AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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Akhenaten
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Akhenaten »

FrankLotion wrote: Mon Aug 29, 2022 3:05 am I just want to take a moment to spotlight Akhenaten‘s amazing and hilarious write-ups, I hope there are many more coming up in the poll :mrgreen:
Thanks Frank - I'm not good at writing anything too serious! 😀. There's only one more I did (I just did three).
But I was caught, like a fleeting thought,
Stuck inside Leonard Cohen's mind
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Honorio »

I've moved every comment on this thread about Bruno's family and friends to the "Artist poll question" thread
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Nassim »

Rob wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 8:21 am I've just looked up which 18 artist would have dropped from the list and they are mostly obvious, except perhaps #455, #450, #354 and especially #417. From that group I only voted for one: #473, while the 'new' 18 have more favorites. Nonetheless, the 18 we lose contain a lot of artists that would be in many more mainstream polls.

Wonderful, conversating in numbers.
I was surprised by the same four ! And maybe 487. (Didn't vote for any of the 18 either). Only voted for 2 of the "new" inclusions but I'd also be happy to see Phil Elverum and MF Doom in the top 500.
On the other hand 372 and 368 are garbage and I'd be happy to see them leave.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by panam »

Maybe it's a stupid question but... the "new" 18 entries that appears as debuts. For the 2024 edition, they'll be considered that way?
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

panam wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 3:13 pm Maybe it's a stupid question but... the "new" 18 entries that appears as debuts. For the 2024 edition, they'll be considered that way?

They did not officially crack the top 500, so if they do so next time, 2025 should be treated as their actual debut.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by panam »

BleuPanda wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 3:15 pm
panam wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 3:13 pm Maybe it's a stupid question but... the "new" 18 entries that appears as debuts. For the 2024 edition, they'll be considered that way?

They did not officially crack the top 500, so if they do so next time, 2025 should be treated as their actual debut.

2025 I forgot we're in 2022 hehe. Thanks for the answer.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Henry »

Not sure if missed something, but I did not yet find an artist rated at either 503 or 508.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

Henry wrote: Tue Aug 30, 2022 6:52 pm Not sure if missed something, but I did not yet find an artist rated at either 503 or 508.
Sorry, I may have worded it poorly - the artists at #503 and #508 also had support from the 4 users in question (Culture Club and...Nickelback respectively, the latter of which received 0 votes in the 'adjusted' results)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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175. The Zombies
Points: 589.86 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 218
Biggest Fan(s): Cadavaca (#11), Jackson (#38), Krurze (#51)
Forum Favorite Albums: Odessey and Oracle (#54)
Forum Favorite Songs: Time of the Season (#312), This Will Be Our Year (#545), Care of Cell 44 (#876), She's Not There (#879), Hung Up on a Dream (#943)

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174. Louis Armstrong
Points: 591.21 (15 Votes)
2019 Rank: 121
Biggest Fan(s): Schüttelbirne (#40), Safetycat (#41), sonofsamiam (#41)
Forum Favorite Songs: What a Wonderful World (#476), West End Blues (#1211)

bonnielaurel: In New Orleans Louis Armstrong stood at the cradle of jazz music. He played the trumpet in brass bands in the Dixieland era, on a showboat or marching on the streets. In the 1920s he moved to Chicago to play cornet in King Oliver's band, which was significant in the expansion of jazz to the North. He soon moved to New York, where he became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. His virtuosity and improvisational skills made him one of the leading jazz and blues musicians. He played with big bands, but also formed his own combo The Hot Five, with Earl Hines at the piano. With his sense of rhythm he was influential on the birth of swing music. He often switched from singing to trumpet soloing during a song. His cracking voice made him one of the most recognizable singers. This vocal sound and his eternal smile earned him the nickname Uncle Satchmo. Collaborations with Bessie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, Sidney Bechet and Duke Ellington had chemistry. With Ella Fitzgerald he recorded three albums of jazz standards by songwriters like George Gershwin and Jerome Kern, containing scat singing, humor and romance. He had supporting roles in several musical films. At the age of sixty-six he recorded his biggest hit What a Wonderful World, a sentimental celebration of life. His influence on jazz history and early popular music is unfathomable.

