Bjork - Medulla

8.0

choral, exalted, sublimity, unified, wondering

Standouts:

"Pleasure Is All Mine"

"Desired Constellation"

"Vokuro"

Nas - Illmatic

8.2

fatalist, street memories, Scarface, tension, Buddha with the buddies

Standouts:

"Life's a Bitch"

"The World is Yours"

"N.Y. State of Mind"

Wild Nothing - Nocturne

8.3

love-struck, fluttering, night phases, disappearing love, meadows

Standouts:

"Through the Grass"

"Only Heather"

"Paradise"

jj - jj n° 2

8.6

high life, sailing, places, circular life, light

Standouts:

"From Africa to Malaga"

"Things Will Never Be the Same Again"

"Masterplan"

Massive Attack - Blue Lines

9.1

crossing boundaries, devoted, on the lookout, two-timers, without peace

Standouts:

"Unfinished Sympathy"

"Hymn of the Big Wheel"

"Be Thankful for What You've Got"

Galaxie 500 - On Fire

8.8

nightly, fleeing, bored and alone, cold front, transmission

Standouts:

"Blue Thunder"

"Tell Me"

"Ceremony"

Aaliyah - Age Ain't Nothing but a Number

8.0

unshy, with the girls, precious, from the streets, won't let go

Standouts:

"Back & Forth"

"Age Ain't Nothing but a Number"

"At Your Best (You Are Love)"

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell

8.3

wild woman, raw energy, set off, distress, astray

Standouts:

"Rich"

"Y Control"

"Maps"

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

8.7

our time, night sky, juveniles, kinesis, on my way

Standouts:

"Claudia Lewis"

"Intro"

"Splendor"

Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People

9.8

disorder, carnal, dawned, coagulating, discord

Standouts:
"Cause = Time"
"Looks Just Like the Sun"
"Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl"

Coldplay - X&Y

8.3

reset, starbound, down, incomplete, discovery

Standouts:

"Swallowed in the Sea"

"Speed of Sound"

"Talk"

Kate Bush - The Sensual World

8.6

slipping apart, effort, cryptal, nighttime, laments

Standouts:

"Love and Anger"

"This Woman's Work"

"Rockets Tail"

New Order - Power, Corruption & Lies

9.7

blossoming, club, testing, descent into night, hidden

Standouts:

"Age of Consent"

"The Village"

"Leave Me Alone"

Deerhunter - Cryptograms

8.2

stunning, eerie, on alert, saturated, lost track

Standouts:

"Cryptograms"

"Strange Lights"

"Spring Hall Convert"

Beach House - Depression Cherry

8.3

ascension, somber, sweet-tasting, sanguine, here and gone

Standouts:

"Levitation"

"10:37"

"Beyond Love"

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love

8.7

ethereal, dreaming, abstract, traversal, swept away

Standouts:

"Hounds of Love"

"Cloudbusting"

"The Morning Fog"

The Strokes - Room on Fire

8.8

rebuffed, sophomore swagger, vain, NYC party girls, out of control

Standouts:

"Reptilia"

"12:51"

"Under Control"

Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

9.6

ambiance, seasons, patience, trek, viewpoint

Standouts:

"Ready, Able"

"While You Wait for the Others"

"Two Weeks"

Courtney Barnett - Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

8.5

sad sack, small and insignificant, introspection, atypical, keep on going

Standouts:

"Depreston"

"Pedestrian at Best"

"Debbie Downer"

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

9.9

boundless, Illinoisia, off-kilter, progressions, joyous

Standouts:

"Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois"

"Chicago"

"The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!"

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie & Lowell

8.9

passing by, shroud, love prayer, remembrance, Oregon air

Standouts:

"Death with Dignity"

"All of Me Wants All of You"

"Blue Bucket of Gold"

Coldplay - Parachutes

9.4

worrisome, trust, devotion, skies, a warm pair of arms

Standouts:

"Don't Panic"

"Sparks"

"Everything's Not Lost"

Drake - Take Care

9.1

extravagant, soft, proved wrong, crew, scared of what's inside

Standouts:

"Take Care"

"Marvins Room"

"Over My Dead Body"

Grouper - The Man Who Died in His Boat

8.3

cloudy, breath of life, shadowy, elegiac, flowy

Standouts:

"Cover the Long Way"

"Vital"

"The Man Who Died in His Boat"

Patti Smith - Horses

8.6

self-expression, goin' to the beat, free spirit, urbane, heavens opened

Standouts:

"Birdland"

"Kimberly"
"Land"

Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

8.4

down in the dumps, drifter, stony, rumbling on, open road ahead

Standouts:

"Like a Rolling Stone"

"Desolation Row"

"Queen Jane Approximately"

The Beatles - Let It Be

8.4

conclusion, self-concern, do not go gently, apart, full circle

Standouts:

"Let it Be"

"Across the Universe"

"The Long and Winding Road"

The Replacements - Let It Be

8.6

growing up, titillated, disappointed, letting it out, acceptance

Standouts:

"Unsatisfied"

"Androgynous"

"Answering Machine"

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour

8.7

tripping, vivid, camaraderie, metamorphosis, in mind and spirit

Standouts:

"Strawberry Fields Forever"

"Penny Lane"

"All You Need is Love"

The Beatles - Revolver

9.1

turn, solitude, soothing, transcendence, harsh light

Standouts:

"I'm Only Sleeping"

"Eleanor Rigby"

"Love You To"

Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News

8.7

religious doubt, floatin', eating cake, cradle to grave, diabolical

Standouts:

"Float On"

"Ocean Breathes Salty"

"Blame It on the Tetons"

M.I.A. - Matangi

8.8

karma, bhangra, internet culture, Western emptiness, girl power

Standouts:

"Y.A.L.A."

"Bad Girls"

"Warriors"

Chairlift - Something

8.9

slick, immaterial, getting cold, indicted, night vibes

Standouts:

"Ghost Tonight"

"I Belong in Your Arms"

"Take It Out on Me"

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

8.8

changing seasons, Arabesque, mystical, elevated, cyclical

Standouts:

"Wait for the Summer"

"2080"

"Sunrise"

Black Kids - Partie Traumatic

8.5

dancey, rejection, flirty, skittish, saucy

Standouts:

"Hit the Heartbrakes"

"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You"

"Look at Me (When I Rock Wichoo)"

MGMT - Congratulations

8.8

whimsical, extraordinary, emporium, inter-dimensional, elusive

Standouts:

"Flash Delirium"

"Song for Dan Treacy"

"Someone's Missing"

Interpol - El Pintor

8.1

torrential, crushing, away, unsurprised, split in two

Standouts:

"Anywhere"

"Same Town, New Story"

"All the Rage Back Home"

Bjork - Homogenic

8.7

grandiose, left behind, tidal, re-polished, ice queen

Standouts:

"Hunter"

"Joga"

"All Neon Like"

Pixies - Surfer Rosa

8.0

zesty, wacko, broken, amazed, sadist

Standouts:

"Gigantic"

"Where is My Mind?"

"Bone Machine"

The Killers - Hot Fuss

8.5

going for greatness, with a girl, the weight, '80s children, Vegas

Standouts:

"Mr. Brightside"

"All These Things That I've Done"

"Somebody Told Me"

Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk

9.3

school, buses, seize the day, bustling, past and present

Standouts:

"The State I Am In"

"We Rule the School"

"Mary Jo"

Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place

9.1

serenity, wash over, anew, higher level, sacred

Standouts:

"Envelop"

"The Magic Place"

"White Flag"

The Beatles - The White Album

9.8

eclectic, whimsical, chamber music, music hall, released

Standouts:

"I Will"

"Long, Long, Long"

"Blackbird"

Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out

8.0

turn on the feeling, not enough, aroused, not your typical girls, exhilarating

Standouts:

"Turn It On"

"Not What You Want"

"The Drama You've Been Craving"

The Prodigy - The Fat of the Land

8.7

ignition, cathartic, psycho, rising power, aggravated

Standouts:

"Smack My Bitch Up"

"Firestarter"

"Serial Thrilla"

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

8.9

cover of darkness, lonely heart, underground, discomfort, public spaces

Standouts:

"PDA"

"Obstacle 2"

"The New"

Paul Simon - Graceland

9.6

discussions, world, pilgrimage, unsatisfied man, beatific

Standouts:

"I Know What I Know"

"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"

"You Can Call Me Al"

Wolfmother - Cosmic Egg

8.8

cast off, rising, seeing wonder, morning sun, wanted love 

Standouts:

"New Moon Rising"

"Cosmic Egg"

"Pilgrim"

Lorde - Pure Heroine

8.1

teammates, fantasies, recalcitrant, humble foundations, youthful boredom

Standouts:

"Tennis Court"

"400 Lux"

"Team"

Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

8.1

found love, who cares, damned, the magic of love, forgive and forget

Standouts:

"Alex"

"Saying I Love You"

"Magic"