Release Poll: PA Albums of 2024

FYI: I've just improved the polls UI a lot - please give it a try! There are still two weeks left in January, and a lot of music to explore. I've implemented a recommendations feature based on the releases you select, would love to get some feedback on it. Do you find the recommendations useful? Let me know! 

Edited by MikeEnRegalia - January 14 2025 at 03:36

^ The recommendations are currently based on tags, ratings, year and type of the releases. I'm not displaying it on the polls page (for a lack of space), but when you click on any release cover art, in the side panel there's a tab named "similar releases", and there I list the matching tags.

Not here a lot but here's my list so far:

Edited by Negoba - January 15 2025 at 14:52

MikeEnRegalia wrote: ^ Nice list! Definitely some release in there that I have yet to explore. Are you deliberately sorting them differently than the rating would suggest, or is the list unsorted?

Edited by Negoba - January 15 2025 at 14:48

Think this is my final update following some late purchases, most significant addition is Tigran Hamasyan

1. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - of the Last Human Being [BC] [SPO]
    Eerie Complex Exp Prog Avant RIO/Jazz
2. Present - this is NOT the end [BC]
    Dark Complex Exp Prog Avant RIO/Jazz
3. Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin - SPIN [BC]
    Ambient Contemporary Jazz/Electronic
4. Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra - Spectral Fiction [BC]
    Prog Avant Jazz
5. Janel Leppin - Ensemble Volcanic Ash: To March Is To Love [BC]
    Exp Prog Art Jazz/Rock
6. Mary Halvorson - Cloudward [BC] [SPO]
    Playful Complex Prog Chamber Jazz/Rock
7. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - "No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead" [BC] [SPO]
    Ambient Prog Post Rock
8. The Smile - Wall of Eyes [BC] [SPO]
    Mellow Abstract Neo Prog Post Rock/Pop
9. Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion - Rectangles and Circumstance [BC]
    Exp Contemporary Classical
10. Six Organs of Admittance - Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance: Jinxed by Being [BC] [SPO]
    Mysterious Atmospheric Non-Prog Avant Electronic/Rock
11. Antistatic - Relics [BC]
    Exp Prog Art Jazz/Rock
12. Tomeka Reid Quartet - 3​+​3 [BC]
    Exp Prog Art Jazz/Rock
13. Chelsea Wolfe - She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She [BC] [SPO]
    Dark Nocturnal Non-Prog Post Darkwave/Industrial
14. Tigran Hamasyan - The Bird Of A Thousand Voices [SPO]
    Cinematic Prog Avant Rock/Jazz
15. Avalanche Kaito - Talitakum [BC] [SPO]
    Energetic Noisy Exp Prog Avant Electronic/Rock
16. Cosa Brava - Z Sides [BC]
    Exp Rock/Jazz
17. Thumbscrew - Wingbeats [BC]
    Exp Non-Prog Avant Jazz/Rock
18. Inner Ear Brigade - Perkunas [BC]
    Zappaesque Exp Prog Avant Rock/Jazz
19. The Holy Family - Live Burning, Burning Live [BC] [SPO]
    Psych Exp Prog Alt Rock
20. Horse Lords - As It Happened: Horse Lords Live [BC] [SPO]
    Tech Exp Non-Prog Avant Rock/Jazz
21. Janel and Anthony - New Moon In The Evil Age [BC]
    Ambient Exp Prog Art Jazz/Independent
22. Tapir! - The Pilgrim, Their God and the King of My Decrepit Mountain [BC] [SPO]
    Mellow Lush Neo Prog Chamber Electronic/Folk
23. Lankum - Live In Dublin [BC]
    Irish Drone
24. Extra Life - The Sacred Vowel [BC]
    Melancholic Exp Prog Math Rock
25. Radio Massacre International - Galactic Furnace [BC]
    Exp Prog Art Electronic/Jazz
26. Olivia Block - The Mountains Pass [BC]
    Exp Electronic
27. Lunar Mistake - Lunar Mistake [BC]
    Quirky Post Punk/New Wave
28. Holy Tongue meets Shackleton - The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now [BC]
29. GoGo Penguin - From The North [SPO]
    Tech Non-Prog Post Fusion
30. Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra - Live at the Adler Planetarium [BC]
    Psych Avant Electronic/Jazz
31. Kugelschreiber - Cheerleaders [BC]
