Acclaimed Music Forums

Here is the complete list of sources for the 2014 EOY albums spreadsheet, by category and (in the Rest of the World group) by country:

USA/Canada:
A Closer Listen
A.V. Club
Agit Reader
AllMusic
American Songwriter
Antiquiet
Austin Town Hall
Billboard
CMJ
CokeMachineGlow
Consequence of Sound
Death & Taxes
Decibel
Entertainment Weekly
Exclaim!
Flavorwire
Glide
HipHopDX
La Presse
Magnet
NPR
Passion of the Weiss
Paste
Pigeons & Planes
Pitchfork
PopMatters
Pretty Much Amazing
Revolver
Rolling Stone
Slant
Spin
SputnikMusic
Stereogum
The L
The Owl
Time Magazine
Tiny Mix Tapes
Treble
Under the Radar
Village Voice Pazz & Jop
XLR8R
XXL

UK/Ireland:
BBC Music
Clash
Digital Fix
Drowned in Sound
Dummy
Fact
fRoots
Gigwise
God is in the TV
Kerrang!
Mixmag
Mojo
MusicOMH
NME
No Ripcord
Q
Resident Advisor
SoundsXP
State
Terrorizer
The 405
The Guardian
The Line of Best Fit
The Quietus
The Skinny
The Sun
Thrash Hits
Time Out
Uncut
Wire

REST OF THE WORLD:

Australia:
Double J
FasterLouder
Rip It Up
The Age
The Music

Belgium:
De Morgen
Humo

Chile:
Super 45

Denmark:
Gaffa

Finland:
Rumba
Soundi-Intl
Soundi-Natl

France:
ChronicArt
Goute mes disques
Indiepoprock
Les Inrockuptibles
Liberation
Magic RPM
Mowno
New Noise
PopNews
Rolling Stone-France
SWQW
Telerama
Trax
WATM

Germany:
Intro
Laut
MusikExpress
Plattentests
Rolling Stone-Germany
Spex
Visions

Hungary:
Recorder

Italy:
Blow Up
Kalporz
Ondarock
Rockerilla
Rumore
Sentire Ascoltare
Storia Della Musica

Netherlands:
De Volkskrant
Kindamuzik
OOR

Norway:
Dagbladet-Intl
Dagbladet-Natl
Dagsavisen

Poland:
Porcys
Screenagers

Portugal:
Blitz-Intl
Blitz-Natl

Spain:
Hipersonica-Intl
Hipersonica-Natl
Jenesaispop
Mondosonoro-Intl
Mondosonoro-Natl
Muzikalia-Intl
Muzikalia-Natl
Numerocero-Intl
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rock De Lux-Intl
Rock De Lux-Natl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

Sweden:
Gaffa
Nojesguiden-Intl
Nojesguiden-Natl
Sonic

Henrik, can you please make this a sticky topic as well so that it stays near the top of this forum? Thanks!

Why isn't Complex included?

TVFan365 wrote:Why isn't Complex included?

Here's last year's thread on the issue:
http://acclaimedmusic.net/forums/viewto ... lex#p34753

TVFan365 wrote:Why isn't Complex included?

I've been asking why and still don't understand it. Some lists are included from complex and some aren't. Makes no sense.

bootsy wrote:

TVFan365 wrote:Why isn't Complex included?

I've been asking why and still don't understand it. Some lists are included from complex and some aren't. Makes no sense.

Simply put, EOY lists are not allowed, and everything else is. This is a criterion that probably sounds arbitrary, although there must be some driving principle behind it - my bet is that Henrik considers that a source cannot have tracked a particular year's releases enough to make a decent EOY list if that source hasn't reviewed enough albums.

Anyway, the issue has become controversial enough for Henrik to make a poll about it. Personally, I don't know Complex and don't use it so I'm indifferent to the issue.

Hello, I'm a newbie here! I wanted to ask if some sources are weighted more heavily in the compilation of the EOY lists? For example, a poll such as the P&J- which has around 600 voters- should in my opinion be weighed in more heavily than a poll which has fewer voters. Would really appreciate a reply

rohailashraf1 wrote:Hello, I'm a newbie here! I wanted to ask if some sources are weighted more heavily in the compilation of the EOY lists? For example, a poll such as the P&J- which has around 600 voters- should in my opinion be weighed in more heavily than a poll which has fewer voters. Would really appreciate a reply

Hi rohailashraf1!

