Fire Walk With Me

previously on Best Albums Lists too late to turn back now:

1960’s ——  1970’s  ——  1980’s  —-  1990’s

2000: Radiohead - Kid A

(runners-up: Modest Mouse - Moon and Antarctica; The Avalanches - Since I Left You; Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030; The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic)

2001: Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun

(runners-up: Low - Things We Lost in the Fire; The White Stripes - White Blood Cells; Liars - They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument On Top; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part)

2002: The Mountain Goats - All Hail West Texas AND Tallahassee (since both of these amazing albums came out the same year I’m going to cheat on this one)

(runners-up: Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights; Neko Case - Blacklisted; The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots; The Streets - Original Pirate Material; The Notwist - Neon Golden)

2003: Songs:Ohia - Magnolia Electric Co

(runners-up: The Postal Service - Give Up; Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below; M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts; Goldfrapp - Black Cherry)

2004: Stars - Set Yourself On Fire

(runners-up: Air - Talkie Walkie; The Arcade Fire - Funeral;  Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender; Morrissey - You Are the Quarry; Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand)

2005: Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

(runners-up: The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree; Wolfmother - Wolfmother; Antony and the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now; Sleater-Kinney - The Woods)

2006: The Knife - Silent Shout

(runners-up: TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain; Amy Winehouse - Back to Black; The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones; Hot Chip - The Warning)

2007: Panda Bear - Person Pitch

(runners-up: M.I.A. - Kala; LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver; Burial - Untrue; Kanye West - Graduation)

2008: Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair

(runners-up: Santogold - Santogold; Portishead - Third; TV on the Radio - Dear Science; Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak; Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles)

2009: The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

(runners-up: Fever Ray - Fever Ray; Florence and the Machine- Lungs; Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca; School of Seven Bells - Alpinisms; The XX- The XX; Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion; Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest; The Antlers - Hospice; The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Its Blitz; Bat for Lashes - Two Suns; Au Revoir Simone - Still Night, Still Light; Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle)

previously on Best Albums Lists somebody stop me:

1960’s —- 1970’s —— 1980’s

1990: Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet

(runners-up: Sonic Youth - Goo; The Breeders - Pod; Depeche Mode - Violator) 

1991: Nirvana - Nevermind

(Runners-up: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless; Massive Attack - Blue Lines; A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory; U2 - Achtung Baby)

1992: Spiritualized - Laser Guided Melodies

(runners-up: Tom Waits - Bone Machine; Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine; R.E.M. - Automatic For the People; Pearl Jam - Ten)

1993: Slowdive - Souvlaki

(runners-up: Nirvana - In Utero; Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream; PJ Harvey - Rid of Me)

1994: Portishead - Dummy

(runners-up: Weezer - The Blue Album; Jeff Buckley - Grace; Hole - Live Through This)

1995: Pulp- Different Class

(runners-up: Tricky - Maxinquaye; Radiohead- The Bends; Bjork -Post; The Flaming Lips - Clouds Taste Metallic; Oasis - What’s the Story, Morning Glory?; PJ Harvey - To Bring You My Love)

1996: DJ Shadow - Endtroducing

(runners-up: Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk AND If You’re Feeling Sinister; Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst; Beck - Odelay; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds- Murder Ballads; The Fugees - The Score; Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island; Fiona Apple - Tidal)

1997: Radiohead - OK Computer

(runners-up: way too many to list here - Bjork - Homogenic; Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space; Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out; Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West; Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On; Elliott Smith - Either/Or; Mogwai - Young Team; etc etc etc etc)

1998: Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

(runners-up: Massive Attack - Mezzanine; Cat Power - Moon Pix; Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children; Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill; Lucinda Williams - Car Wheels on a Gravel Road; Pulp - This is Hardcore)

1999: The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin

(runners-up: The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs; Wilco - Summerteeth; Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile; Mos Def - Black on Both Sides; Tom Waits - Mule Variations; The Roots - Things Fall Apart; Le Tigre - Le Tigre)

previously on Best Albums Lists oh god why am I doing this:

1960’s —- 1970’s 

1980: The Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

(runners-up: The Talking Heads- Remain in Light; Joy Division - Closer; The Cramps - Songs the Lord Taught Us; David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps); Young Marble Giants - Colossal Youth)

1981: The Human League - Dare

(Runners-up: Siouxsie and the Banshees - Juju; Heaven 17 - Penthouse and Pavement; The Cure - Faith; Black Flag - Damaged)

