The Lifetime Listening List

 

I spotted this little exercise on my pal Erik's site recently and -- with nothing better to do -- found it to be a roiling headache. But here it is.

The Directions:  List your favorite album released in each year in which you have been alive (if you're dead, or have been dead at some point in your life up to now, you're allowed to skip the years in which you are/were deceased):

Fair enough. Here's my list. Know that there was a strenuous amount of agonizing involved in its compilation:

1967 - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn by Pink Floyd

1968 - The Beatles [White Album] by the Beatles

1969 - Kick out the Jams by the MC5

1970 - Fun House by the Stooges

1971 - Paranoid by Black Sabbath

1972 - Fragile by Yes

1973 - The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

1974 - Diamond Dogs by David Bowie

1975 - A Night at the Opera by Queen

1976 - Destroyer by Kiss 

1977 - Never Mind the Bollocks by the Sex Pistols

1978 - Q: Are We Not Men?... by Devo

1979 - Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks

1980- Killing Joke by Killing Joke

1981 - Killers by Iron Maiden

1982 - Plastic Surgery Disasters by Dead Kennedys

1983 - Piece of Mind by Iron Maiden

1984 - Treasure by The Cocteau Twins

1985 - Night Time by Killing Joke

1986 - Skylarking by XTC

1987 - Floodland by The Sisters of Mercy

1988 - The Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk

1989 - Bizarro by The Wedding Present

1990 - Louder Than Love by Soundgarden

1991 - Peggy Suicde by Julian Cope

1992 - Doppleganger by Curve

1993 - Suede by Suede

1994 - Dummy by Portishead

1995 - Lost Somewhere Between The Earth & My Home by the Geraldine Fibbers

1996 - Get Off the Cross by Firewater

1997 - Fantastic Spikes through Balloon by Skeleton Key

1998 - This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours by the Manic Street Preachers

1999 - Six by Mansun

2000 - Veni Vidi Vicious by The Hives

2001 - Psychopharmacology by Firewater

2002 - Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age

2003 - Elephant by the White Stripes

2004 - Now Here is Nowhere by the Secret Machines

2005 - Silent Alarm by The Bloc Party

2006 - Age of Winters by The Sword

2007 - The Heart is a Small Balloon by Life in a Blender

2008 - The Golden Hour by Firewater

What made this list so difficult was that while there were several clear winners that required no second guessing, there were also certain years (1977, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1989, 1991 and 1994 specifically) that were positively torturous. For a music fan, it was a bit like "Sophie's Choice." As a result, many a splendid album and even many of my favorite artists were left out entirely (No Velvet Underground? No Ramones? No Clash? No Replacements? No Black Flag? No Modern Lovers? No Stranglers? No Robyn Hitchcock? No Damned? No Motorhead?) I know, I know... It doesn't feel right, but I'm giving my honest answers. Sue me. I'm sure the second I post this, I'm going to want to re-address it.