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November 23, 2024

#126 BONUS NEWSLETTER: The Best Album of 1989

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Hey folks!

pee dubbaya eee… eye

We are now halfway through the Best Album of 2000 tournament, which means it’s time to start talking about the next tournament, the Best Album of 1989! (Note: the deserving winner is the one in the picture above.) We won’t actually take nominations until the conclusion of 2000, but us diehards like to survey a year as widely as possible before making a list and checking it twice. Here’s a peek at my developing 1989 list, what I think is the cream of the crop so far:

LOVE IT Pop Will Eat Itself, THIS IS THE DAY... THIS IS THE HOUR... THIS IS THIS! Nomeansno, WRONG Julee Cruise, FLOATING INTO THE NIGHT The Wonder Stuff, HUP New Order, TECHNIQUE Nirvana, BLEACH Wire, IT'S BEGINNING TO AND BACK AGAIN The Jesus & Mary Chain, AUTOMATIC Nitzer Ebb, BELIEF Renegade Soundwave, SOUNDCLASH The Young Gods, L'EAU ROUGE Pixies, DOOLITTLE De La Soul, 3 FEET HIGH AND RISING LIKE IT/LOVE IT The Cure, DISINTEGRATION Chris Isaak, HEART SHAPED WORLD Boogie Down Productions, GHETTO MUSIC: THE BLUEPRINT OF HIP HOP Mary Chapin Carpenter, STATE OF THE HEART Faith No More, THE REAL THING The B-52's, COSMIC THING Beastie Boys, PAUL'S BOUTIQUE George Strait, BEYOND THE BLUE NEON Throwing Muses, HUNKPAPA Galaxie 500, ON FIRE Sabbat, DREAMWEAVER Godflesh, STREETCLEANER Fugazi, 13 SONGS Nine Inch Nails, PRETTY HATE MACHINE The Cult, SONIC TEMPLE Skinny Puppy, RABIES Pestilence, CONSUMING IMPULSE Ministry, THE MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO TASTE Clint Black, KILLIN' TIME Mötley Crüe, DR. FEELGOOD Jungle Brothers, DONE BY THE FORCES OF NATURE Shellyan Orphan, CENTURY FLOWER New Model Army, THUNDER AND CONSOLATION Fatima Mansions, AGAINST NATURE Queen, THE MIRACLE Savatage, GUTTER BALLET
Alt text available.

In case you’re not familiar with my ranking system, it goes LOVE, LIKE/LOVE, LIKE, INTERESTING/LIKE, INTERESTING, LUKEWARM, and LEAVE IT. Also, in the above pic, green text means it’s something I’ve heard before, probably many times, and black text is for a first-time listen.

I really encourage you to sample what’s on this list, but also to go out and explore. As I’ve said before, each year sees the release of an infinite number of albums, so there’s always the possibility of finding a gem that no one else has discovered. And if you find such a gem, report back! Furthermore, I’ve created a Google Doc with all the 1989 albums I’ve heard so far, want to hear, and contributions from Best Album viewers like you. You can find it here.

I’ll be writing more about my favorite 1989 albums and others in the future. Until then, I hope you continue to enjoy and vote in the Best Album of 2000 tournament, and I hope you check out what 1989 has to offer.

Best,

Kent

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