Pitchfork Best-of-Site List

My list of top albums since the Pitchfork site’s debut is up at http://peopleslist.pitchfork.com/list/57dee1f7/

You can make your own list here.

I was surprised at some of the records I had to enter – Pavement’s Brighten the Corners, Neutral Milk Hotel’s On Avery Island, The Afghan Whigs’ Black Love – which got Cory wondering about the demographics of current Pitchfork readers.  I started reading Pitchfork in college, and just never stopped, so I had assumed that the main audience is my peers (the kids would have their own sites, or just use the FaceTweet(tm) ), but now I wonder if it’s actually younger.

The list is a weird mix of records I love and that have been widely influential or culturally significant, and records I just plain love.  That’s how Hang-Ups got ahead of In The Aeroplane Over The Sea.  I also didn’t stress the actual rankings much, after the top 10; they’re rough, so don’t flip if it looks like I put something timeless (Stankonia?) below something I just like a lot (Perfecting Lonliness).  I might agree with you!

Finally, I had a tough time with bands that have made several great records, but didn’t have an easy choice for Their Best Ever.  The Arcade Fire was the hardest one of these.  All three of their albums are really good, and they definitely deserve a high spot on my list, but I wasn’t going to put them all up high, so I put Funeral up there and tacked on the others toward the end.  Jimmy Eat World was a pickle, too.  I wanted them on the list, but couldn’t choose between Bleed American and Clarity, which I love and think are important for different reasons, so I included both, which gives them more weight than they should have, but seemed like the best compromise.

Anyway, it was fun, and I’m looking forward to the results.  If you do your own list, comment here & include the link!  -h