When you talk to a music freak like myself, you might hear phrases like “voyage” or “journey” pop up. This could be literal if they go to concerts or festivals. But it also could be more of a metaphor of sifting and winnowing through music history. But those phrases have a negative connotation: it’s great to be always on the move for music, but not as great without a definitive destination.

Maybe that’s why music obsessives get uber-geeky about making lists about albums of the year/decade/etc etc: it’s a gesture that pinpoints the scenic overlooks and notable stops on the…

Whew, just got home from Record Store Day 2015. Regardless of whether you got the rare RSD exclusives you wanted (I was lucky and did), it's a great day to really revel in the communal geekery us hardcore music fans all share. I'm sure some people use it to flip stuff on ebay and fleece the people who would usually use and enjoy them. But the *wide* majority of the people I saw (and I saw a few – I visited 3 stores all told) were there to either catch up on an artist they loved or take a chance…

I may pontificate on this later, but we'll just get down to the nitty gritty and count the releases down. Since I listened to over 90 + 2014 releases I felt justified in bumping my final list up to 20 from my previous 15.

20. The Men – Tomorrow's Hits
19. St. Vincent – St. Vincent
18. Sun Kil Moon – Benji
17. Ray LaMontagne – Supernova
16. Liam Finn – The Nihilist
15. Old 97's – Most Messed Up
14. Beck – Morning Phase
13. The Roots – ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin
12. Damien Jurado – Brothers…

194,131 plays ( about 33,000 scrobbles this year)
5,650 Artists (600 + new ones)
57 Friends (1 more joins)

Artists with 2000+ scrobbles = 2
1500-1999 scrobbles = 1
1000-1499 scrobbles = 13
900-999 = 6
800-899 = 12
700-199 = 13
600-699 = 12
500-599 = 30
400-499= 30
300-399 = 45
200-299 = 67
100-199 = 146
0-99 = 5273

Variance between 1st place and 10th = 1080 scrobbles
Between 11st and 20th place = 180 scrobbles
Between 21st and 31th place = 72 scrobbles
Between 32nd and 40th = 75 scrobbles
Between 42nd and 50th = 71…

Another year, another Record Store Day eagerly observed and celebrated. When RSD began, it appeared as if record stores were on the endangered species list, along with video rental stores and mainline book chains. Thanks to loyal music fans like me (and you, too, probably if you're reading this) RSD has become a worldwide phenomenon. Fans flock to a store near them in the hopes of finding rare releases exclusive to today and to feed their music jones. Record stores once destined to a dodo-like extinction find their registers jingling and (hopefully) stuffed to the gills.

I will say this…

I devoted an episode of my radio show the All You Can Hear Ear Buffet to my top 15, and while it was broadcast LIVE, it exists in archive form right here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/janesvillecommunityradio/2014/01/02/all-you-can-hear-ear-buffets-top-15-lps-of-2013-special-episode-5

Meanwhile, here it is in quicker and easier to read text form.

HONORABLE MENTIONs (16-20, just missed)
* Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
* Roc Marciano – The Pimpire Strikes Back
* Elton John – The Diving Board
* Iceage – You're Nothing
* Broadcast – Berberian Sound Studio

15. Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels
14. Throwing Muses – Purgatory/Paradise
13.…

Due to my incredible love and knowledge of music (and also my connections to some of the Janesville Community Radio higher-uppers) I've been given a music discussion show that broadcasts every other Thursday. I give what I consider the world's largest audio rundown of the week's new releases and also run down the best concerts and shows in the southern Wisconsin. As shows go on, I hope to talk to local artists and feature other guests talking about the music they love and music news of note. Although it is broadcast LIVE, it does get archived so it can be…

So, we have hit that anniversary of my entering the last.fm universe and getting all stat-geeky about the tunes I listen to. Even if it's for my sole amusement, it's interesting to see my listening habits evolve and mutate, to watch certain artists remain perennial faves while others fade down the list. So without further ado, here we go…

TOTAL TRACKS = 161,611 (that's 30,000 more scrobbles than this point last year, which points to a new job that allows me to listen to music as I work rather than only breaktime or getting to and from the workplace. That's…

So Tuesday, March 20th saw a number of new albums hit shelves.

This is really not a huge deal on its own; after all, dozens if not hundreds of new releases become available every single Tuesday. But considering my current musical prejudices, it's a packed week. The first new album in over a decade from my current #30 most played act Suede arrives, which I'm oddly psyched about. Also, the 10th album from longtime faves and current #45 Low arrived, and that producer for that album (Jeff Tweedy) helms my #4 act at the moment Wilco.

In reality the…

OK, stuff I didn't get to yet and thus ineligible to appear in my top 15 countdown…

Ab-Soul – Control System
Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel is....
The Avett Brothers – The Carpenters
Band of Horses – Mirage Rock
Paul Banks – Banks
Bat For Lashes – The Haunted Man
Paul Buchanan – Mid Air
Cold Specks – I Predict a Graceful...
The dB's – Falling Off the Sky
Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet On Sky
Justin Townes Earle – Nothing's Gonna Change The Way...
Mark Eitzel – Don't Be a Stranger
Donald Fagen – Sunken Condos
Father John…