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173. XTC
Points: 595.66 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 231
Biggest Fan(s): whuntva (#9), VanillaFire1000 (#15), Chris K. (#59)
Forum Favorite Albums: Skylarking (#325)
Forum Favorite Songs: Dear God (#578), Making Plans for Nigel (#928)

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172. Al Green
Points: 598.08 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 158
Biggest Fan(s): stone37 (#34), acr0320 (#64), Henry (#67)
Forum Favorite Albums: Call Me (#527), Let's Stay Together (#822), I'm Still in Love With You (#865)
Forum Favorite Songs: Let's Stay Together (#83), Love and Happiness (#794), Tired of Being Alone (#994)

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171. Bon Iver
Points: 598.17 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 293
Biggest Fan(s): Schüttelbirne (#5), M24 (#43), Gillingham (#56)
Forum Favorite Albums: For Emma, Forever Ago (#199), Bon Iver Bon Iver (#363), 22 A Million (#740)
Forum Favorite Songs: Skinny Love (#523), Holocene (#848)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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170. Run the Jewels
Points: 601.06 (14 Votes)
2019 Rank: 360 Biggest Fan(s): Cadavaca (#2), Nassim (#15), Edre Peraza (#36)
Forum Favorite Albums: Run the Jewels 2 (#360), Run the Jewels 3 (#732), Run the Jewels 4 (#3 - 2020)
Forum Favorite Songs: Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck (#1315)

Nassim: If you could have predicted that the most fun music of the 2010s would come from 2 40-year old rappers spitting the most braggadocious rhymes over high-octane beats, it's unlikely you would have bet on those 2 guys that seemingly didn't have much in common.
But unite they did, and what a fantastic result we got. Their first album was pretty much a victory lap already, just done releasing the 2nd and 3rd best rap albums of 2012 (AM ranking be damned). While they have topped most of that album since, the last 2 songs (or even better the last song and the first bonus track) are great encapsulations of the 2 sides of Run the Jewels.
- Pew Pew Pew is spitfire delivery of bragging verses that can pack more easter eggs, literary devices and killer punchlines that you can count (""You looking at the guy who the guy that you think that I got my style from got his own style from"" is still one of my favorites) over dystopian futuristic beats that can as well melt your brain as give you more boost than a 10-pack of Red Bull.
- A Christmas Fucking Miracle shows how evocative and touching El-P's production can be when he slows down the BPM (a skill he often showcased on closing tracks, what I call the "El-P special"), enhancing his own honest confessions or Killer Mike's righteous fury laser-focused on our society downfall.
It's 2 sides of the coin that make that band so great, too much of either could grow cloying, but Run the Jewels is the band I have listened to the most over the past 7 years and I can't recall a single time I didn't enjoy my time throughout, especially seeing them live, bulldozing over a crowd of conquered fans.

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169. The Knife
Points: 603.1 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 171
Biggest Fan(s): Nassim (#13), Holden (#34), Michel (#34)
Forum Favorite Albums: Silent Shout (#191), Shaking the Habitual (#948)
Forum Favorite Songs: Heartbeats (#194), Silent Shout (#1054)

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168. Wu-Tang Clan
Points: 604.61 (15 Votes)
2019 Rank: 176
Biggest Fan(s): Gillingham (#18), Krurze (#18), FrankLotion (#19), Nassim (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (#117)
Forum Favorite Songs: C.R.E.A.M. (#616), Protect Ya Neck (#731)

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167. Adele
Points: 610.24 (15 Votes)
2019 Rank: 225
Biggest Fan(s): StevieFan13 (#26), profeta (#30), Arsalan (#44)
Forum Favorite Albums: 21 (#310)
Forum Favorite Songs: Rolling in the Deep (#127), Someone Like You (#896)

