How long can you backtrace your fav Album of the year?

[Thunder Revenant 20,943]

I sat down with a bunch of friends a few nights ago and we tried to backtrace how long we cpuld go back in time with our favourite album of the year. Not in a retrospective way - attaching albums we like to years they were released in - but from the POV of the respective years. Meaning "What was your fav album during that point in time?"

 

My longest reach back is 2008 (I was 13 back then), although some years were veeeery strong. But let's still try to stick to 1 album/ year 

 

I thought it was kind of fun, so I wanted to share that "game" with you. Looking forward to see your recap!

 

 

2008 - Peter Fox: Stadtaffe

German members might be able to relate  Was a hot record on my mp3 player while I was watching trailer videos for Tekken 6.

 

2009 - Gossip: Music For Men

that year I got my Ipod. And with the Ipod came Itunes and the possibility to dig through artists back catalogue without much effort. Gossip was the first band I stanned.

Honrable mentions: Mando Diao: Give Me Fire, Florence + The Machine: Lungs, Lily Allen: It's Not Me, It's You

 

2010 - Amanda Jenssen: Happyland

I watched the TV livestream of the Baden Bafen New Pop Festival with my parents back then. This shaped my music taste a lot.

Honrable mentions: Marina & The Diamonds: The Family Jewels, Caro Emerald: Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor, I Blame Coco: The Constant

 

2011- Kasabian: Velociraptor!

I remember that during that time, Amazon had some sort of promotion where they sold new digital albums on Release Day Fridays for 50%. I discovered a lot of my fav artists that way.

 

2012 - Marina & The Diamonds: Electra Heart

Had discovered her with TFJ before via the "New Pop Festival" Livestream I watched with my parents on TV. But the whole concept album thing really dug me in (like many other gays)

Honrable mentions: Lana Del Rey: Born To Die, Gossip: A Joyful Noise, Amanda Jenssen: Hymns For The Haunted, Caligola: Back To Earth

 

2013 - Queens of the Stone Age: The Vampire of Time and Memory

Another Amazon "Release Friday" discovery.

Honrable mentions: Chelsea Wolfe: Pain Is Beauty

 

2014 - Lana Del Rey: Ultraviolence

I was a big annoying Lana fanboy about that time already, but that album, the sound, the visuals, ... it was such a formative event for me in so many ways. I was past my first "str8 boi heartbreak", I had my dramatic teenage sexual awakening, I had my driving license and was driving around alone a lot with windows rolled down and I was finishing school and starting a voluntary social year where I met a lot of people that I actually got along with. Exciting times for an exciting album, a hot summer for a hot album. 

Honrable mentions: Mando Diao: AELITA

 

2015 - Chelsea Wolfe: Abyss

I had discovered Chelsea via one of these Amazon promotions I talked about earlier. But Abyss really marked a time where I had a dark "phase", listening to a lot of experimental and heavy stuff. Abyss was also the soundtrack of me moving from home and pretending to wander the new city like Fiona Goode from AHS.

Honrable mentions: Lana Del Rey: Honeymoon, Marina & The Diamonds: Froot, Jesper Munk: CLAIM, Marriages: Salome, Halsey: Badlands, Melanie Martinez: Crybaby, Kovacs: Shades Of Black, Marilyn Manson: The Pale Emperor

 

2016 - Garbage: Strange Little Birds

I had only discovered Garbage a year before via Chelsea Wolfe's "Hypnos Hour" podcast. "The World Is Not Enough" had been a favourite of mine some years before, especially because of the music video (and an Anna Williams fan montage I watched during my Tekken-fanboy-era) and the Garbage discog (most of which I downloaded illegally back then) had been the soundtrack of me starting to go for runs (it was a painful experience after being a couch potato for my whole life and Garbage helped me pull through). A (wonderful) launch concert for SLB in Luxembourg was the first concert I went to on my own.

Honrable mentions: TaxiWars: Fever

 

2017 - Sevdaliza: ISON

Ever since I moved out of home, Sevda had been part of my life's soundtrack (One Armed Bandit & "Children of Silk" in particular). The release of her first LP coincidenced with my first major breakup, rebounder relationship (still slightly sorry for burningnthat guy) and mental breakdown. 