    Exp Chamber Pop
32. Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp - Ventre Unique [BC]
    World
33. Das Rad - Funfair [BC] [SPO]
    Exp Prog Avant RIO/Jazz
34. The Messthetics - The Messthetics and James Brandon Lewis [BC] [SPO]
    Rhythmic Prog Post Jazz/Hardcore
35. Pom Poko - Champion [BC]
    Alt Noise/Pop
36. Craven Faults - Thwaite Watermill [BC]
    Ambient Prog Electronic
37. Caroline Shaw - Leonardo da Vinci (Original Score) [BC]
    Ambient Folk Classical
38. Monkey3 - Welcome To The Machine [BC] [SPO]
    Psych Prog Space Rock/Metal
39. The Flying Luttenbachers - Losing the War Inside Our Heads
    Brutal Non-Prog Avant RIO
40. Smith, Ches - Laugh Ash [BC] [SPO]
    Complex Exp Non-Prog Avant Jazz
41. Signe Emmeluth - Banshee [BC] [SPO]
    Exp Avant Jazz
42. Papangu - Lampião Rei [BC] [SPO]
    Eclectic Prog Art Rock/Metal
43. Upupayāma - Mount Elephant
    Psych Non-Prog Raga
44. Snowdrops - Singing Stones (Volume 1) [BC]
    Ambient Exp Chamber Classical/Electronic
45. Cassiber - Collaborations [BC]
    Exp Prog Avant RIO/Jazz
46. Luz De Riada - Rizoma [BC]
    Slow Exp Prog Avant RIO/Jazz
47. Snakes Don't Belong In Alaska - Navegando Al Paraiso [BC] [SPO]
    Psych Prog Space Krautrock
48. Cheer Accident - I Want My Buddha Back [BC]
    Noisy Exp Prog Post Rock/Metal
49. Shabaka - Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace [SPO]
    Soothing Poetic Non-Prog Chamber Jazz
50. 137 - Strangeness Oscillation [BC] [SPO]
    Exp Jazz
51. Zombi - Direct Inject [BC] [SPO]
    Ambient Prog Space Rock/Electronic
52. Quartet Diminished - Deerand [BC]
    Suspenseful Exp Prog Art Jazz/Rock
53. This Celestial Engine - This Celestial Engine [BC] [SPO]
    Melancholic Lush Exp Prog Fusion/Rock
54. Yussef Dayes - Live From Malibu [BC] [SPO]
    Mellow Cinematic Funky Non-Prog Contemporary Jazz/Fusion
55. Panzerpappa - Skjeringspunkt [BC]
    Prog Rock
56. Rhùn - Tozzos [BC] [SPO]
    Eclectic Exp Prog Avant Zeuhl/RIO
57. Slift - Ilion [BC] [SPO]
    Eerie Psych Prog Space Rock/Metal
58. Nik Bärtsch - Ronin Rhythm Clan: Moonday [BC] [SPO]
    Contemporary Jazz
59. Theo May's ODD UNIT - Alive In The Forest Of Odd [BC] [SPO]
    Lush Exp Prog Chamber Jazz/Folk
60. ZIO CROCIFISSO - Campana di Legno [BC]
    Exp Prog Math Rock
61. Full Earth - Cloud Sculptors [BC] [SPO]
    Psych Exp Prog Space Rock/Electronic
62. Sean Ono Lennon - Asterisms [SPO]
    Psych Neo Prog Psychedelia/Fusion
63. Plantoid - Terrapath [BC] [SPO]
    Eclectic Exp Prog Space Rock/Pop
64. Can - Live in Paris 1973 [BC] [SPO]
    Hypnotic Psych Exp Prog Avant Krautrock
65. The Flying Luttenbachers - Spectral Warrior Mythos 2 [BC]
    Exp Post Classical/Noise
66. Montresor - Autopoiesis [BC] [SPO]
    Heavy Prog Avant RIO
67. Join The Din - Tales from Dance (Live Session) [BC]
    Psych Prog Alt Jazz/Rock
68. Tenk Van Dool & Paul Sears - Aperiodic Grok [BC] [SPO]
    Eclectic Prog Hard Rock/Fusion
69. Tom Penaguin - Tom Penaguin [BC]
    Exp Prog Canterbury Scene/Fusion
70. Greco Bastián - With a Little Hell from MORE friends [BC]
    Aggressive Prog Avant Zeuhl/RIO
71. Agusa - Noir [BC] [SPO]
    Psych Prog Folk Rock
72. Jane Getter Premonition - Division World [SPO]
    Melodic Prog Art Rock
73. PAKT - No Steps Left To Trace [BC] [SPO]
    Fusion
74. Elephant9 - Mythical River [BC] [SPO]
    Mysterious Eclectic Prog Avant Fusion/Rock
75. FUR - Notebook [BC]
    Jazz
76. Yang - Rejoice! [BC]
    Heavy Exp Prog Art Rock/Jazz
77. The Band Whose Name Is A Symbol - Verdun
    Psych Non-Prog Rock
78. Utopianisti - Reason In Motion [BC]
    Exp Prog Rock/Jazz
79. Jumble Hole Clough - They've Built an Ark in Arkham [BC]
    Prog Post Punk
80. Spectrum Orchestrum - Noziroh [BC] [SPO]
    Exp Prog Avant RIO/Jazz
81. Cloud Over Jupiter - Atomic Jupiter [BC] [SPO]
    Eclectic Prog Rock/Jazz
82. Sentient Beings - Truth Is Not The Enemy [BC]
    Exp Prog Jazz
83. God is an Astronaut - Embers [BC] [SPO]
    Ominous Tech Prog Post Rock/Metal