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166. Cocteau Twins
Points: 610.3 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 129
Biggest Fan(s): luvulongTIM (#3), CupOfDreams (#9), ordinaryperson (#18)
Forum Favorite Albums: Treasure (#277), Heaven or Las Vegas (#495)
Forum Favorite Songs: Ivo (#1071), Lorelei (#1259), Heaven or Las Vegas (#1934)

CupOfDreams: The early eighties marked the height of my musical discoveries. Punk and post-punk was transforming my musical tastes in a way mainstream radio could not. The album "Garlands", my first encounter with the Cocteau Twins, had a gothic feel that didn't seem out of place next to Bauhaus. Robin Guthrie's guitar was dense and dark. The immense vocal talents of Elizabeth Fraser are also evident. In retrospect "Garlands" was not indicative of what was to come.

1983 begins what I consider the first phase of the classic Cocteau Twins sound. The Cocteau Twins released "Head Over Heels" which transitioned from the more gothic sounding "Garlands" to the genre-defining dream pop (see "Sugar Hiccup" or "Glass Candle Grenades") they would become known for. It's a significant improvement. Fraser's vocals are more evocative than before and no longer muddied in the mix. Her vocals are an instrument in themselves. The songwriting is also stronger and Guthrie's guitar work just as prominent but far more creative. There is a more ethereal feel to the music.

The impressive first phase continued with 1984's "Treasure" and the EPs "Sunburst and Snowblind", "The Spangle Maker", "Lorelei", "Aikea-Guinea" and "Tiny Dynamite" which were all released between 1983 and 1985. Fraser's vocals, as evocative as they were, often became hard to decipher. Indeed many of the words were not words at all, merely sound play, hence some of the strange song titles

At the same time the Cocteau Twins were basically inventing and defining the Dream Pop genre, Guthrie's swirling guitar sounds were laying the groundwork for another significant genre, Shoegaze, which I became a big fan of.

While this first phase certainly earned them accolades and fans in Britain, they remained relatively unknown in the States. That would change in their significant second phase which ran from 1988's "Blue Bell Knoll" thru 1990's "Heaven or Las Vegas". Songs like "Carolyn's Fingers" and "Iceblink Luck" became Dream Pop classics. Who knew guitar based music could be so pretty?

The Cocteau Twins helped lay the foundation for artists like My Bloody Valentine, Beach House, Galaxie 500, Slowdive, Broadcast, Alvvays, and Lush among others. That alone should be enough of an endorsement. Or perhaps you should just sit back and chill with a nice set of headphones. Yes that'll do.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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165. Little Richard
Points: 610.58 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 137
Biggest Fan(s): Bruno (#26), whuntva (#26), Rob (#53)
Forum Favorite Albums: Here's Little Richard (#371)
Forum Favorite Songs: Tutti Frutti (#196), Long Tall Sally (#484), Good Golly Miss Molly (#688)

Rob: Chuck Berry was more impressive, Elvis Presley more iconic, Buddy Holly more musically diverse, Bo Diddley more welcoming, Fats Domino more accessible and Jerry Lee Lewis more dangerous. Yet if I have to mention one artist that captures the appeal of early rock & roll the most I would mention Little Richard. There is something of this little firebrand that is still stunning. At first you may balk at the dated silliness of the nonsense-lyrics. Then you notice the ferocious energy and the infectious wails. Modesty requirements of the time may have minced his words, but nobody could tame the clear sexual attitude of Little Richard. It’s almost amusing to hear that it was Elvis’ hip-swinging that caused a stir, when this man basically made piano debauchery pieces, with a frequently gay look nonetheless (Note: Little Richard went back-and-forth on his actual sexuality). Don’t let the catchiness of Tutti Frutti fool you: the song should be forbidden for children!

