My Top 3 Albums Per Year: 1963-2023

  A while back I made a list of my favorite albums of each year from 1960-2022, and during my “hiatus” from blogging over this past month, I figured it’d be fun to try to expand that list to THREE albums per year (yes, you read that right). I was able to make it as far back as 1963 before my brain broke…

Welp, here you are:

1963

GOLD: The Beatles - Please Please Me

SILVER: The Beatles - With the Beatles

BRONZE: Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan

1964

GOLD: The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night

SILVER: The Beatles - Beatles for Sale

BRONZE: The Rolling Stones - England’s Newest Hit Makers

1965

GOLD: The Beatles - Help!

SILVER: The Beatles - Rubber Soul

BRONZE: Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

1966

GOLD: The Rolling Stones - Aftermath (US version)

SILVER: The Beatles - Revolver

BRONZE: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

1967

GOLD: Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced? (US version)

SILVER: The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (US version)

BRONZE: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

1968

GOLD: Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland

SILVER: The Beatles - The Beatles

BRONZE: The Rolling Stones - Beggar’s Banquet

1969

GOLD: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin

SILVER: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II

BRONZE: The Beatles - Abbey Road

1970

GOLD: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

SILVER: Black Sabbath - Paranoid

BRONZE: Jimi Hendrix - Band of Gypsys

1971

GOLD: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV

SILVER: Black Sabbath - Master of Reality

BRONZE: Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On

1972

GOLD: Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

SILVER: Deep Purple - Machine Head

BRONZE: Neil Young - Harvest

1973

GOLD: Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy

SILVER: Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

BRONZE: Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon

1974

GOLD: Kiss - Hotter than Hell

SILVER: Kiss - Kiss

BRONZE: Aerosmith - Get Your Wings

1975

GOLD: Kiss - Dressed to Kill

SILVER: Black Sabbath - Sabotage

BRONZE: Kiss - Alive!

1976

GOLD: Kiss - Rock and Roll Over

SILVER: Kiss - Destroyer

BRONZE: Aerosmith - Rocks

1977

GOLD: Fleetwood Mac - Rumours

SILVER: Kiss - Love Gun

BRONZE: Kiss - Alive II

1978

GOLD: Van Halen - Van Halen

SILVER: Ace Frehley - Ace Frehley

BRONZE: Paul Stanley - Paul Stanley

1979

GOLD: Pink Floyd - The Wall

SILVER: Kiss - Dynasty

BRONZE: Van Halen - Van Halen II

1980

GOLD: Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz

SILVER: ACDC - Back in Black

BRONZE: Kiss - Unmasked

1981

GOLD: Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman

SILVER: Van Halen - Fair Warning

BRONZE: Kiss - Music from “The Elder”

