Welcome to the Best Album Brackets, where we pick a year, pick 128 albums, and put them through the bracket wringer until we emerge with a winner. The latest tournament, The Best Album of 1989, started May 26th 2025 and is expected to run through November. Matches are held Monday through Friday, starting at 9am CST, and run for 24 hours. Subscribers get a newsletter reminder the day of each match, including the link to the voting form, so they never miss a bout. (If you don’t wish to subscribe but wish to vote, either click on the Archives at the top to find the most current newsletter, or stop by the Best Album Brackets Bluesky account and find the pinned post.)

To stay up to date on the latest matches and future tournaments, hit the subscribe button below and/or hang out with us on Bluesky. We are also building a website, courtesy of @lanna.bsky.social!

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Here’s a list of previous tournament winners, along with links to the full tournament results:

Best Album of 2000: OutKast, STANKONIA

Best Album of 1999: Fiona Apple, WHEN THE PAWN…

Best Album of 1998: Neutral Milk Hotel, IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA

Best Album of 1997: Radiohead, OK COMPUTER

Best Album of 1996: Beck, ODELAY

Best Album of 1995 (original): GZA, LIQUID SWORDS

Best Album of 1995 (redux): Radiohead, THE BENDS

Best Album of 1994: Nas, ILLMATIC

Best Album of 1993: Wu-Tang Clan, ENTER THE WU-TANG (36 CHAMBERS)

Best Album of 1992: R.E.M., AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE

Best Album of 1991: My Bloody Valentine, LOVELESS

Best Album of 1990: Public Enemy, FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET

Best Album of the Nineties: Radiohead, OK COMPUTER