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164. Dire Straits
Points: 614.8 (18 Votes)
2019 Rank: 152
Biggest Fan(s): bonnielaurel (#29), Arsalan (#37), profeta (#51)
Forum Favorite Albums: Brothers in Arms (#510)
Forum Favorite Songs: Sultans of Swing (#111), Brothers in Arms (#777), Money for Nothing (#1283)

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163. Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Points: 618.69 (18 Votes)
2019 Rank: 253
Biggest Fan(s): Gillingham (#7), acroamor (#10), mileswide (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven (#172), F♯A♯∞ (#507), Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (#934)
Forum Favorite Songs: Storm (#804), Sleep (#1828)

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162. Duke Ellington
Points: 620.7 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 136
Biggest Fan(s): sonofsamiam (#3), Schüttelbirne (#12), bonnielaurel (#20)
Forum Favorite Songs: Take the "A" Train (#644)

Schüttelbirne: There aren‘t many artists who are active for fifty years and continuously release music that is not only of a high quality, but always interested in exploring new tendencies in the world of music and never standing still. Duke Ellington is certainly the most significant big band leader in jazz history and his influence can‘t be understated.
He composed thousands of songs in different formats, ranging from short bangers fitting on the singles typical in the ‚20s up to expansive suites with social commentary.
Ellington released more than a hundred albums; not all of them are great, but his success quota is really rather high. There‘s so much energy in his performances, be it flawless studio recordings or incredible live performances in Seattle (1954) and Newport (1956).
My personal favorite album of his is the posthumously released The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (1976). I said Ellington was always exploring new tendencies, and that isn‘t wrong but it may be a bit misleading. Ellington never really embraced the avant-garde tendencies prominent in the 60s, such as Free Jazz. His music always stayed indebted to clear melodies and an often danceable rhythm, but Ellington didn‘t stop composing or working with younger artists like John Coltrane and Charles Mingus.
Few musicians have ever been so essential in the development of a musical style. Jazz without Duke Ellington and his legacy is impossible to imagine because the genre was fundamentally shaped by him, even though Ellington himself refused to categorize his music.

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161. Mitski
Points: 635.61 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 316
Biggest Fan(s): Lagunin (#7), phil (#10), acroamor (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: Be the Cowboy (#590), Puberty 2 (#889), Bury Me at Makeout Creek (#994)
Forum Favorite Songs: Your Best American Girl (#382), Nobody (#1668)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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160. TV on the Radio
Points: 635.77 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 164
Biggest Fan(s): Jackson (#21), Gillingahm (#22), Nassim (#27)
Forum Favorite Albums: Dear Science (#216), Return to Cookie Mountain (#317)
Forum Favorite Songs: Wolf Like Me (#553), DLZ (#1160), Staring at the Sun (#1790)

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159. Pavement
Points: 638.45 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 130
Biggest Fan(s): Brad (#1), Michel (#24), acroamor (#32)
Forum Favorite Albums: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (#194), Slanted and Enchanted (#197), Wowee Zowee (#712)
Forum Favorite Songs: Summer Babe (#869), Gold Soundz (#889), Fillmore Jive (#1171)

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158. Peter Gabriel
Points: 639.47 (19 Votes)
2019 Rank: 190
Biggest Fan(s): whuntva (#37), Lagunin (#47), Henry (#55), Listyguy (#55)
Forum Favorite Albums: So (#356), Peter Gabriel (#753)
Forum Favorite Songs: Solsbury Hill (#538), Sledgehammer (#770), In Your Eyes (#888)

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157. Modest Mouse
Points: 641.33 (16 Votes)
2019 Rank: 228
Biggest Fan(s): acroamor (#4), Nassim (#11), Edre Peraza (#14)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Moon & Antarctica (#418), The Lonesome Crowded West (#459), Good News for People Who Love Bad News (#637)
Forum Favorite Songs: Float On (#423), Trailer Trash (#917), 3rd Planet (#1942)

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156. M.I.A.
Points: 648.45 (18 Votes)
2019 Rank: 170
Biggest Fan(s): Toni (#22), Maschine_Man (#23), ordinaryperson (#38)
Forum Favorite Albums: Kala (#406), Arular (#572)
Forum Favorite Songs: Paper Planes (#52)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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155. The Supremes
Points: 650.33 (20 Votes)
2019 Rank: 169
Biggest Fan(s): Bruno (#32), Neil (#41), stone37 (#44)
Forum Favorite Albums: Where Did Our Love Go (#686)
Forum Favorite Songs: You Can't Hurry Love (#415), Where Did Our Love Go (#582), You Keep Me Hangin' On (#725), Baby Love (#976)

