Retrospective Albums of the Year: 1995

As I mentioned earlier, 2025 is the 30th year of this list, so to commemorate I'm going to squeeze in an extra post which hearkens back to the inception of this annual tradition. 

I've been compiling a list of at least my ten favorite albums of the year since 1996. It's part ritual, part obligation, but still is something I find enjoyable. 

You could argue that, although this is the 30th year, next year is actually the 30th anniversary of the list since it started in 1996. But 1995 was really the year the idea for this list was conceived, as I basically had a top 7 in my head that year. So, I thought it would be appropriate to revisit my 1995 list with the benefit of a little hindsight, although each of the original top 7 I still consider worthy.  

10. Space Needle - Voyager

One of two albums in this top ten by artists who were and still are friends of mine, this was Space Needle's debut and remains frontman Jud Ehrbar's best work, in my opinion. 



9. Varnaline - Man of Sin

My awareness of most of the music that appears on this list I owe to the brainchild  behind this band, who grew up on the other side of the apple orchard from me. 



8. Emmylou Harris - Wrecking Ball

The first of three albums on this list that I didn't hear until a year or two later, this one has really grown on my since. 



7. Radiohead  - The Bends

You've probably heard of this band. 



6. Palace Music - Viva Last Blues

Will Oldham's discography is pretty extensive, and there are quite a few of his albums that are much more critically acclaimed, but this is easily my favorite. 



5. Blue Mountain - Dog Days

I would honestly say that Blue Mountain hasn't aged as well as some of my other alt-country favorites, but this is still easily their best album. 



4. Wilco - A.M.

Not quite as impressive a debut as his Son Volt counterpart, but Jeff Tweedy's career certainly benefited from his break from Jay Farrar. 

3. Whiskeytown - Faithless Street

This would be the highest ranking album that wouldn't have made my list back in 1995, as I didn't get turned onto Whiskeytown until two years later when I read an article in No Depression magazine that described them as Country and Westerberg.

2. The Jayhawks - Tomorrow the Green Grass

I had been a fan of The Jayhawks for a couple years when this album came out, but it blew me away almost as much as the next album on this list. There's really no match for the harmonies of Gary Louris and Mark Olson in their primes.  



1. Son Volt - Trace

I can still remember how excited I was to hear this album for the first time after obsessing over all four Uncle Tupelo albums for at least several months prior. It might sound strange, but I was also thrilled at the opportunity to use a urinal next to Son Volt drummer Mike Heidorn during their show at Bogie's in Albany that year. 

Retrospective Albums of the Year: 1984

I actually intended to finish this list (and 1994) last year, to mark the 40th anniversary of these albums. But, the post was nearly done, so I'll see it through, albeit a little late. 

1984 is a much weaker year than 1974, in my opinion, although as I've never been a huge fan of the '80s in general, I don't know if you should trust my opinion. It is, however, a year in music that I remember much better than 1974, that is the parts that aren't clouded by alcohol consumption.

10. Bryan Adams - Reckless

I was briefly a fan of Bryan Adams. I even saw him in concert on this tour, I believe. Younger me probably would've been embarrassed to admit this, but I honestly feel like this album and Cuts Like a Knife both hold up pretty well.

9. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.

The highest selling album in Bruce's career certainly isn't his best, but it has more than a handful of really accessible, and enjoyable, songs.

8. The Smiths - The Smiths

This is one of two albums in this top ten that I didn't listen to in 1984, and is the only one that I listened to for the first time in the process of making this list. That fact probably speaks more to the relative weakness of this list than to the greatness of Morrissey, but this is a really enjoyable listen.

7. R.E.M. - Reckoning

I'm not sure if I'm ready to call R.E.M. the best band of the '80s, but I'm willing to guess if I see this project all the way through, they will make the most appearances in my top ten.

6. Iron Maiden - Powerslave

This album came out at the end of my heavy metal phase, which I've revisited in recent years due to Little Chuck's musical taste. Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind are better, in my opinion, but this is a very solid album. 

5. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire

I was never a huge U2 fan. I own a couple of their albums, but not this one, which is better than I realized back in the day. Perhaps I should've waited about nine days to post this...

4. Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith

I've always been a bigger Iron Maiden fan than a Judas Priest fan. In fact, despite how good Screaming for Vengeance was, I can't remember even purchasing their follow up. Needless to say, I was surprised at how good this one is. 

3. Triumph - Thunder Seven

I'm sure I'm a bigger Triumph fan, and a bigger fan of this album, than most people. Critically speaking, it's no Allied Forces, but sometimes I like it even better. 

2. The Replacements - Let It Be

This is the other album that I didn't actually listen to in 1984, but "Unsatisfied" and "Answering Machine" are perhaps my two favorite Replacements songs, and while this album is not as consistent as Tim, it's easily one of their two best. 

1. Rush - Grace Under Pressure

I was a huge Rush fan back in 1984, and I'm still a pretty huge Rush fan today. I consider this to be perhaps their most under-rated album.

Retrospective Albums of the Year: 1974

I basically teased this idea in my Best Music of 2023 post. I've decided to retrospectively work on my top ten albums of years that preceded my annual list, which began in 1996. I'll be doing so by celebrating the 50th, 40th and 30th anniversaries of said albums. If I keep this up, I'll eventually be marking some 60th anniversaries as well, but since my 1964 list would be pretty weak, I'll be holding off on that for now.

For all of these lists, I'll allow for the benefit of hindsight, but for the years in which I actually listened to some of these albums, nostalgia will be a factor. 1974 was not one of those years.

10. Kiss - Kiss

My first favorite band's music hasn't aged really well, but their debut remains their best work, and evidence they know how to write melodic hard rock songs.

9. Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night

This is actually the only Tom Waits album I've ever bought -- and I was turned on to it by Shawn Colvin's cover of the title track -- but it's a good one nonetheless.

8. Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic

My pal Lee once said you could arguably rank the first six Led Zeppelin albums in any order. I basically feel the same way about Steely Dan.

7. Gram Parsons - Grevious Angel

The Godfather of Country Rock's posthumously released final album was as great as everything that came before it.

6. Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado

ELO is one of two bands in this top ten that I was a fan of in the '70s, Kiss being the other. But, I didn't discover the beauty of Eldorado until many years later, perhaps because "Can't Get it Out of My Head" is the only really big hit on this album. Obviously, I came around because I ranked it second in their discography back in 2010.

5. Big Star - Radio City

Not that you really have to choose one over the other, but I've always been an advocate that Chris Bell was the superior co-leader of this band. Considering this album was released after his departure, and is strictly an Alex Chilton affair, I probably don't have a leg to stand on there. Still, you should probably read this post about the Big Star documentary, and check out the film, to fully appreciate where I'm coming from.

4. Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties

I became a BÖC fan in the early '80s. Their late '70s and early '80s output were my most frequent listens at the time, but when I decided to go back further, Secret Treaties was my first purchase. For a young fan, it was a bit of an acquired taste, but I now consider it the best album of their black-and-white era (so named for their first three album covers), and their second best overall.

3. Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark

For some reason, I kind of forgot how fantastic this album is. Probably my second favorite Joni album, which seems to be a recurring theme on this list.

2. Neil Young - On the Beach

I've never gotten around to completing my project ranking the entire Neil Young discography. It's pretty safe to say this one falls just outside of the top five, but easily makes the top ten.

1. King Crimson - Red

At the start of the pandemic, while I was working in my basement, I embarked on a project ranking my top 100 albums of all-time. For once, I actually saw it through to the end and in June of 2020, I completed the list but never posted about it. Nearly four years later, I'm sure the list needs some updating, so maybe you'll see it here eventually. Anyway, my point is Red is one of two King Crimson albums to make that list, and the only top 100 album from 1974.