Honrable mentions: Lana Del Rey: Lust For Life, Chelsea Wolfe: Hiss Spun, Beth Ditto: Fake Sugar, Lorde: Melodrama, Queens Of The Stone Age: Villains, Mando Diao: Good Times

 

2018: Jesper Munk: Favourite Stranger

Was the soundtrack of me finding happiness in solitude - taking walks alone, having my own daily routine without caring for others and growing more confident in my relationship with others in the process.

Honrable mentions: UNKLE: The Road: Part 1, Khruangbin: Con Todo El Mundo, Elysian Fields: Pink Air, Gorillaz: The Now Now, Aaberg: Albatross, Puts Marie: Catching Bad Temper, Beak>: >>>, Exoded View: Obey, Marissa Nadler: For My Crimes

 

2019: Karen O. & Danger Mouse: Lux Prima

One of the best years in my life so far after moving cities for university, where I had the best friend group ever. This on-point-trip-hop-reminisence-alternative album really caught the essence of my state of happiness during that year.

Honrable mentions: Lana Del Rey: Norman Fucking Rockwell!, Miynt: Stay On Your Mind, Lamb: The Secret Of Letting Go, Unloved: Heartbreak, TaxiWars: Artificial Horizon, Sasami: SASAMI, Peter Cat Recording Co.: Bismillah, Chelsea Wolfe: Birth Of Violence, UNKLE: The Road: Part 2/ Lost Highway, Marissa Nadler & Stephen Brodsky: Droneflower

 

2020 - Alexandra Savior: The Archer

Discovered this shortly before the pandemic brokd out and instantly fell in love with Alexandra. This was the soundtrack for a quite unpleasant love affair, my working night shifts, and me takint loooong walks in a forest with my dog during the firs "lockdown". Played alot of imaginary concerts in my head performing "Crying All The Time" back then.

Honrable mentions: Bohren & Der Club of Gore: Pachouli Blue, Tennis: Swimmer, Other Lives: For Their Love, Ghostpoet: I Grow Tired But Dare Not Fall Asleep, Tricky: Fall To Pieces, Bukahara: Canaries In A Coal Mine, Sevdaliza: Shabrang, Melody Gardot: Sunset In The Blue, Róisín Murphy: Róisín Machine, Fiona Apple: Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Brian Eno & Roger Eno: Mixing Colours, Elysian Fields: Transience Of Life, Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes: What Kinda Music, Khruangbin; Mordechai

 

2021 - Balthazar: Sands

That album really got me through the harsh delta times of the pandemic in early 2k21 Bavaria.

Honrable mentions: Lana Del Rey : Blue Banisters, Cande y Paulo: Cande y Paulo, Kira Skov: Spirit Tree,  Martina Topley-Bird: Forever I Wait, Arlo Parks: Collabsed In Sunbeans, Marissa Nadler: The Path Of The Clouds, The Marías: Cinema, Marina: Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land, London Grammar: Californian Soil

 

2022 - King Hannah: I'm not Sorry I Was Just Being Me

Still shivering from the discovery of this band that 100% resonates with me and my taste in music. The time that this album came out also marks a weird part of my life when I was done with University and anticipating my first "proper job" ever.

Honrable mentions: Miynt: Lonely Beach, Warhaus: Ha Ha Heartbreak, Melody Gardot & Philippe Powell: Entre Eux Deux, Warpaint: Radiate Like This,  Widowspeak: The Jacket, Elysian Fields: Once Beautiful, Twice Removed, Florence + The Machine: Dance Fever, Tess Parks: And Those Who Were Seen Dancing

 

2023 - I suspect this may be Robin Kester: Honeycomb Shades

Soundtrack to a very exhausting yet exiting time in my new job and me moving in with my boyfriend.

Honrable mentions: Lana Del Rey: Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard, Martha: When It's Going Wrong, Mammal Hands: Gift From The Trees, Echo Beatty: Vision Glitch, Hania Rani: On Giacometti

[SoftwareUpgrade 19,349]

Technically not a specific answer, but I used to have virtual 'listening parties" of Ariana Grandes releases with an old friend group, late 2018-2020ish, just a memory I have- since I only talk to one of those friends still & don't listen to Ariana much anymore, a little bittersweet, but that's life

 

More specific memories:

2016: Crybaby - Melanie Martinez, eesh, this had a chokehold on me and I remember doing homework that should've been done the night before, the lunch period the day it was due- listening to this on loop ....