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154. Animal Collective
Points: 650.93 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 173
Biggest Fan(s): Nassim (#14), phil (#23), Edre Peraza (#39)
Forum Favorite Albums: Merriweather Post Pavilion (#196)
Forum Favorite Songs: My Girls (#537)

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153. Yes
Points: 658.5 (15 Votes)
2019 Rank: 241
Biggest Fan(s): Henry (#6), ProjectTermina (#7), ordinaryperson (#13), Miguel (#14)
Forum Favorite Albums: Close to the Edge (#402), Fragile (#580), The Yes Album (#667)
Forum Favorite Songs: Close to the Edge (#843), Roundabout (#1261), Owner of a Lonely Heart (#1474)

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152. The Jam
Points: 663.97 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 104
Biggest Fan(s): mileswide (#3), DaveC (#17), Akhenaten (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: Sound Affects (#579), All Mod Cons (#591), Setting Sons (#800)
Forum Favorite Songs: Going Underground (#273), That's Entertainment (#540), Town Called Malice (#821)

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151. Low
Points: 664.04 (14 Votes)
2019 Rank: 141
Biggest Fan(s): Gillingham (#5), DaveC (#8), Nassim (#17), Edre Peraza (#19)
Forum Favorite Albums: Things We Lost in the Fire (#640), I Could Live in Hope (#750), Double Negative (#879), Hey What (#4 - 2021)
Forum Favorite Songs: Nothing But Heart (#1115), Lullaby (#1819)

Gillingham: This Duluth, Minnesota husband and wife songwriter duo keeps on reinventing themselves every couple of years while keeping their strengths and peculiarities intact, and successfully so. They started out partly in reaction and opposition to the Grunge craze of the early nineties. But they turned out to be much more than a novelty band. I love Sparhawk’s guitar work and creativity in combination with Parker’s angelic voice and understated drum work. Their harmonics are something else too, probably my favorite of any band. Interestingly their best work is really spread through their career, with 90s I Could Live in Hope, 00s Things We lost in the Fire and 20s Hey What. After The Invisible Way from 2013, I thought their best days were behind them, but they really outdid themselves with Double Negative and Hey What. Those albums are an unexpected combination of silence and noise, harmony and dissonance, understatement and climax. Another great thing about Low is that you can still quite easily see them live in really intimate places (once I saw them seated in a church).

Favorite album: Things We Lost in the Fire
Favorite song: Nothing But Heart
Personal gem: Pissing
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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150. Wire
Points: 689.25 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 178
Biggest Fan(s): Krurze (#4), CupOfDreams (#13), Brad (#18)
Forum Favorite Albums: Pink Flag (#164), Chairs Missing (#303), 154 (#646)
Forum Favorite Songs: Outdoor Miner (#388), Mannequin (#945), The 15th (#1461)

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149. Can
Points: 690.68 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 184
Biggest Fan(s): Jackson (#14), Schüttelbirne (#22), cetamol (#33)
Forum Favorite Albums: Tago Mago (#218), Future Days (#333), Ege bamyasi (#461)
Forum Favorite Songs: Helleluhwah (#965), Vitamin C (#1060), Oh Yeah (#1374)

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148. Joanna Newsom
Points: 692.01 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 159
Biggest Fan(s): Rob (#9), Maschine_Man (#10), phil (#26)
Forum Favorite Albums: Ys (#253), Have One on Me (#449), Divers (#881)
Forum Favorite Songs: Good Intentions Paving Company (#721), Emily (#856)

---HIGHEST AMF TOP 500 ARTISTS DEBUT---
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147. Big Thief
Points: 700.27 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: unranked
Biggest Fan(s): ProjectTermina (#23), acroamor (#26), DaveC (#54), Toni (#54)
Forum Favorite Albums: U.F.O.F. (#829), [Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You - #4 on 2022 MCCh]
Forum Favorite Songs: Not (#1106), Shark Smile (#1725), U.F.O.F. (#1908)

