Dec 31, 2021 14:59:37 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Dec 30, 2021 8:34:59 GMT 12 foveaux said:

OK DL colleagues...time to reveal what your choice/recommendation is for 'Best of 2021' album? 

What are some of yours?

Per earlier, my 'Best of 2021' choice is:



Making up my top 5:








I'm clearly on the backroads, The Hold Steady was the only one on any of the aforementioned lists.   

"I see music as a lifetime affair." [Rory Gallagher]

Thanks foveaux Downloaded for later listening.

Lady Blackbird has a great sound and feeling to her voice!

Don't know how you do it Citroen. I'm still catching up on 1969 releases. You have amazing eclectic tastes .
Besides the Santana MFSL mentioned previously the only other cd purchases I can remember were a couple of Caravan reissues and the Nick Cave vol2 odds and sods . Oh, almost forgot J Tull Benefit in the book edition to match the previous Tull deluxe reissues. Nice to finally have that one.
Two lps only, Maria Mckee Sin to Get Saved and Richard Thompson Mirror Blue.

All oldies and or reissues.
My best of boils down to Mirror Blue, nicely done and completes my RT vinyl collection as far as I wish to go.

Was going to chase the Steven Wilson lp but much of his solo work leaves me cold, too much jazzy prog and not enough rock.
A quick count throws up 108 Wilson related releases as an artist in my collection. Think he's had enough of my coin.

My best of 2021 is pretty limited compared to many here, especially Citroen - I take my hat off to you.
After Amy Helm I have The Felice Brothers, From Dreams to Dust, and Rhiannon Giddens, They're Calling Me Home. I also have one that made the Rolling Stones list - James McMurtry, The Horses and The Hounds, but I don't think it a patch on some of his earlier stuff.

A lot of good sounding folk/rock/americana there robertr that I've not yet explored.

Best New Zealand album

Teeks - Something to Feel

Honorable mention, Fat Freddy's Drop - Wairaunga

Best NZ re-issue

The long awaited re-issue of The Clean's EP - Boodle, Boodle, Boodle

Honorable mention, Little Bushman's Onus of Sand

Best of the rest in pop/rock

John Grant – Boy From Michigan

Honorable mention, Billie Eilish - Happier Than Ever, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis – Carnage

And finally, my album of the year, well at least today is

Sufjan Steven and Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner's Mind

Come on guys, don't be shy.

Would love to hear your one or two recommended releases from 2021. I have a short attention span and so am always looking for new music to indulge in.

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@everyone ELSE!

Gosh Citroen , it’s not like you need any more encouragement! 😂
I had to do a quick check of Discogs and Spotify.

Turns out, I listened to Thelma Houston “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning” a total of 309 times last year.
(BTW that is just the Spotify plays, and doesn’t include spinning the same vinyl 12” on the Technics)
So not sure I’ll be able help much here at all.

Of the 188 titles I added to my vinyl collection last year, only three were released in 2021.



Teeks (we saw him perform live at the Civic, and was gifted the record as a souvenir of the evening)


Amy Winehouse Live at BBC (actually bought with birthday vouchers) 😬

And one proper new release album that I can actually recommend…



Str4ta “Aspects” - proper Acid Jazz from the Gilles Peterson stable. 

Beyond vinyl ownership as a mark of commitment; my recent release recommendations would all be indie-soul things like Sault “Nine”, Cleo Sol’s new one, Jayda G’s DJ Kicks mixtape, Arlo Parks, Moodymann, Kaytranada etc etc.

So, yeah. 🙄

Have been spending the last few days streaming through the various “Best Of” lists above, which is such a great way to discover new music.
Definitely a fan of Floating Points and Pharaoh Sanders, and also Sufjan Stevens! 🤓

Thelma has such an 80's vibe.

Str4ta “Aspects” is FUNkey! A new one for me.

Unfortunately couldn't get into Sault, but Arlo Parks is an easy listen. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Jan 2, 2022 19:13:53 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Thelma has such an 80's vibe.

309 times... Let that sink in for a minute. 🤪

I have been following this thread, but reflected that 2021 was a pretty crap year all round. Under the duress of the small underpowered frenchman I looked back at my discogs purchases for the year, mostly re-issues.