Harold's album spreadsheet is not weighted, but my songs spreadsheet gives more weight to lists that are closer to the overall list. You might see this as a surrogate parameter for the number of voters, but it also usually gives more weight to lists that span over many genres.

The all time lists use more sophisticated weighting parameters. See the "About" page on the main AM site.

Henrik wrote:My songs spreadsheet gives more weight to lists that are closer to the overall list. The all time lists use more sophisticated weighting parameters. See the "About" page on the main AM site.

I've known about this for awhile but why is this the case?

GucciLittlePiggy wrote:

Henrik wrote:My songs spreadsheet gives more weight to lists that are closer to the overall list. The all time lists use more sophisticated weighting parameters. See the "About" page on the main AM site.

I've known about this for awhile but why is this the case?

Henrik wrote:You might see this as a surrogate parameter for the number of voters, but it also usually gives more weight to lists that span over many genres.

I don't think I can explain it so much better than this. It makes the overall list more reliable.

I guess my confusion lies in my misunderstanding of the term "surrogate parameter".

I'll trust that whatever decision you make in the weighting of lists is the right one, though!

Well, using the number of voters is not an option as this is usually not known.

Ok, I guess I understood the term but I'm still confused. Is what you're saying that if you have two best of the decade lists like this:

1. Daft Punk - Get Lucky
2. Kanye West - Runaway
3. Frank Ocean - Pyramids
4. M83 - Midnight City
5. The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio

1. Andrés - New for U
2. Captain Murphy - Between Villains
3. Jamie Woon - Night Air
4. Kavinsky - Nightcall
5. Beck - I Won't Be Long

The first list would be weighed higher while the second would be lower because it features either unacclaimed or barely acclaimed songs. Both lists are pretty similar in the wide array of genres, so why wouldn't both lists be weighed the same? Wouldn't the second list add some new life to the all-time list?

If I am completely misunderstanding what you mean then sorry.

Waaaaait a minute.

I think I'm looking at this from the entirely wrong angle. I'm guessing giving weight to lists closer to the overall list helps keep the wide array of genres intact because it limits the power of lists that are heavily based in one genre.

GucciLittlePiggy wrote:Waaaaait a minute.

I think I'm looking at this from the entirely wrong angle. I'm guessing giving weight to lists closer to the overall list helps keep the wide array of genres intact because it limits the power of lists that are heavily based in one genre.

Yes. But also, with two lists like the ones in your example, the second one is likely based on few voters, while the first one might be based on a large poll. If "Nightcall" would be in both lists it would get more points from the first list, for being listed together with highly acclaimed songs.

There is a downside with this system, that critics who just follow other critics are rewarded. But this is somewhat taken care of by other weighting parameters in the all-time list.

Just curious, of all the major end-of-year polls and lists published, which ones are generally considered the most esteemed and respected? I mean it's safe to assume that some sources are 'better' or more high brow in nature than others. I am a big film fan and there are a certain group of EOY polls and critics lists whose opinions are more highly regarded than others by cinephiles- namely the year-end Sight & Sound poll and Film Comment poll. I'm sure it's the same for music fans as well.

rohailashraf1 wrote:Just curious, of all the major end-of-year polls and lists published, which ones are generally considered the most esteemed and respected? I mean it's safe to assume that some sources are 'better' or more high brow in nature than others. I am a big film fan and there are a certain group of EOY polls and critics lists whose opinions are more highly regarded than others by cinephiles- namely the year-end Sight & Sound poll and Film Comment poll. I'm sure it's the same for music fans as well.

The Village Voice poll by far. It's roughly the equivalent of the film polls you mentioned, in that it's a massive poll of hundreds of music critics. It is also completely transparent, so if you demand some sense of sanctity--in that, unlike other magazines, there are no executive decisions from publishers/editors as to what has to be ranked where--in your lists, it's almost the only option. Unfortunately, it mostly polls American critics, but there are some internationals as well. There's not really an equivalent for other nations though. Beyond that, I imagine Pitchfork still has the most industry sway these days. By another metric, I think that Rolling Stone has the highest circulation (and is, I suppose, the most famous/historic music magazine).

@Jeff
Don't you feel that a poll as large as the Village Voice annual roundup would eventually lead to a very middle brow, conservative, and somewhat mainstream outcome? Last year's VV poll included 600+ voters, and I highly doubt that all of them have eccentric or refined tastes. For example, last year's VV best songs roundup had 2 Taylor Swift song's in the top 5- that seems like a very populist outcome. AM rankings on the other hand seem much more sophisticated and balanced.

