Magnet Magazine's Top 60 Albums, 1993-2003

dropsonde said:
Clearly I need to add at least Extra Width and Orange to the collection. Any pressings worth picking up? A quick Discogs search shows a lot of mixed feedback. Early- to mid-90s pressings are a crapshoot as the industry pivoted to CD.
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I have an original 90s pressing of Extra Width. Not audiophile by a long shop but pretty decent. I still have an original cd of Orange in a box somewhere, but picked up a repress on Shove which is not great. That said, it is a pretty lo-fi recording so put it on, turn it up and rawk out with the Blues Explosion!!!
 
This is a mixed 10 for me. A few that I really, really love but many aren’t my flavor of ice cream. A surprising amount of alt-country.

The A+ Classics: I’m with @wmeugene on Pulp - Different Class, a Britpop monster that should be higher on this list. Love that album. I love UO - Saturation! Very deserving spot on this list. Haven’t listened to that in a long time. Need to rectify. Jawbox is deserving as well.

Most of the others wouldn’t make my top 50, especially Whiskeytown, Pernice Brothers, and Girls Against Boys.
 
Interesting that only 3 of the bottom 15 are from post 2000. I wonder how heavy the top 20 will be with 2000+ releases. Definitely surprised at Pernice Bros and GvsB being in the list. Wonder if bands could have more than one title in the list?
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Interesting that only 3 of the bottom 15 are from post 2000. I wonder how heavy the top 20 will be with 2000+ releases. Definitely surprised at Pernice Bros and GvsB being in the list. Wonder if bands could have more than one title in the list?
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The article doesn’t explicitly state it as a rule but I can confirm that there are no repeat artists on the list.

And it is very ‘90s-heavy. Will be interesting to apply a 2020 lens to the list once it’s fully revealed to see if the lack of 2000s titles was legit or an artifact of not enough appreciation time.
 
dropsonde said:
This is a mixed 10 for me. A few that I really, really love but many aren’t my flavor of ice cream. A surprising amount of alt-country.

The A+ Classics: I’m with @wmeugene on Pulp - Different Class, a Britpop monster that should be higher on this list. Love that album. I love UO - Saturation! Very deserving spot on this list. Haven’t listened to that in a long time. Need to rectify. Jawbox is deserving as well.

Most of the others wouldn’t make my top 50, especially Whiskeytown, Pernice Brothers, and Girls Against Boys.
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That Whiskeytown is a big one in the alt-country push, I can see it being on there. I love it. Not sure that's the best Pernice Brothers album, but they were always solid.
 
dropsonde said:
And it is very ‘90s-heavy. Will be interesting to apply a 2020 lens to the list once it’s fully revealed to see if the lack of 2000s titles was legit or an artifact of not enough appreciation time.
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Since 90's indie is totally my wheel-house, I definitely approve that :cool:
Matt M said:
That Whiskeytown is a big one in the alt-country push, I can see it being on there. I love it. Not sure that's the best Pernice Brothers album, but they were always solid.
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Like most lists like this, I think some of the selections will be based around what started a musical trend.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Like most lists like this, I think some of the selections will be based around what started a musical trend.
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Some, yes, but not as much as you think if the accompanying blurbs are any indication. My sense is there aren’t many rules for the list — it’s quirky/unexpected enough to be interesting, if not by the selections the order too.

Anyone have love for that Helium album?
 
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dropsonde said:
Some, yes, but not as much as you think if the accompanying blurbs are any indication. My sense is there aren’t many rules for the list — it’s quirky/unexpected enough to be interesting, if not by the selections but the order too.

Anyone have any love for that Helium album?
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YES! I love Helium and am quite happy to see it on the list.

Mary is a guitar goddess.
 
wmeugene said:
Love The Meadowlands by The Wrens. So sad that is such a hard one to get on vinyl.

Pulp's Different Class is perhaps the best Britpop album, so I think #51 is low.
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Joe Mac said:
Idlewild 😍😍😍

100 Broken Windows and, even more so, the one that came before, Hope is Important were huge favourites of mine around the turn of the millennium. They were a wonderful racket live too around that time!
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You know, I gave The Meadowlands and 100 Broken Windows fresh listens this afternoon while I was working. I stand corrected, both are A+ — great stuff. Appreciate the (indirect) nudges.
 
whatwhatsaywhat said:
dig all that ten, with helium probably bottom of the rank:

pulp
whiskeytown
pernice brothers
idlewild
jawbox
girls against boys
wrens
urge overkill
stereolab
helium
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Based on your and @Matt M’s praise for Whiskeytown, it’s on my list for a fresh listen this afternoon.
 
Sadly I don't think that album has aged well. Last time I listened to it I found it a bit hokey, but that may have been the Ryan Adams is a total asshole effect. I did listen to Pneumonia last summer still liked it.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Sadly I don't think that album has aged well. Last time I listened to it I found it a bit hokey, but that may have been the Ryan Adams is a total asshole effect. I did listen to Pneumonia last summer still liked it.
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I am totally not a Ryan Adams fan but I’ll listen to this one with an open mind.
 
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