January 2016

• Tame Impala - Currents (2015,LP) ★★★★★
• Clutch - Blast Tyrant (2004,LP) ★★★★☆
• Kadavar - Berlin (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think... (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Porcupine Tree - Signify (2004,LP) ★★★★★
• Donovan - Donovan: Storyteller (2003,SACD) ★★★★☆
• Santana - Crickets & Angels (1974,Bootleg LP) ★★★★★
• Spoon - TV Set (2015,EP) ★★★★☆
• Jimmy Buffett - High Cumberland Jubilee (1976,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Dennis Brown - The Prophet Rides Again (1983,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• Various - Jesus Christ Superstar OST (1970,LP) ★★★★☆
• Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977,R) ★★★★☆
• Rush - 2112 (1976,R) ★★★★☆
• The Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music (2003,R) ★★★★☆
• Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (2002,R) ★★★★★
• Coloured Balls - Ball Power (1973,LP) ★★★★☆
• Dean Martin - This Time I'm Swingin' (1960,MFSL LP) ★★★★☆
• Rush - Feedback (2004,LP) ★★★★☆
• The Replacements - Let it Be (1984,LP) ★★★★☆
• Elton John - Captain Fantastic... (1975,LP) ★★★★☆
• JJ Grey & Mofro - Georgia Warhorse (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Penny Arkade - Not the Freeze (2004,S) ★★★☆☆
• Duran Duran - Duran Duran (1981,S) ★★★★☆
• Journey - Infinity (1978,S) ★★★★☆
• The Replacements - Hootenanny (1983,S) ★★★☆☆
• Eagles - Hotel California (1976,S) ★★★★★
  • RIP Glenn Frey 1/18/16.
• Crowded House - Crowded House (1988,S) ★★★★★
• Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells II (1992,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Herman's Hermits - Blaze (1967,LP) ★★★★☆
• Tom Robinson - Hope and Glory (1984,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Kohoutek - Losslessloss (2009,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• Mana - ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Niños? (1984,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Vivaldi - Four Seasons (2013,LP) ★★★★☆
• Trey Anastasio - Paper Wheels (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• David Bowie - Let's Dance (1983,LP) ★★★★☆
  • The album that introduced me to his music. RIP Major Tom 11/10/16.
• Steve Strauss - Steve Strauss (2005,SACD) ★★★★☆
• Toto - Hyrda (1979,LP) ★★★★☆
• Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000,LP) ★★☆☆☆
• Joanna Newsom - Divers (2015,S) ★★☆☆☆
• David Bowie - Blackstar (2016,LP) ★★★★☆
• Richard Thompson - I Want to See the Bright... (1974,S) ★★★★☆
• Enya - Enya (1986,S) ★★★★☆
• Cibo Matto - Stereotype A (1999,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion (2007,S) ★★★★☆
• Beck - Sea Changes (2002, MFSL 2009 LP) ★★★★★
• The Beatles - 1 (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell (2015,LP) ★★★★☆
• Fripp & Eno - Evening Star (1975,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Camel - Pressure Points (1984,LP) ★★★★☆
• Anathema - A Natural Disaster (2003,S) ★★★☆☆
• Black Roots - Black Roots (1983) ★★★☆☆
• Jeff Bridges - Sleeping Tapes (2015,DD) ★★★☆☆
• Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970,LP) ★★★★★
• Toto - XIV (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Belle & Sebastian - Girls in Peacetime... (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Gavin Harrison - Cheating the Polygraph (2015,DTS 5.1) ★★★☆☆
• Shy Kids - Lofty! (2015,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Leon Bridges - Coming Home (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Husker Du - Zen Arcade (1984,S) ★★★☆☆
• Clutch - Blast Tyrant (2007,S) ★★★★☆
• Sun Kil Moon - Benji (2014,S) ★★★★☆
• Chelsea Wolfe - Abyss (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Billy Joe Shaver - Long in the Tooth (2014,S) ★★★★☆
• Kadavar - Berlin (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Marina and the Diamonds - Froot (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Ciccada - The Finest of Miracles (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Brian Wilson - No Pier Pressure (2015,LP) ★★★☆☆
• Joan Osborne - Relish (1995,LP) ★★★★☆
• Clutch - From Beale Street to Oblivion (2007,S) ★★★★☆
• Between the Buried and Me - Coma Ecliptic (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Laura Marling - Short Movie (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Lanterns on the Lake - Beings (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Blanck Mass - Dumb Flesh (2015,S) ★☆☆☆☆
• Kacey Musgraves - Pagaent Material (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Tony Joe White - Shine (2010,S) ★★★★☆
• Mbongwana Star - From Kinshasa (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Anna von Hausswolff - The Miraculous (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Kamasi Washington - The Epic (2015,S) ★★★★☆
• Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon (2015,S) ★☆☆☆☆
• Wilco - Star Wars (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Ezra Furman - Perpetual Motion People (2015,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Viet Cong - Viet Cong (2015,S) ★★☆☆☆
• Charli XCX - Sucker (2015,S) ★★☆☆☆
• John Grant - Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (2015,S) ★★★☆☆
• Pinkshinyultrablast - Everything Else Matters (2015,S) ★★★☆☆

Chuck's Rating Scale

• Classic / Essential (Tops) 4.4 to 5.0 ★★★★★
• Must Listen (Great) 3.4 to 4.3 ★★★★☆
• Worthy Effort (Maybe to Good) 2.4 to 3.3 ★★★☆☆
• Below Expectations (Bad) 1.4 to 2.3 ★★☆☆☆
• Avoid (Awful) 0 to 1.3 ★☆☆☆☆

Note: Every December and January I like to peruse "best of the year" album lists. Although this has its rewards it can be an arduous task because the emphasis tends to be on teenage pop music, including rap and hip-hop, which are genres I typically find aurally offensive as a 53-year old male. Also, given the many thousands of new releases each year, it's annoying and somewhat laughable how many of these lists have nearly identical top tens. In my opinion, which of course is subject to bias like all other music list makers, many authors irresponsibly omit, or at least limit, important genres including (but not limited to) jazz, reggae, progressive rock, bluegrass, folk and various world music releases. As a result many lists quickly become boringly formulaic and repetitive due to their blatant similarities.

Steven Wilson's, "Hand.Cannot.Erase" album is considered one of the year's finest prog rock releases among listeners with a more sophisticated musical palette (just kidding! well, not really!), and I only found it on one of the over fifty lists I reviewed. Regardless of such omissions by supposed music aficionados and the "play it safe" top 40 crowd, there are a few under-the-radar gems to be discovered on some of the better lists, such as on RYM. I usually make a few discoveries each year, so overall the effort is definitely worthwhile and at the very least expands my knowledge of contemporary popular music. There's some interesting and original music out there if you dig, but it's frustrating how much mediocrity one must filter through to find it.

My initial impressions (and ratings) may change after repeated plays. I love albums that grab my attention on the first listen, but many others take several listens to truly appreciate and ratings may be updated accordingly.

Proviso: I tend to play albums I am familiar with and enjoy (imagine that!), so my ratings are typically at the mid to high end of the scale.

This list is chronological with the top album being the most recently played. Sound quality ratings are included for some releases, such as multichannel mixes and audiophile labels.

Vinyl is my preferred and typical method for playback, but I occasionally listen to SACD, DVD-Audio, Blu-ray and (less likely) Redbook CD. For releases I don't own, esp. for music exploration and discovery, Spotify and YouTube are my favorite online resources for music streaming (noted with an 'S'). A new designation introduced this month is 'Road,' which is for music played in my car via Spotify, Amazon Music, or my iPhone.

Older lists are saved in the archive folder.