BleuPanda: If you toss in Adrianne Lenker’s obligatory beginning-of-lockdown solo album, Big Thief have released six albums in seven years – two of which narrowly edge into double album territory. Few musicians in my lifetime have ever been this prolific, especially while operating at such a high level throughout. All of these works should rightfully go down as classics. Masterpiece is an underrated pre-breakthrough gem. Capacity boasts the unlikely ability to bring me to tears not on just one but two separate songs; “Shark Smile” manages to subtly and devastatingly transition between metaphorical love and unexpected loss, while “Mythological Beauty” reflects on a harsh childhood with the most sympathetic eyes. Lenker’s voice sounds so delicate that it could shatter – but then 2019 saw both U.F.O.F. and Two Hands, the latter of which features her belting out instant classic “Not” with such ferocity that suggests she could go toe-to-toe with the best of the grunge era.
After Lenker’s mesmerizing solo release, Big Thief did the impossible. They dared to release their own sort of White Album, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You. It takes guts to try such a massive, kitchen sink style album – it takes unfathomable talent to make all its disparate threads work. From the noisy clang of “Little Things” to the barnyard joy of “Spud Infinity” to the quietly relentless rhythm of “Simulation Swarm,” every track reveals a band in complete control no matter the style.

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146. Amy Winehouse
Points: 702.94 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 157
Biggest Fan(s): Elder (#10), mileswide (#16), aalamar (#44)
Forum Favorite Albums: Back to Black (#129)
Forum Favorite Songs: Back to Black (#244), Rehab (#298), You Know I'm No Good (#1290)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

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145. The Band
Points: 719.02 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 195
Biggest Fan(s): stone37 (#27), M24 (#45), Rob (#49)
Forum Favorite Albums: Music from Big Pink (#215), The Band (#240), The Basement Tapes (#627)
Forum Favorite Songs: The Weight (#167), The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (#771), Whispering Pines (#1423)

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144. Sam Cooke
Points: 719.31 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 161
Biggest Fan(s): Bruno (#35), cetamol (#36), stone37 (#59)
Forum Favorite Songs: A Change is Gonna Come (#29), Wonderful World (#744), Bring It On Home to Me (#1075)

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143. Genesis
Points: 722.8 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 134
Biggest Fan(s): Renan (#19), Henry (#26), Karla (#28)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (#556), Selling England By the Pound (#786)
Forum Favorite Songs: Supper's Ready (#1113), Firth of Fifth (#1628)

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142. Tame Impala
Points: 722.98 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: 235
Biggest Fan(s): Lagunin (#18), Arsalan (#35), Toni (#37)
Forum Favorite Albums: Currents (#314), Lonerism (#421)
Forum Favorite Songs: Let It Happen (#267), The Less I Know the Better (#803), Feels Like We Only Go Backwards (#1004)

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141. Pet Shop Boys
Points: 726.83 (18 Votes)
2019 Rank: 123
Biggest Fan(s): Akhenaten (#3), ordinaryperson (#22), stone37 (#28)
Forum Favorite Albums: Actually (#592), Behaviour (#648)
Forum Favorite Songs: Being Boring (#629), West End Girls (#809), It's a Sin (#938)

TheLastEnemy: I first got into the Pet Shop Boys just after I first got into pop music. It was their fourth single, “Suburbia” which I heard first at the age of 11, and something about the electronic music really hit me. I had no idea what suburbia was (I’m not convinced they did) and this ignorance continued with my love of their music – I didn’t know what was a sin, had no idea who Dusty Springfield was, had never heard “Always On My Mind” before – quite a sheltered upbringing – but the sounds they were making hit every time. Over the years I’ve come to appreciate the lyrics more and more, on songs like “Jealousy” and “Being Boring” and enjoyed the occasional cover (“Somewhere” from West Side Story in particular), and the quality of their music has remained high for nearly forty years (the more recent “Love Is A Bourgeois Construct” being a particular favourite). Recently watching a 90’s performance, titled, erm, “Performance” I was struck once again by how no-one else could do what the Pet Shop Boys do so well.