 

2017 & 2018: Yikes, a bad time for me, that's when I started thrifting and acquired many y2k pop & rnb albums, early Britney Spears, Brandy, Beyonce (D.I.L) . I do not miss my y2k escapism era

 

As for this year 2023: Nirvana - MTV Unplugged, Poppy - Flux (has grown on me), and will probably finish out the year with Gag Order - Kesha

[Strangelove 1,842]

I had Teenage Dream on repeat in 2012 for sure. That's album of the decade right there.

[taco truck 32,988]

2 minutes ago, Strangelove said:

I had Teenage Dream on repeat in 2012 for sure. That's album of the decade right there.

I am so convinced you are a lanaboards social experiment 

[rightofjupiter 16,591]

Omg. Way too far back. Won’t do them all but a few I remember v clearly:

1991 (I was 8 ): Paula Abdul’s Spellbound (still slaps honestly)

 

1992: Mariah Carey’s Unplugged

 

1995: Hole’s Live Through This

 

1996: Tori Amos’ Boys for Pele

 

1997: PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me

 

1999: Le Tigre’s s/t

 

2001: The Strokes’ Is This It

 

2002: Rasputina’s Cabin Fever

 

2003; Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Fever to Tell

2004: Joanna Newsom’s Milk-Eyed Mender

 

2011: St Vincent’s Strange Mercy

 

2014: Lana’s UV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cum Sock 617]

2002 - Britney by Britney
2003 - Stripped by Christina
2004 - In The Zone by Britney

2005 - I don’t remember

2006 - Taking The Long away - The Chicks

2007 - The Dutchess by Fergie

2008 - Blackout by Britney

2009 - Circus by Britney

2010 - The Fame: Monster by Lady Gaga

2011 - Born This Way by Lady Gaga

2012 - Born To Die

2013 - Unapologetic by Rihanna 

2014 - Ultraviolence

2015 - Storyteller by Carrie Underwood

2016 - ANTI by Rihanna

2017 - Hopeless Fountain Kingdom by Halsey

2018 - Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves

2019 - Interstate Gospel by The Pistol Annies

2020 - folklore by Taylor Swift

2021 - IICHLIWP by Halsey

2022 - Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain

 

[Ultra Violet 18,960]

I can backtrack quite far, to when I was 6 years old. Listening to CDs on road trips is definitely what defined most of my earliest "albums of the year". 

And many of these are delayed if the album came out late the previous year. 

 

2003: Delta Goodrem - Born To Try 

2004: Hillary Duff - Metamorphosis 

2005: *nothing. Didn't go on a big road trip lol!* 

2006: Rogue Traders - Here Come The Drums

2007: Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing

2008: The Veronicas - Hook Me Up

2009: Owl City - Ocean Eyes & Lady Gaga - The Fame

2010: Paramore - Brand New Eyes

2011: Evanescence - self titled

2012- 2013: Born To Die

2014: Ultraviolence 

2015 - now: *too many*. Probably 2-3 from each year that I cbf listing. 

 

 

[Ethel Cain 9,016]

1 minute ago, Ultra Violet said:

I can backtrack quite far, to when I was 6 years old. Listening to CDs on road trips is definitely what defined most of my "albums of the year". 

And many of these are delayed if the album came out late the previous year. 

