New newsletter! Here was the week that was in Best Album of 1989, plus: the debut of the Best Album of 1989 Prediction Bracket Top 20! And: The Best Album of 2001! Subscribe to get a reminder of each day’s match: buttondown.com/kentmbeeson/...
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Probably my favourite 2001-album - If not listed, it should be listened to. youtu.be/b4NaAa2bi34?...
aug 25, 2025, 6:17 am • 4 1 • view
I am once again asking everyone to listen to Run Come Save Me by Roots Manuva ahead of 2001 nominations.
aug 24, 2025, 1:29 pm • 8 1 • view
I’m going to listen to it now whilst I do the washing up. And probably again on Tuesday driving to tennis. There’s never a bad time to listen to Run Come Save Me by Roots Manuva.
aug 24, 2025, 3:17 pm • 2 1 • view
I am once again asking everyone to give me a very brief overview of what I'm about to listen to, so I know if 1) I can (I have a chronic illness that means stuff like punk and metal needs to be saved for a good day) and 2) it needs a time to listen to it, like chill for night, upbeat for day.
aug 24, 2025, 4:00 pm • 3 1 • view
English rap! Sound rubbish doesn’t it? But it’s actually good. A LOT of base. Pretty upbeat.
aug 24, 2025, 4:04 pm • 4 1 • view
open.spotify.com/track/6nzJ6y...
aug 25, 2025, 12:24 am • 1 1 • view
Are you maligning the good name of The Streets? 😂
aug 24, 2025, 4:21 pm • 2 1 • view
The rare rap album with a full-length dub remix:
aug 24, 2025, 4:09 pm • 3 1 • view
Wish I could read the font you use to name the bracket leaders in the newsletter prose, without squinting.
aug 24, 2025, 11:02 am • 2 1 • view
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aug 24, 2025, 12:43 pm • 3 0 • view
For the first time, I'm not seeing a clear forerunner. Is it because I was really busy in 2001? Oh well, time to put all my chips on Lovage.
aug 23, 2025, 4:52 pm • 5 1 • view
Me at the prediction bracket once again deciding whether Bjork can defeat Radiohead
aug 23, 2025, 9:24 pm • 4 1 • view
1/119th of the voting public always votes Radiohead over Björk (it's me, I like her singles but her full albums never hit me)
aug 23, 2025, 9:26 pm • 2 1 • view
Don’t think Bjork can beat Radiohead - there’s a large section of anonymous voters, and I think they like Radiohead mostly
aug 23, 2025, 9:28 pm • 5 1 • view
My kid is now yelling out his favorite albums from the list. He is baffled when I explain why a large group of music snobs probably won't vote for (insert popular album here).
aug 23, 2025, 5:46 pm • 2 1 • view
aug 23, 2025, 8:59 pm • 4 1 • view
It should be, but it won’t win.
aug 23, 2025, 9:42 pm • 2 1 • view
Sigh
aug 23, 2025, 9:07 pm • 1 0 • view
Man, I haven’t listened to this since…I think last week? Practically perfect Dylan.
aug 23, 2025, 9:58 pm • 2 0 • view
aug 23, 2025, 10:27 pm • 6 1 • view
(Not really a frontrunner, except in my heart)
aug 23, 2025, 10:28 pm • 3 1 • view
Gonna go listen now! I've never heard of them.
aug 23, 2025, 10:44 pm • 2 1 • view
After that, the best one is the entire catalog all of the time.
aug 24, 2025, 12:01 am • 3 1 • view
Vespertine maybe? Is This It? has too much backlash/overexposure probably.
aug 23, 2025, 6:44 pm • 1 1 • view
The spectres of Radiohead and White Stripes loom again
aug 23, 2025, 6:57 pm • 2 1 • view
My dad said Lateralus is his favorite. My kid might be voting more, since 2001 has some of his childhood favorites.