1982

GOLD: Kiss - Creatures of the Night

SILVER: Michael Jackson - Thriller

BRONZE: Van Halen - Diver Down

1983

GOLD: Metallica - Kill ‘Em All

SILVER: Kiss - Lick It Up

BRONZE: Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon

1984

GOLD: Metallica - Ride the Lightning

SILVER: The Smiths - Hatful of Hollow

BRONZE: Bob Marley - Legend

1985

GOLD: Tears For Fears - Songs from the Big Chair

SILVER: Faith No More - We Care a Lot

BRONZE: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Freaky Styley

1986

GOLD: Metallica - Master of Puppets

SILVER: Van Halen - 5150

BRONZE: Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin

1987

GOLD: Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction

SILVER: Michael Jackson - Bad

BRONZE: Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

1988

GOLD: Metallica - ...And Justice for All

SILVER: Guns N’ Roses - G N’ R Lies

BRONZE: Soundgarden - Ultramega OK

1989

GOLD: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother’s Milk

SILVER: Nirvana - Bleach

BRONZE: Faith No More - The Real Thing

1990

GOLD: Alice in Chains - Facelift

SILVER: Pantera - Cowboys from Hell

BRONZE: Megadeth - Rust in Peace

1991

GOLD: Pearl Jam - Ten

SILVER: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik

BRONZE: Nirvana - Nevermind

1992

GOLD: Faith No More - Angel Dust

SILVER: White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Volume One

BRONZE: Alice in Chains - Dirt

1993

GOLD: The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

SILVER: Nirvana - In Utero

BRONZE: Tool - Undertow

1994

GOLD: Soundgarden - Superunknown

SILVER: Nirvana - MTV Unplugged in New York

BRONZE: Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies

1995

GOLD: Oasis - (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

SILVER: White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000

BRONZE The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness

1996

GOLD: Outkast - ATLiens

SILVER: Alice in Chains - Unplugged

BRONZE: Metallica - Load

1997

GOLD: Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape

SILVER: Kiss - Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions

BRONZE: Faith No More - Album of the Year

1998

GOLD: Outkast - Aquemini

SILVER: Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

BRONZE: Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe

1999

GOLD: Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left to Lose

SILVER: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication

BRONZE: Slipknot - Slipknot

2000

GOLD: Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory

SILVER: The White Stripes - De Stijl

BRONZE: Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

2001

GOLD: John Frusciante - To Record Only Water for Ten Days

SILVER: Slipknot - Iowa

BRONZE: The White Stripes - White Blood Cells

2002

GOLD: Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way

SILVER: Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf

BRONZE: Audioslave - Audioslave

2003

GOLD: The White Stripes - Elephant

SILVER: Linkin Park - Meteora

BRONZE: Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

2004

GOLD: Green Day - American Idiot

SILVER: Slipknot - Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)

BRONZE: John Frusciante - Shadows Collide with People

2005

GOLD: Depeche Mode - Playing the Angel

SILVER: System of a Down - Hypnotize

BRONZE: System of a Down - Mezmerize

2006

GOLD: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium

SILVER: Buckethead - Crime Slunk Scene

BRONZE: John Mayer - Continuum

2007

GOLD: The White Stripes - Icky Thump

SILVER: Radiohead - In Rainbows

BRONZE: Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare

2008

GOLD: Guns N’ Roses - Chinese Democracy

SILVER: Buckethead - Albino Slug

BRONZE: Metallica - Death Magnetic

2009

GOLD: Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue

SILVER: The Dead Weather - Horehound

BRONZE: Silversun Pickups - Swoon

2010

GOLD: The Dead Weather - Sea of Cowards

SILVER: Slash - Slash

BRONZE: Linkin Park - A Thousand Suns

2011

GOLD: Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

SILVER: Red Hot Chili Peppers - I’m With You

BRONZE: Adele - 21

2012

GOLD: Jack White - Blunderbuss

SILVER: Slash - Apocalyptic Love

BRONZE: Linkin Park - Living Things

2013

GOLD: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

SILVER: My Bloody Valentine - m b v

BRONZE: Red Hot Chili Peppers - I’m Beside You

2014

GOLD: Royal Blood - Royal Blood

SILVER: Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter

BRONZE: The Orwells - Disgraceland

2015

GOLD: Lin Manuel-Miranda - Hamilton

SILVER: Faith No More - Sol Invictus

BRONZE: Darlia - Petals

2016

GOLD: Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway

SILVER: Metallica - Hardwired… to Self-Destruct

BRONZE: Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3

2017

GOLD: Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark?

SILVER: Greta Van Fleet - From the Fires

BRONZE: Foo Fighters - Concrete and Gold

2018

GOLD: Alice in Chains - Rainier Fog

SILVER: The Smashing Pumpkins - Shiny and Oh-So Bright

GOLD: Greta Van Fleet - Anthem of the Peaceful Army

2019

GOLD: Slipknot - We Are Not Your Kind

SILVER: Pluralone - To Be One With You

BRONZE: The Raconteurs - Help Us, Stranger

2020

GOLD: Run the Jewels - RTJ4

SILVER: ACDC - Power Up

BRONZE: The Strokes - The New Abnormal

2021

GOLD: Royal Blood - Typhoons

SILVER: Foo Fighters - Medicine at Midnight

BRONZE: Jerry Cantrell - Brighten

2022

GOLD: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Return of the Dream Canteen

SILVER: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love

BRONZE: Pluralone - This Is the Show

2023

GOLD: Foo Fighters - But Here We Are

SILVER: The Orwells - Friendly Fire

BRONZE: Royal Blood - Back to the Water Below

Peace!

Related: Top 5 Albums Per Year, 1986-2024

Poetry Repository: Holiday 2023 Edition

        Happy new year. Despite wanting to post more, I had to take a break for a month due to personal stuff. That said, while I was away, I wrote a bunch of new poems (24 to be exact). Rather than add to my last poetry repository, I figured I might as well just create a separate post instead…

        So without further ado, here you go:

OVERLAP

One man murders another man

Only to then be killed himself

One crime overlapping with another

Mistaken for a double-homicide…

A HAUNTED MOON

A broken, rusted starship

Caught in a planet’s orbit

Mistaken for a small moon

With a station built within

And an alien pilot

Like a tall, white jellyfish

Unable to communicate

Mistaken for a ghost…

SEEING FATE

An ancient building

Sees the modern one

Just across the street

A grim reminder

Of what is to come…

MORE THAN ENOUGH (HAIKU)

Dark trees and a dark-blue sky

Lit only by the small, crescent moon

But still enough light; more than enough

FLASHBACKS (HAIKU)

To cringe,

Or not to cringe?

