Josh Ritter's albums of the decade
This record is a Cistine Chapel and a North star, proof of what heights can be achieved with the tools we all have.
Lyrical genius on the level of Pavement and Gerard Manley Hopkins. She burns down every dollhouse she has.
Brilliant, multi-faceted, farm-grown psychedlic rock with lyrics that’ll break your heart before putting it back together again.
There are so many songs on here that showcase Lucinda Williams at the knife-edge of her power. “Fruits of My Labor” is a song that anyone who has ever worked hard with only a sliver of faith that things will turn out can relate to.
Wired to the technicolor gills with every conceivable riff, barb and hook that the musical world has created in the last thirty years, and then switched on. Its like swallowing a tesla-ball and jumping in the ocean.
Dylan’s finest record. It’s highest achievement is the clarity of his hindsight. He’s not being obtuse, he’s not being lazy, he’s telling you things about life that you need to know. I run out of words describing this one.
I once heard a Langhorne live bootleg and I thought it was a fake. I couldn’t believe that anyone out there could perform like he does. This record is him channeling some mixture of James Brown, Loudon Wainright, and Satan.
Like Flannery O’Connor, Will Oldham introduces you to people and then shows you who they really are. I love this record as much for its melodies as its stories.
A lyrical bad-ass and he’d be the last one to let you forget it. My favorite record before he retired and then came back and then retired and then came back.
Aphex Twin switches my brain waves to beta. This man is spiritual kin to Chopin, and I’ve fallen in love with this double record of prepared piano music over and over again.
Other artist's top tens
All these lists were compiled into one Artist's top ten albums of the decade poll. But here are all the individual lists that went into it...
Add your words...