aug 23, 2025, 7:07 pm • 1 0 • view
Vespertine and/or Amnesiac will be in the final, surely. My personal favorite of the year is Low’s THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE.
aug 23, 2025, 7:58 pm • 6 1 • view
It’s not my favourite year but it’s a juicy one to poll - strong but not overwhelming indie picks, and fans of pop, dance music, rap and old geezers have Kylie, Daft Punk, Jay-Z and Dylan to get behind
aug 23, 2025, 8:42 pm • 3 1 • view
Me: Okay bitches, which ones of these were in DDR?? VOTE KYLIE
aug 23, 2025, 8:45 pm • 2 1 • view
Aaliyah, Cannibal Ox, Basement Jaxx, System Of A Down, Gillian Welch… it’s a pretty strong year for the other genres, will be a shame if it ends up getting won by The One That Isn’t Kid A
aug 23, 2025, 8:50 pm • 6 1 • view
Ironically this is my favorite Radiohead album bc I'm a stinker
aug 23, 2025, 9:12 pm • 4 1 • view
Oh it’s mine too but that’s cos Radiohead aren’t very good
aug 23, 2025, 9:13 pm • 7 1 • view
I have that same effect happen w/bands where I vehemently dislike their whole deal - if they branch out and experiment enough, and/or soften & normalize over time, I find the one record I vibe with is their least representative, & often somewhat controversial or overlooked.
aug 23, 2025, 10:28 pm • 4 1 • view
Is "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" not the frontrunner of 2001 or was that a US thing? It's really hard to untangle it from 9/11.
aug 23, 2025, 8:28 pm • 3 1 • view
I feel like I could make pick a top ten (for the whole group) but not like this year or 2000, where I'm pretty sure most of us have our brackets locked on the final two.
aug 23, 2025, 8:31 pm • 0 0 • view
It's from 2002!
aug 23, 2025, 8:31 pm • 2 1 • view
I completely forgot about that. My ex introduced me to it, and I keep thinking I stopped talking to him by then (but no, last time was probably like 2004).
aug 23, 2025, 8:33 pm • 3 0 • view
Oh duh, it was only virtually released in 2001. I forgot the LORE.
aug 23, 2025, 8:32 pm • 5 1 • view
Made me think: there is a label-rejected album that did get a physical release in 2001 which should be on the 2001 list--Blue Boy by Ron Sexsmith.
aug 24, 2025, 10:51 pm • 1 1 • view
Love that the album that defined the year did not actually get a physical release until 2002. It actually really did start the 21st century, didn't it?
aug 23, 2025, 8:34 pm • 5 1 • view
no cLOUDDEAD on the 2001 list either? youtu.be/0y_Ca_YH_mw?...
aug 23, 2025, 6:43 pm • 3 1 • view
It's a shared document. Feel free.
aug 23, 2025, 7:09 pm • 4 0 • view
Will do, thanks! Don't know how the community fully works and didn't know if edit privileges would only be given to a select group or whatnot. Requesting now
aug 23, 2025, 7:11 pm • 1 1 • view
HA I mean, fuck it up and we can see it, but otherwise, open to all.
aug 23, 2025, 7:47 pm • 2 0 • view
Terrific album that.
aug 23, 2025, 7:24 pm • 2 1 • view
I would add J-Live's 'The Best Part' to the 2001 list.
aug 23, 2025, 5:11 pm • 3 1 • view
Started my 2001 listening and one deep cut album that some of you might like (especially fans of Le Tigre) is Tracy + The Plastics - Muscler's Guide to Videonics.
aug 24, 2025, 6:53 pm • 5 1 • view
Also I recently found a site that has album/song lists for every year, here's 2001:
aug 24, 2025, 3:56 am • 1 1 • view
Speaking of such lists and our preparation for the '01 bracket... Was just looking for Jim O'Rourke's Insignificance yesterday. It wasn't available for me on Spotify down here in Chile... Had to fire up the old YouTube... Is it available for everyone in the Anglosphere (on Spotify, I mean)?