Akhenaten: In the beginning, Neil Tennant (assistant editor of Smash Hits magazine / former editor of UK Marvel Comics) met Chris Lowe (architect and some time jazz trombonist) in a hi-fi shop.

Neil promulgated, "I am experimenting with writing some neo-Shostakovich inspired pop songs at my residence", and Chris mumbled, "me too, well kind of". And so a wonderful friendship and songwriting duo began.

Whilst still working for Smash Hits (the UK's leading teen pop music mag), Neil flew to New York to interview The Police for the magazine, but sneakily also organised a meeting with NYC-based producer Bobby Orlando.

Neil propounded to Bobby, "would you consider producing a few Hi-NRG TS Eliot inspired pop strains myself and Chris have crafted?"

And Bobby drawled, "sure thang dude".

So Neil, Chris and Bobby recorded West End Girls. And behold, they created a massive worldwide hit (...well, on the third or fourth try, …after they'd got rid of Bobby O's bits).

And so it was, Neil resigned from Smash Hits and Chris departed the high-octane world of architecture.

And the Pet Shop Boys, as they were henceforth known, went on to write 14 sublime albums, a ballet, a film, a musical, a soundtrack to the 1925 film Battleship Potemkin, and create many highly theatrical and innovative live shows.

Their love of pop music exuding throughout their career, and their arch-lyrics never ceasing…
take, for instance, 2019's Give Stupidity A Chance (about the Trump era)

"Intelligent people have had their say
It's time for the foolish to show the way
Let's lead this world a merry dance
Let's give stupidity a chance"

May Neil and Chris reign forever. Amen.
Last edited by BleuPanda on Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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140. Swans
Points: 734.72 (14 Votes)
2019 Rank: 105
Biggest Fan(s): CupOfDreams (#2), Gillingham (#3), whuntva (#6), Jackson (#8), ProjectTermina (#9), prosecutorgodot (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Seer (#300), To Be Kind (#324), Soundtracks for the Blind (#588), Children of God (#730)

whuntva: Swans are music to be depressed with. A band reuniting thirteen years after their masterpiece...and then becoming more popular than ever before is a great feat in itself. Swans were the first band I went to see live because I needed to see the show. It was one of the rawest, loudest, most moving experiences I've ever had. Not one album has disappointed. Each is great in a unique, indescribable way, from Filth to Leaving Meaning. Hearing them in chronological order is like hearing the spiritual enlightenment of a raw punk group into a transcendent instrumental post-rock group.

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139. Curtis Mayfield
Points: 735.34 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 116
Biggest Fan(s): Cadavaca (#9), cetamol (#15), sonofsamiam (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: Superfly (#135), Curtis (#384)
Forum Favorite Songs: Move On Up (#185), Right on for the Darkness (#1107), Superfly (#1169)

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138. Nine Inch Nails
Points: 737.2 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: 192
Biggest Fan(s): Edre Peraza (#6), ordinaryperson (#25), whuntva (#30)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Downward Spiral (#289), Pretty Hate Machine (#718)
Forum Favorite Songs: Closer (#338), Head Like a Hole (#975), Hurt (#1119)

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137. Pulp
Points: 746.17 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 106
Biggest Fan(s): luvulongTIM (#23), Akhenaten (#25), Chris K. (#41)
Forum Favorite Albums: Different Class (#124), This is Hardcore (#626)
Forum Favorite Songs: Common People (#40), Disco 2000 (#1333), This is Hardcore (#1438)