My Best Of 2021
Vera Ellen - It's Your Birthday
Negative Nancies - Heat Wave
Reb Fountain - Iris

Best Re-issue
Voom - Hello Are You There
Clean - Boodle Boodle Boodle

Best thing I've heard searching through all the best off lists: Little Simz - Sometimes I might be Introvert. Her NPR Tiny desk is worth checking out.

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

Jan 3, 2022 6:07:20 GMT 12 papahemi said:

Little Simz - Sometimes I might be Introvert. Her NPR Tiny desk is worth checking out.

+1 👍

I Love You, I Hate You has been particularly relevant to me very recently, papahemi.

Somehow I thought you might come up with something as interesting as the Negative Nancies (listening now).

Jan 3, 2022 7:22:51 GMT 12 raveydave said:

Jan 3, 2022 6:07:20 GMT 12 papahemi said:

Little Simz - Sometimes I might be Introvert. Her NPR Tiny desk is worth checking out.

+1 👍

Interesting to see how she's progressed from her 2017 NPR tiny desk concert.

Speaking of Tiny Desk concerts and 2021, any love for Khruangbin’s latest efforts here?

I've never really been able to get into Khruangbin.

Jan 3, 2022 7:26:05 GMT 12 Citroen said:

I Love You, I Hate You has been particularly relevant to me very recently, papahemi.

Somehow I thought you might come up with something as interesting as the Negative Nancies (listening now).

papahemi, I think they might be a step too far even for me!

Jan 3, 2022 19:22:18 GMT 12 Citroen said:

Jan 3, 2022 7:26:05 GMT 12 Citroen said:

I Love You, I Hate You has been particularly relevant to me very recently, papahemi.

Somehow I thought you might come up with something as interesting as the Negative Nancies (listening now).

papahemi , I think they might be a step too far even for me!

Be persistent and be rewarded

We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.

Jan 1, 2022 20:14:43 GMT 12 Citroen said:

And finally, my album of the year, well at least today is

Sufjan Steven and Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner's Mind

Wasn't he going to do a record for each state? I have Greetings from Michigan which I believe is still virgin.
This was my problem reading Mojo,Uncut,Record Collector etc back aways and chasing after their current FOM or some under appreciated genius. Ended up with far to many unwanted records.

Jan 4, 2022 8:01:07 GMT 12 cooksferry said:

Wasn't he going to do a record for each state? I have Greetings from Michigan which I believe is still virgin.

Yeah, that seems like a silly youthful marketing boast now. 🙄
“(Come on feel the) Illinoise” is still such a landmark album though. ‘Casimir Pulaski Day’ pulls a tear, or a least a lump in my throat, every time. 🥲



Sufjan is quite an engaging live performer as well, I think we saw him here last just before the “Carrie & Lowell” album. Just as he is was getting a bit more (god forbid) electronic.

Jan 3, 2022 8:57:25 GMT 12 Citroen said:

I've never really been able to get into Khruangbin.

How about a little “gateway” taster? 😵‍💫
(a little sugar helps the medicine go down - I could watch Laura Lee play that bass guitar, all day!)

In theory I should really like Khruangbin, and even bought a copy of Con Todo El Mundo, after streaming it several times.
Been quite some time since I've given it a spin but will fix that soon. Maybe it will grow on me...

OK, I was enjoying the first side. Nice relaxing summer's day easy listening. But by the time I got to the end of the album I was back to probably really not my thing. Got a bit too smaltzy/gooey/generic. I think it was the introduction of the vocals that did this. Oh well, nevermind.

Want to buy a used copy of Con Todo El Mundo raveydave, probably only played twice!?

At least you gave it a good crack. 😇

Thanks for the offer Citroen - but I’m happy enough now with the streaming services for “new” / “recent” music.
Hence why I only added 3 vinyl titles to my collection from 2021, and 2 of those were essentially gifts from friends.

Con Todo is a 2018 release.

Can I sweeten the deal then? Not free, but its yours raveydave for ANY bottle of wine

No worries if you don't want this album. I can understand why!

Now, there’s a deal I can’t possibly pass up!

I’ll see if I can find something suitable in the wine rack to trade.
Will be in touch via PM. 👍