…To cringe…

BLACK SHEEP

Woman, living with her husband and sons

Misunderstood by them all

Man, living with his wife and daughters

Misunderstood by them all

GUILT

Wallowing in the guilt of mistakes long passed

Wishing now for the happiness of others

When I should instead be wishing for my own

ALWAYS A REASON

Humans of the far future

Fly away to somewhere new

A lush, habitable world

Away from all the conflict

Of the Earth they left behind

A great opportunity

For a rare, fresh beginning

To erase the past mistakes

…But soon, new conflicts arise

Always a reason to fight…

IN ANOTHER LIFE

In another life

Maybe you became

The hero you always

Wanted to be

Or maybe you became

The villain instead

Or maybe in that life

You’re a nobody

Just like you are here

PAINTINGS (HAIKU)

The only way to see

The influencers of the past

How they wanted to look

REMNANTS

A faded billboard, barely visible

With an outdated logo and font

A relic of the past, soon forgotten

Like wrinkles, chipping away at youth

INVASION! (HAIKU)

Aliens invading the Earth,

In search of better opportunity…

Why does this sound familiar?

ONE AND THE SAME

A trio of travelers

One of The Roman Empire

One of Ancient Greece

And one of the old Norse lands

All at odds with one another

But together they enter

The realm of the Gods

Where they find a tall, bearded man

His face aged with eternal wisdom

“I am King of all Gods,” he says

“But which?” A traveler asks,

“Zeus? Odin? Jupiter?”

The God King raises an eyebrow,

“I am all those names, yet none.”

SOME THINGS REMAIN

Settlers arrive in America

Quickly, they construct a lighthouse

A design dating back to Ancient Greece

A sign of the things that remain

No matter how far humanity may go…

NOTHING LOST (HAIKU)

No matter the road taken

At least one thing will be missed out on

So nothing is lost, really…

FRIENDS

Real friends

Imaginary friends

Artificial friends

At this point,

What’s the difference?

IRONY OF A NAME

Foreign parents, now settled in America

Give their new-born a name from their culture

When an “American” name would have made more sense

Meanwhile, back in their home country

A different new-born is given an “American” name

By their Hollywood-obsessed parents

When a non-American one would have made more sense

REST AREAS

Rest areas on the highway

Different from continent to continent

Or even country to country

Let alone region to region

Not to mention state to state

Yet they all serve the same purpose…

ANCIENT ECHOES

Hercules and Thor, both sons of God-Kings

Both needing to learn the art of discipline

Hermes and Loki, Gods of tricks and thieves

Both with twisted senses of humor

Greek mythology and Norse mythology

Both, at times, echoes of one another…

ASTEROID COMMUNITY

Asteroids, large and far apart from one another

A far cry from the action set pieces of movies

But rather suitable homes for humans of the future

One such human makes their way from an asteroid of houses

To one of stores, restaurants, and the like

Just everyday living, for these “space boys and girls”

COME BACK DOWN TO EARTH

The boy sits beside his bed, playing with his toys

Imagining as many stories as he can

Until his mother walks in, “Come back down to Earth,”

She says, “Time for the story-maker to go to sleep.”

The man sits at the cafe, writing in his notebook

Imagining as many stories as he can

Until his wife shoots him a text, “Come back down to Earth,”

She says, “Time for the storyteller to head on home.”

TURNCOAT

An agent becomes a double agent

And then a triple agent after that

Always switching, caring just for themselves

Eventually ending up alone

ICE-OLATION

Lone, icy moon on the edge of the universe

Atmospheric, but dark, mountainous, and barren

A small station with a synthetic food printer

With a solar panel that barely still works

Is my only source for remaining alive

I could have been exiled anywhere

A misty swamp, a world of islands… Anywhere!

But, no. Of all places, it had to be here…

COMPETITION

Several different Private Investigators

All called upon simultaneously

To solve the same crime as one another

A crime staged by one of the PI’s themselves

So that he may “solve” it with great ease

A chance to beat the competition, at last

…If only he remembered that his rivals

We’re probably the greatest detectives in the world…

Peace!