The main reason why film geeks like myself pay attention to a poll like Film Comment or Sight & Sight is because the voters comprise of a handful of the most respected and interesting voices in film criticism. Film Comment I believe roundups less than 100 critics, S&S is a bit more. But what you end up with is a very high brow and intellectual final tally.

rohailashraf1 wrote:@Jeff
Don't you feel that a poll as large as the Village Voice annual roundup would eventually lead to a very middle brow, conservative, and somewhat mainstream outcome? Last year's VV poll included 600+ voters, and I highly doubt that all of them have eccentric or refined tastes. For example, last year's VV best songs roundup had 2 Taylor Swift song's in the top 5- that seems like a very populist outcome. AM rankings on the other hand seem much more sophisticated and balanced.

The main reason why film geeks like myself pay attention to a poll like Film Comment or Sight & Sight is because the voters comprise of a handful of the most respected and interesting voices in film criticism. Film Comment I believe roundups less than 100 critics, S&S is a bit more. But what you end up with is a very high brow and intellectual final tally.

If you want an esoteric list, look at something like the Wire or Textura. I have had too many years of grad school to entertain notions such as the existence of "highbrow" or "intellectual" tastes, however, so esoteric is all I can give you.

Figured an update of this was in order - here are the 2014 sources whose 2015 album lists have not appeared yet:

USA/Canada:
A Closer Listen
Agit Reader
Antiquiet
Austin Town Hall
CMJ
CokeMachineGlow
Death & Taxes
Flavorwire
HipHopDX
La Presse
Magnet
Passion of the Weiss
Pigeons & Planes
Revolver
The L
The Owl
Village Voice Pazz & Jop
XLR8R
XXL

UK/Ireland:
BBC Music
Digital Fix
fRoots
Gigwise
Mixmag
SoundsXP
State
Terrorizer
The Sun
Thrash Hits
Time Out

REST OF THE WORLD:

Australia:
Rip It Up
The Age
The Music

Belgium:
Humo

Chile:
Super 45

Denmark:
Gaffa

Finland:
Rumba

France:
ChronicArt
Goute mes disques
Indiepoprock
Liberation
Mowno
New Noise
PopNews
Rolling Stone-France
SWQW
Telerama
Trax
WATM

Germany:
Plattentests
Rolling Stone-Germany
Visions

Italy:
Ondarock
Sentire Ascoltare
Storia Della Musica

Netherlands:
De Volkskrant
Kindamuzik
OOR

Norway:
Dagbladet-Intl
Dagbladet-Natl
Dagsavisen

Poland:
Porcys
Screenagers

Portugal:
Blitz-Intl
Blitz-Natl

Spain:
Hipersonica-Natl
Jenesaispop
Mondosonoro-Natl
Numerocero-Intl
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rock De Lux-Intl
Rock De Lux-Natl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

Sweden:
Nojesguiden-Intl
Nojesguiden-Natl

Updated again - these are the 2014 sources that have not yet appeared in this forum:

USA/Canada:
A Closer Listen
Agit Reader
Antiquiet
Austin Town Hall
CMJ
Death & Taxes
La Presse
The L
The Owl
Village Voice Pazz & Jop
XLR8R

UK/Ireland:
BBC Music
Digital Fix
fRoots
SoundsXP
Terrorizer
The Sun
Thrash Hits

REST OF THE WORLD:

Australia:
The Age

Finland:
Rumba

France:
ChronicArt
Goute mes disques
Indiepoprock
Liberation
PopNews
SWQW
Trax
WATM

Germany:
Plattentests
Visions

Italy:
Ondarock
Sentire Ascoltare
Storia Della Musica

Netherlands:
De Volkskrant

Norway:
Dagbladet-Intl
Dagbladet-Natl
Dagsavisen

Poland:
Porcys
Screenagers

Spain:
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rock De Lux-Intl
Rock De Lux-Natl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

Updated - still waiting for the following sources:

USA/Canada:
Antiquiet
CMJ
Death & Taxes
The L
Village Voice Pazz & Jop

UK/Ireland:
BBC Music
Digital Fix
fRoots
SoundsXP
Terrorizer
The Sun
Thrash Hits

REST OF THE WORLD:

Australia:
The Age

Finland:
Rumba

France:
ChronicArt
Goute mes disques
Liberation
SWQW
Trax

Germany:
Plattentests

Italy:
Ondarock
Sentire Ascoltare
Storia Della Musica

Norway:
Dagbladet-Intl
Dagbladet-Natl
Dagsavisen

Poland:
Porcys
Screenagers

Spain:
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

What's with all the missing UK sources? Are some of these defunct or have they simply not posted EOY lists?

http://www.thrashhits.com/2015/05/goodbye/

Thrash Hits is no more apparently. Looks like too many of their writers flew the coop.