aug 24, 2025, 3:40 pm • 1 1 • view
Nope
aug 24, 2025, 4:06 pm • 1 0 • view
It's on Apple Music here in the US!
aug 24, 2025, 9:34 pm • 1 1 • view
Plus more and more bands like Deerhoof (who have a 2001 album, HALFBIRD) are removing their music from Spotify, but there's always alternatives like the aforementioned Apple Music or Tidal.
aug 24, 2025, 9:38 pm • 2 1 • view
Some ambient/electronic albums from 01 not yet on that list: Labradford: Fixed :: Content Windy & Carl: Consciousness Loscil: Triple Point Pan Sonic: Aaltopiri
aug 23, 2025, 8:01 pm • 6 1 • view
2nd place, baby! Gonna enjoy it while it lasts.
aug 23, 2025, 5:00 pm • 5 1 • view
That’s not what I heard by the Gossip is listed as 2006 in Spotify, but Wikipedia has it as 2001, should we add that one to the list?
aug 24, 2025, 1:23 am • 1 1 • view
Nobody should trust spotify's listed years for anything
aug 24, 2025, 1:41 am • 5 0 • view
Wiki says 2001 though so I just added it to the list.
aug 24, 2025, 3:46 am • 2 1 • view
Yeah, I think that's correct. I just thought it was funny that there was a disagreement between Spotify's artist-level info and their album-level info (and that neither was, in fact, accurate).
aug 24, 2025, 1:23 pm • 2 1 • view
For what it's worth, their official website says 2002.
aug 24, 2025, 1:20 pm • 2 1 • view
No, seriously, do you want to add it or would you like someone to add it?
aug 24, 2025, 1:38 am • 1 0 • view
lol, I’m happy to add it, just asking about who we trust for release dates, I requested edit access on google
aug 24, 2025, 2:03 am • 2 0 • view
I usually source by what has a full date, not a year, like: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27... Pisses me off that most indie labels don't use their site as part archive. You hear me, Kill Rock Stars? Look to Sub Pop. You can sell stuff AND be informative at the same time.
aug 24, 2025, 3:11 am • 5 1 • view
@bestalbumbrackets.bsky.social If I die in surgery on Tuesday, make sure Hot Hot Heat gets a chance in 2002. What a catchy album. And The Thermals, the 2004 and 2006 albums.
aug 24, 2025, 3:15 am • 7 1 • view
🫡
aug 24, 2025, 1:15 pm • 2 0 • view
For most Kill Rock Stars artists who have left the label or are no longer recording, your best bet for release dates is usually KRS's Bandcamp page: gossip.bandcamp.com/album/thats-...
aug 24, 2025, 12:59 pm • 3 1 • view
Also as we get deeper into '80s tournaments, there are going to be a lot more questionable release dates (we already saw this with 1989!).
aug 24, 2025, 2:19 pm • 3 1 • view
high-seed 2001 guesses: Rilo Kiley, White Stripes, Death Cab, Shins, Strokes, Spoon, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys, Gorillaz, Radiohead sentimental 2001 favorites: Antidote (Jenny Toomey), Si Se (S/T), The Coast Is Never Clear (Beulah), The Tyranny of Distance (Ted Leo)
aug 24, 2025, 4:31 pm • 6 1 • view
If we're doing 2001 recommendations here then I'm saying Band of Gypsies by Taraf de Haïdouks. It's a live album of Romanian folk music with incredible vibes. open.spotify.com/album/38CB5q... tarafdehadouks.bandcamp.com/album/band-o... youtube.com/playlist?lis...
aug 24, 2025, 5:12 pm • 4 1 • view
Funny I was just about to share another Romanian folk music album (studio not live in this case): Iag Bari by Fanfare Ciocǎrlia
aug 24, 2025, 8:09 pm • 5 1 • view