 

2003: Delta Goodrem - Born To Try 

 

2012- 2013: Born To Die

 

 

Born To Try to Born To Die

 

lmao

[Ultra Violet 18,960]

9 minutes ago, Break Me Down said:

Born To Try to Born To Die

 

lmao

The character growth 

[Barry 5,932]

Probbaly only to here

 

2014 Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey

2015 DS2 - Future

2016 Islah - Kevin Gates

2017 Beautiful Thugger Girls - Young Thug

2018 Tha Carter V - Lil Wayne

2019 Norman Fucking Rockwell - Lana Del Rey

2020 Savage Mode II - 21 Savage & Metro Boomin

2021 Big Grim Reaper - Big Scarr

2022 Heroes & Villains - Metro Boomin

2023 Glockoma 2 - Key Glock

 

Some of my other favourites it was hard to leave out 2018 - ? by XXXTentacion, Not All Heroes Wear Capes by Metro Boomin and Astroworld by Travis Scott, 2020 - Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon by Pop Smoke, 2021 - Dum & Dummer 2 by  Young Dolph & Key Glock and Too Deep For Tears by OMB Peezy.

[SlowGinFizzzz 15,354]

The earliest I can remember with certainty is 2008; before that I mostly listened to those compilation CDs of the biggest hits at the time rather than to full albums. 

 

2006: Pink – I'm Not Dead (probably; I definitely loved all the singles)

2007: Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape (not sure if I actually listened to the full album back then already, but I know for a fact that I loved 4 In The Morning, The Sweet Escape and Early Winter and have loved Gwen ever since)

2008: Pink – Funhouse

2009: Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown 

2010: Nelly Furtado – Loose (yes I'm aware that it came out years earlier, but that's when I discovered it and I was OBSESSED)

2011: Natalia Kills – Perfectionist (or Charlee – This Is Me; not sure which one I listened to more)

2012: Born To Die... duh!

2013: still Born To Die, but with Paradise added as well

2014: Ultraviolence and BEYONCÉ 

2015: Honeymoon

2016: Gwen Stefani – This Is What The Truth Feels Like and Troye Sivan – Blue Neighbourhood 

2017: Allie X – CollXtion II

2018: Troye Sivan – Bloom

2019: NFR

2020: Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia 

2021: Chemtrails Over The Country Club

2022: Beyoncé – Renaissance 

[Ultra Violet 18,960]

4 minutes ago, SlowGinFizzzz said:

2007: Gwen Stefani – The Sweet Escape (not sure if I actually listened to the full album back then already, but I know for a fact that I loved 4 In The Morning, The Sweet Escape and Early Winter and have loved Gwen ever since)

 

Someone else loving 4 in the morning and Early Winter (and obviously Sweet Escape) makes me so happy  im not in the gwen community so idk how popular they are! 

[SlowGinFizzzz 15,354]

4 minutes ago, Ultra Violet said:

Someone else loving 4 in the morning and Early Winter (and obviously Sweet Escape) makes me so happy  im not in the gwen community so idk how popular they are! 

They were only semi-radio hits in Europe and n/a elsewhere, so she doesn't really perform them anymore unfortunately, but as far as I know they're both huge fan favourites. 4 In The Morning might actually be my favourite song of all time, so great taste!

[Eugene 26,669]

I don't think before 2012/2013 I had a "favorite album"... I listened to anything. A fun fact is that 2015 is when I was first introduced to Lana's music with the release of Honeymoon, so I'll start with that year.

 

2015 - Honeymoon / Lana Del Rey

2016 - Front Row Seat To Earth / Weyes Blood

2017 - Сладкая жизнь / IC3PEAK

2018 - God's Favorite Customer / Father John Misty

2019 - Norman Fucking Rockwell! / Lana Del Rey

2020 - Fetch The Bolt Cutters / Fiona Apple

2021 - Daddy's Home / St. Vincent

2022 - Bronco / Orville Peck

2023 - Desire, I Want To Turn Into You / Caroline Polachek

[Cum Sock 617]

1 hour ago, rightofjupiter said:

 

1996: Tori Amos’ Boys for Pele

 

 

 

 

[That Venice Bitch 28,141]

I started actively keeping track in 2016.

 

2016 - Blond by Frank Ocean

2017 - Lust for Life by Lana Del Rey

2018 - Everything Is Fine by Amigo the Devil

2019 - NFR! by LDR

2020 - Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple

2021 - Blue Banisters by LDR

2022 - Hello Sunshine by Foreign Air

[details 17,163]

I think the earliest I can go is 2011, which is when I started caring about albums as a body of work and not just singles. Of course I have earlier memories of music but in 2011 I think something really clicked for me in that sense of really caring for music.