My list is just over 40 and I do consider whether I go back to relisten to an album as part of how I rate/rank an album. It's partly why I rarely give an album an 'S' on your scale for any album in the year of its release. It has to survive a longevity factor to be supreme to me.

I also try to be considerate of any recency bias I might have. Asking myself, "Am I listening to it more because it's new?" "How will this hold up over time?"

I don't do a thorough job of tracking my number of listens but albums I have purchased are a good indicator. With almost everything available to stream these days, the ones I purchase get up there because I usually purchase those that I am relistening to.

MikeEnRegalia wrote: I'm curious - to everyone who submitted a really long list (e.g. more than 40 entries), like I also did previously: How often have you listened to the releases? Obviously it's hard to say unless you have a tool to keep track of it, but for me, when I had like 50 releases in the list there were many which I had only heard once. This year I'm filtering the list for releases that I still find truly outstanding after repeated listens throughout the year. I'm NOT saying that this is better or worse than any other strategy - what's your opinion?

I try to give an album at least 3 full listens before ranking it in the top 40. The ones in the bottom half of the chart are partly there because of initial reaction and lack of listens. Everything in the top half grabbed me enough for repeat listens. Unless it's something like Tigran Hamasyan that I bought just recently and grabbed me immediately.

I only have 39, but should have a few more soon. In my top 24 or so I have listened to all albums multiple times, some only twice, some three times and some many times. Not in PA, Beth Gibbons' Lives Outgrown received the most spins and in PA The Smile's Wall of Eyes has received the most spins. Both had advance singles that I loved before hearing the album and before the album was released.

I hope we still get quite few more participating. There are various (many) notable forum names that have not entered. I won't say who is notable and is not. The notable ones are the ones that I would remember to note. ;) My ranking is quite arbitrary on the whole, my number one is clearest but that's not in PA so won't count for the PA Album of the Year, and a big part of me would rather not rank the albums, but with more participants I feel that that arbitrariness matters that much less. A whole bunch of arbitrary rankings for the win! I am almost as interested in seeing the individual lists as seeing the combined results. I don't take the ranking terribly seriously for my list, I would not rank to manipulate an albums overall ranking (that's kind of thing really sucks from my perspective) and I don't treat this AOTY as some kind of contest, but it's an indication of my interests. And I like to see other's individual interests whether we have similar interests or not.

If I think I appreciate an album enough after hearing it once, or even if I just thought it worth noting after one listen, then that would be enough for me to add it. And then reevaluate later, or perhaps never return to it again. Some I know I'll love on first spin, some others might take time to grown on me or I know I just need to be in the right headspace (mood, lack of distractions).

Edited by Logan - Yesterday at 08:26

MikeEnRegalia wrote: I'm curious - to everyone who submitted a really long list (e.g. more than 40 entries), like I also did previously: How often have you listened to the releases? Obviously it's hard to say unless you have a tool to keep track of it, but for me, when I had like 50 releases in the list there were many which I had only heard once. This year I'm filtering the list for releases that I still find truly outstanding after repeated listens throughout the year. I'm NOT saying that this is better or worse than any other strategy - what's your opinion?

I do a similar thing. I compare two albums and rank them based on which one I'd pick up first in a average listening environment (i.e. I'm not in the mood for a particular style)