SoundsXP has posted album reviews as recently as December 23, but I saw someone in their forums say the site is going into "hibernation".

Winding down. These are still unaccounted for:

USA/Canada:
Antiquiet
CMJ
Death & Taxes
The L
Village Voice Pazz & Jop

UK/Ireland:
BBC Music
Terrorizer

REST OF THE WORLD:

Australia:
The Age

Finland:
Rumba

France:
Liberation
Trax

Italy:
Storia Della Musica

Norway:
Dagbladet-Intl
Dagbladet-Natl
Dagsavisen

Poland:
Porcys
Screenagers

Spain:
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

Well, here's what's left from last year's sources:

USA/Canada:
Antiquiet
CMJ
Death & Taxes
The L

UK/Ireland:
BBC Music
Terrorizer

REST OF THE WORLD:

Australia:
The Age

Finland:
Rumba

France:
Liberation
Trax

Norway:
Dagbladet-Intl
Dagbladet-Natl
Dagsavisen

Poland:
Porcys
Screenagers

Spain:
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

Surprised at the absence of the remaining Spanish sources. I'm assuming that most of these (except for the Polish ones, which are always very late) either didn't post a 2015 list or are actually defunct. In any case the spreadsheet should be final very soon.

Harold wrote: Spain:
Numerocero-Natl
Playground-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Intl
Rolling Stone-Spain-Natl

I think this list are eligible:
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3278

Alexa says
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/efeeme.com

Nearly 200 reviews albums of 2015
http://www.efeeme.com/rockola/discos-rockola/

More than 20 people have contributed to the selection
"Efe Eme ha confeccionado la selección de los mejores discos internacionales de 2015 con la ayuda de sus redactores y colaboradores: Carlos Pérez de Ziriza, César Campoy, César Prieto, Chema Domínguez, Eduardo Izquierdo, Eduardo Tébar, Eva Rodríguez, Fernando Ballesteros, Fernando Navarro, Javier de Castro, Juan Puchades, Juanjo Ordás, Julio Valdeón, Luis Lapuente, María Martín Consuegra, Miguel A. Tébar, Óscar García Blesa, Rafa Cervera, Sara Morales, Umberto Pérez, Wilma Lorenzo, Xavier Valiño y Arancha Moreno."

So Brooklyn Magazine, which I assume is a sister site of sorts to The L, has a "best-of" feature. Unfortunately, the byline only lists one writer and there's nothing that indicates the staff worked on it together. Then there are top 20 lists for folk, country, pop, experimental, rock, and rap albums, but only one of these (rock) has a byline that reads "Brooklyn Magazine". Should we include all of these or none of these?

overall: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/01/the-bes ... -the-year/

folk: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/04/the-20- ... s-of-2015/

country: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/02/the-20- ... s-of-2015/

pop: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/16/the-20- ... s-of-2015/

experimental: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/07/the-20- ... s-of-2015/

rock: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/17/the-20- ... s-of-2015/

rap: http://www.bkmag.com/2015/12/09/the-20- ... s-of-2015/

GucciLittlePiggy wrote:So Brooklyn Magazine, which I assume is a sister site of sorts to The L, has a "best-of" feature. Unfortunately, the byline only lists one writer and there's nothing that indicates the staff worked on it together. Then there are top 20 lists for folk, country, pop, experimental, rock, and rap albums, but only one of these (rock) has a byline that reads "Brooklyn Magazine". Should we include all of these or none of these?

None.

Why is the Record of the Year category at the Grammys one of the sources for the EOY songs list but the song of the year caterogry isn't?

TVFan365 wrote:Why is the Record of the Year category at the Grammys one of the sources for the EOY songs list but the song of the year caterogry isn't?

Song of the Year is purely a songwriting award (it goes only to the writer or writers), while Record of the Year (which goes to the artist and the producer) is for the overall single itself.