rough Trade]
20. Broadcast - Future Crayon [Warp]
21. Niobe - White Hats [Tomlab]
22. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House [Warp]
23. Reanimator - Special Powers [Community Library]
24. Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky [Durtro Jnana]
25. Excepter - Alternation [5RC]
26. Alexander Tucker - Furrowed Brow [ATP]
27. Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - Azioni [Die Schachtel]
28. Rafael Toral - Space [Staubgold]
29. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale [Def Jam]
30. MV/EE & The Bummer Road - Mother Of Thousands [Time-Lag]
31. Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice - Gipsy Freedom [5RC]
32. Celtic Frost - Monotheist [Century Media]
33. Kieran Hebden & Steven Reid - The Exchange Sessions Vols 1 & 2 [Domino]
34. Ran Blake - All That Is Tied [Tompkins Square]
35. Mordant Music - Dead Air [Mordant Music]
36. Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise [New World]
37. Little Annie - Songs From The Coalmine Canary [Durtro Jnana]
38. Ruff Sqwad - Guns And Roses Volume 2 [Ruff Sqwad Recordings]
39. Volcano The Bear - Classic Erasmus Fusion [Beta-Lactam Ring]
40. Leopard Leg - The Seven Sistered Sea-Secret Of Shh Shh Shh [Upset The Rhythm]
41. Harlassen - A Way Now [Sustain-Release]
42. Text Of Light - Metal Box [Dirter Promotions]
43. Peaches - Impeach My Bush [XL]
44. Robert Ashley - Foreign Experiences [Lovely Music]
45. Charalambides - A Vintage Burden [Kranky]
46. Peter Evans - More Is More [PSI]
47. Sunn O))) & Boris - Altar [Southern Lord]
48. Dabrye - Two/Three [Ghostly International]
49. Chris Corsano - The Young Cricketer [Hot Cars Warp]
50. Josephine Foster - A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing [Locust]

Posting this because it is more interesting than the other best of the year lists I've seen so far. Definetely interested in cheking out a lot of these albums.

Re: The Wire Top 50 Albums
 

ya. there is a ton of stuff on it that i haven't even herad of... but they got my number 1 right i think!

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

that Scott Walker album is a monster. i'm pretty surprised Burial got the edge, especially in the Wire.

the Joanna Newsom i could not get into, i just don't get the big fuss. the Sonic Youth album was a nice surprise however.

RUFF SQWAD!!!!!!!

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

if there's a break in the avalanche 2007 is promising i should go to this list to see what i've missed.

TVOTR made my number one but it seemed to make everyone else's too. dont really know what i'm missing out on.

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

Is it a problem that i haven't even heard of 38 of the top 50? :o
i'm sure they're all excellent. i'm clearly just not cool enough

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

Yeah I like it cause I haven't heard a lot of this stuff. The only album I have from this list is the Sunn O)))/Boris collab. But I have been meaning to check out:

Burial
Scott Walker (heard samples and is great)
Wolf Eyes
Om
The Knife (I like a lot what I've heard)
Current 93
Keiji Haino

I don't really care that much about end of the year lists, but if it is something that makes me check out some obscure music that I would have never heard of, it is all for the best rather than another list name-dropping the usual suspects.

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

Even the League of Anti-Social Computer Geeks must pity me: I know exactly three of the 50 artists (Burial, Sonic Youth, The Knife (<-- ace!!!)). Thanks, Mr Wire, my Christmas is ruined!

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

I wouldn't go rushing out to get the Scott Walker one unless you have a bit of an idea what you're getting into. Boychild it isn't. Heavy stuff, and on the listen or two I gave of it, I found his singing pretty off-putting. That said it's the kind of album you'd expect to have to give some time so maybe I'll give it more of a chance and end up being in awe of it.

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

That Scott Walker album is great but very dark. His singing is off-putting but the music is so good that you'll listen to it until you start liking it. But yeah this is not happy music...

Re: Wired Top 50 Albums
 

There's a great video from the album here that is a real work of art in itself.
http://www.4ad.com/scottwalker/video/jesse-file/