2024 Honorable Album Mentions
It is that time of the year again, our favorite time actually, as we look back on the year in music and select the 10 best albums of the year.
10) High Vis - Guided Tour
8) Gossip - Real Power
7) St. Vincent - All Born Screaming
6) Kendrick Lamar - GNX
5) Beyonce - Renaissance II: Cowboy Carter
4) Idles - Tangk
3) Fontaines D.C. - Romance
2) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Wild God
1) The Cure - Songs of a Lost World
As said in previous years, this award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.
In the past winners have included:
2000 - Radiohead - Kid A
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?
2002 - NERD - In Search of...
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation
2008 - Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar
2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded
2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest
2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2021 - St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
2022 - Black Midi - Hellfire
2023 - Algiers - Shook
The 2024 winner of League of Their Own is..
Tyler, The Creator - Chrommakopia
In keeping with our Thanksgiving weekend tradition, we are coming out of hiatus to post our year-end music lists for the year. Here is the first of three lists dedicated to our favorites of the calendar.
Here is our first list -- Honorable Mentions -- records, in no particular order, that were good but not strong enough to crack our top 10.
Brigette Calls Me Baby - The Future is Our Way Out
Hamish Hawk - A Firmer Hand
The Libertines - All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade
Sprints - Letter to Self
Primal Scream - Come Ahead
Click Here for 2023 Honorable Album Mentions
It is that time of the year again, our favorite time actually, as we look back on the year in music and select the 10 best albums of the year.
Click Here for 2023 League of Their Own
10) Nas - "Magic 3"
9) Philip Selway - "Strange Dance"
8) Danny Brown and JPEG Mafia - "Scaring the Hoes"
7) The Rolling Stones - "Hackney Diamonds"
6) Romy - "Mid Air"
5) Killer Mike - "Michael"
4) The National - "First Two Pages of Frankenstein"
3) The Hold Steady - "The Price of Progress"
2) Model / Actriz - "Dogsbody"
1) Nas - "Magic 2"
As said in previous years, this award started long before the site was even a thought, in one
publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a
"League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is
the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out
there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either
resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have
totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of
Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the
most important record to be released at that time.
In the past winners have included:
2000 - Radiohead - Kid A
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?
2002 - NERD - In Search of...
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation
2008 - Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar
2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded
2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest
2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2021 - St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
2022 - Black Midi - Hellfire
...and now to add to this ever growing list is a band who have taken
rock n roll and mixed it with soul and dipped it into gospel but also
using electronic arrangements to make their voices and
message heard loud and clear. With a slew of guests that include
the reclusive Zach de la Rocha, Sam
Herring of Future Islands, Big Rube, Lee Bains, among others.
The fourth record from this Georgia-based
band isn't Southern Rock it is a mirror to America itself.
The 2023 League of Their Own winner is...
Algiers - "Shook"
Instead of presenting everything over the course of three weeks as we did last year, we are going to just get them all out now over the course of this weekend.
Here is our first list -- Honorable Mentions -- records, in no particular order, that were good but not strong enough to crack our top 10.
James Blake - "Playing Robots Into Heaven"
The Chemical Brothers - "For that Beautiful Feeling"
See the 2022 League of Their Own Album
It is that time of the year again, our favorite time actually, as we look back on the year in music and select the 10 best albums of the year.
See List of 2022 Honorable Mentions
This award started long before the site was even a thought, in one publication, radio show or another. Since 2000, I have handed out a "League of Their Own" Award to an album that is made by an artist who is the most forward thinking, open minded, revolutionary musician out there today. Their accomplishments in the past 12 months have either resurrected a sound, broke down walls and created new frontiers or have totally reinvented a genre all together. The choices for "League of Their Own" have become more than just the best album of the year but the most important record to be released at that time.
See List of 2022 Honorable Mentions
In the past winners have included:
2000 - Radiohead - Kid A
2001 - The Strokes - Is This It?
2002 - NERD - In Search of...
2003 - The White Stripes - Elephant
2004 - The Killers - Hot Fuss
2005 - The Mars Volta - Francis the Mute
2006 - TV On The Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
2007 - Kanye West - Graduation
2008 - Santigold
2009 - Mastodon - Crack the Skye
2010 - Gorillaz - Plastic Beach
2011 - Bjork - Biophilia
2012 - Flying Lotus - Until The Quiet Comes
2013 - Arcade Fire - Reflektor
2014 - Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
2015 - Kamasi Washington - The Epic
2016 - David Bowie - Blackstar
2017 - Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.
2018 - Richard Russell - Everything is Recorded
2019 - King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rats Nest
2020 - Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters
2021 - St. Vincent - Daddy's Home
...and
now to add to this ever growing list is a band who is taking the sound of rock and roll that we have grown accustomed to and bending, manipulating and altering them in ways that will leave you spellbound and astonished that what they are doing is possible.
The 2022 League of Their Own winner is...
Black Midi - Hellfire
The young British band has been a favorite of Officially A Yuppie since they came on our radar in 2019 with their stellar debut and since have steadily released one fantastic album after another. However, their 2022 offering, their third record overall, "Hellfire" is a combination of heavy metal, prog and alternative that it is no wonder that Australia's mighty King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard asked them to open for them on a select number of shows. Musicianship aside, the tongue-in-cheek and ironic lyrics from singer Geordie Greep just add to the magic. This record is a wild experience that plays out like a horror movie but you don't want it to end. Welcome to the hellfire, indeed!
In keeping our Thanksgiving weekend tradition, we are coming out of hiatus to post our year-end music lists for the year. Here is the first of three lists dedicated to our favorites of the calendar.
Instead of presenting everything over the course of three weeks as we did last year, we are going to just get them all out now over the course of this weekend.
Here is our first list -- Honorable Mentions -- records, in no particular order, that were good but not strong enough to crack our top 10.