 

2011: Lady Gaga - Born This Way

this album changed the chemistry of my 10 year old brain forever, still one of my favorite albums til this day and still gaga's best a decade later, argue with the wall

 

2012: Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart

i think this album had a chokehold on a lot of people and i was one of them

 

2013: Lady Gaga - ARTPOP

you can already tell i used to be a massive gaga fan. other favorites of that year are PRISM and Britney Jean, yeah i'm that basic lol

 

2014: Lana Del Rey - Ultraviolence

duh! best album ever idc what anyone says

 

honorable mention to Broke With Expensive Taste by Azealia Banks and Blue by iamamiwhoami, both were on repeat so much on late 2014 - early 2015

 

2015: Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby

i'm too embarrassed to admit it but this album had my teen self on LOCK  which is weird bc earlier that year i was listening to Björk's Vulnicura on repeat. i do NOT stand by my teenager choices!!

 

2016: Tove Lo - Lady Wood

she laced that record with crack

 

shoutout to AIM by M.I.A., Glory by Britney Spears and ANTi by Rihanna, they were on heavy rotation too. i was listening to so much stuff that year i couldn't fit it here lmao 

 

2017: Charli XCX - Number 1 Angel

this was such a good year in music! this, Lust for Life, Melodrama, Blue Lips and then reputation and Pop 2 at the end of the year?? serve after serve after serve

 

2018: Kali Uchis - Isolation / Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

it's a tie bc i can't really decide between those 2 i believe they were equally as impactful for me

 

2019: Doja Cat - Hot Pink

a drier year… but it's the year i joined lanaboards slay! Clarity by Kim Petras, Slayyyter's self titled and XCX World (this is technically not an actual release but oh well 🫣) got me through the year. shoutout to Tinashe for releasing Songs for You in the end of the year tho, i sure gave it a lot of streams in the last months of pre-pandemic!

 

2020: Lady Gaga - Chromatica

what a weird year… lockdown really killed my interest in listening to new music and got me listening old britney records 24/7 but i really streamed the hell out of chromatica! but just to clarify i think future nostalgia is THE album of 2020 i just happened to listen to chromatica more lol

 

2021: Zara Larsson - Poster Girl?

this uneventful ass year omg… i don't remember listening to poster girl but apparently my last fm stats said i did so i guess it's the album for that year. shoutout to Blue Banisters on #2 tho!

 

2022: Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE

iconic… just iconic… and it STILL sounds fresh a year later, that's on longevity. CRASH by Charli XCX and MOTOMAMI by Rosalía are close #2s

 

2023 (so far): Caroline Polachek - Desire, I Want to Turn Into You

this SHOULD be ocean blvd but you can't compete with an album as perfect as desire no matter how good your album is sorry lanz 🤷‍♀️ but shoutout to my girl lana for being #2 again

[PARADIXO 32,940]

2022 Dillom, Post Mortem

2021 I don't remember

2020 Arca, Kick I

2019 LDR, NFR!

2018 Bjork, Utopia

2017 Too many options, but (as much as I don't like it that much now) Lust for Life was my soundtrack that year, also Is This the Life We Really Want by Roger Waters

2016 Anohni, Hopelessness

2015 Bjork, Vulnicura

2014 FKA twigs, LP1

[lanaismamom 11,544]

2 hours ago, kuntsugi said:

 

 

2015: Melanie Martinez - Cry Baby

i'm too embarrassed to admit it but this album had my teen self on LOCK  which is weird bc earlier that year i was listening to Björk's Vulnicura on repeat. i do NOT stand by my teenager choices!!

 

 

i know why its embarrassing but can we admit wether u like melanie or not, this one specific album that she really, really nailed and this album is just so perfectly done, the quality was real and the music was immaculate and it hasnt lost its beauty throughout the years so its not a shame to say u can sometimes listen to it now or used to listen one day

[Lanaparadiserey 23,537]

2019: Thank U, Next 

2020: Chromatica 

2021: Born To Die 

2022: Ultraviolence

2023: Ocean Blvd and Preacher's Daughter 

 

I really only started listening to albums in 2019, before that I only listened to Look What You Made Me Do, Havana, and Despacito on repeat😭