1982: Michael Jackson - Thriller

(runners-up: Violent Femmes - Violent Femmes; Mission of Burma - Vs; Prince - 1999; The Cure - Pornography; Orange Juice - You Can’t Hide Your Love Forever)

1983: New Order - Power, Corruption, and Lies

(runners-up: Tom Waits - Swordfishtrombones; U2 - War; The Chameleons - Script of the Bridge; Elvis Costello - Punch The Clock; R.E.M. - Murmur)

1984: The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime

(runners-up: Prince - Purple Rain; The Smiths - The Smiths; The Replacements - Let It Be)

1985: Tom Waits - Rain Dogs

(runners-up: The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy; Tears for Fears - Songs From the Big Chair; The Cure - The Head on the Door; Kate Bush - Hounds of Love)

1986: The Smiths - The Queen is Dead

(runners-up: The Chameleons - Strange Times;  R.E.M. - Life’s Rich Pageant; XTC - Skylarking; Peter Gabriel - So)

1987: Spacemen 3 - The Perfect Prescription

(runners-up: The Pogues - If I Should Fall From Grace With God; Tom Waits - Frank’s Wild Years; The Pixies - Come On Pilgrim)

1988: The Pixies - Surfer Rosa

(runners-up: Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back; Leonard Cohen - I’m Your Man; Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Tender Prey; Morrissey - Viva Hate)

1989: De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising

(runners-up: The Pixies - Doolittle; The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses; The Cure - Disintegration; Galaxie 500 - On Fire; Nirvana - Bleach; Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814)

1970: Neil Young - After the Gold Rush

(runners-up: The Stooges - Fun House; Miles Davis - Bitches Brew; The Velvet Underground - Loaded)

1971: Marvin Gaye - What’s Going On

(runners-up: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV; Joni Mitchell - Blue; Sly and the Family Stone - There’s A Riot Goin’ On; Leonard Cohen - Songs of Love and Hate)

1972: David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars

(Runners-up: Stevie Wonder - Talking Book; Lou Reed - Transformer)

1973: Stevie Wonder - Innervisions

(runners-up: New York Dolls - New York Dolls; Bob Marley and the Wailers - Burnin’)

1974: this was not a really good year, nothing in particular stands out that stacks up with the other albums pictured here. Gonna skip this one.

(runners-up anyway: David Bowie - Diamond Dogs; Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets; Kraftwerk - Autobahn)

1975: Patti Smith - Horses

(runners-up: Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks; Neil Young - Tonight’s the Night; Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run)

1976: The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers

(runners-up: The Ramones - The Ramones; Tom Waits - Small Change; Parliament - Mothership Connection)

1977: David Bowie - Low

(runners-up: The Sex Pistols - Never Mind the Bollocks: Here’s the Sex Pistols; Television - Marquee Moon; Elvis Costello - My Aim is True; Wire - Pink Flag; The Clash - The Clash)

1978: Elvis Costello - This Year’s Model

(runners-up: The Cars - The Cars; Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance; Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!; Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove; Magazine - Real Life)

1979: The Clash - London Calling

(runners-up: The Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady; Gang of Four - Entertainment!; Public Image Ltd - Metal Box; The Slits - Cut)

1960: John Coltrane - Giant Steps

(runners-up: Miles Davis - Sketches in Spain)

1961:  Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues

(runner-up: Bill Evans - Sunday at the Village Vanguard)

1962: Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

(runners-up: Howlin’ Wolf - Howlin’ Wolf; Charlie Mingus - Oh Yeah)

1963: Bob Dylan - The Freewheeling Bob Dylan

(runners-up: James Brown - Live at the Apollo; Charlie Mingus - The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady)

1964: Otis Redding - Pain in My Heart

(runners-up: Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch; The Beatles - A Hard Day’s Night)

1965: Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited

(runners-up: John Coltraine - A Love Supreme; The Beatles - Rubber Soul)

1966: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

(runners-up: The Beatles - Revolver; Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde; Simon and Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence)

1967: The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico

(runners-up: The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?; Love - Forever Changes)

1968: The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle

(runners-up: Van Morrisson - Astral Weeks; The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland; The Kinks - The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society; Johnny Cash - Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison)

1969: The Beatles - Abbey Road

(runners-up: Issac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul; The Rolling Stones - Let it Bleed; The Who - Tommy)

I found the following album in a record store and was absorbed in reading the cover.

And then I flipped it over, and this is what I found.

So of course I had to buy it. I had no choice.