TheLastEnemy: The whole Blur Vs Oasis debate at the height of Britpop in the 90’s always annoyed me, as I thought there was a contender that was better than both – Pulp. They had the great tunes, the charismatic lead singer and the clever lyrics, so why did they miss out? At least Jarvis Cocker got to present Top of the Pops when “Country House” went up against “Roll With It”.
Pulp took their time in becoming successful; they formed back in 1978 and it was in 1991 when I first heard John Peel play “Countdown”. The lyrics were the main thing that struck me then and they have always been a key strength of Pulp, although by no means their only strength. I was lucky enough to see them live in 1994, six months after their first successful album (His ‘n’ Hers) but a year before their best and most successful album (Different Class), and theirs was the best live performance I had ever seen. The fact that they had chosen Prolapse to support them no doubt helped, but well known tracks such as “Babies”, “Lipgloss” and “Do You Remember The First Time” mixed with unknown new songs (at the time) such as “Underwear” and “Common People” meant that every track they played was a winner. The latter of these is a classic of any era, better in my opinion than anything Oasis or Blur have ever done, and if you want to know what’s great about Pulp, just watch a live performance of “Common People”, preferably from their headline performance at Glastonbury in 1995, and that will tell you all you need to know.

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136. Muse
Points: 747.48 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 107
Biggest Fan(s): Arsalan (#5), phil (#8), andyd1010 (#14)
Forum Favorite Albums: Absolution (#423), Black Holes and Revelations (#437), Origin of Symmetry (#612)
Forum Favorite Songs: Plug In Baby (#919), Knights of Cydonia (#978), Hysteria (#1070)

TheLastEnemy: I didn’t get into Muse straight away, it took a few singles; their fourth, “Sunburn”, and fifth, “Unintended” were the ones that really resonated with me. The tunes stuck in my head long after I’d heard them, but I still didn’t know much about Muse. It wasn’t until their second album, and the singles “Plug In Baby”, “New Born” and “Bliss” that I really became a fan, and since then I have eagerly anticipated every album. As a musician myself I am extremely envious of Matt Bellamy’s ability on both guitar and piano, as well as his vocal ability, and it’s (unusually for me) always been more about the music rather than the lyrics with Muse, which isn’t to say that there aren’t numerous great lines.
I haven’t yet been lucky enough to see Muse live, except on TV which hardly counts, but I understand they are one of the best live bands around and have been for many years. Over that time, tracks such as “Starlight”, “Follow Me”, “Dead Inside” and “Something Human” have kept me entertained, and I still vividly remember how annoyed I was when Leeds United football club kept their track “Neutron Star Collision” out of the UK top 10. I have never really understood why Muse are so unpopular with critics, maybe because they do lean towards prog rock on occasion, but they have yet to let me down after over twenty years.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by VacantJoy »

i am glad the forum like 2 of my favorite bands slowdive and gybe
DONATIONS TOWARDS ME -> https://revolut.me/anastagf0s
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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135. Fela Kuti
Points: 752.13 (19 Votes)
2019 Rank: 139
Biggest Fan(s): cetamol (#7), sonofsamiam (#11), panam (#12)
Forum Favorite Albums: Zombie (#250), Expensive Shit (#506)
Forum Favorite Songs: Zombie (#181)

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134. Angel Olsen
Points: 756.74 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: 336
Biggest Fan(s): Lagunin (#3), phil (#11), Rob (#16)
Forum Favorite Albums: My Woman (#901), All Mirrors (#952), [Big Time - #6 on 2022 MCCh]
Forum Favorite Songs: Shut Up Kiss Me (#1267), White Fire (#1945), Like I Used To (#1 - 2021)

BleuPanda: It took a while for Angel Olsen to grow on me. Back when Burn Your Fire for No Witness dropped, it left little impact. With My Woman, I took a slight interest. Then All Mirrors dropped and everything clicked. I revisited those earlier albums and realized how great she was from the beginning. Most remarkable is her ever-changing style – from the quiet, haunting folk of Burn Your Fire for No Witness to the glamourous rock of My Woman to the extravagant art pop of All Mirrors and most recently the more subdued country of Big Time, this is a woman who can tap into any genre and make a modern classic. It’s a shame it took me so long to catch on, but Angel Olsen has proven herself with an undeniable hot streak.

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133. Weezer
Points: 758.59 (19 Votes)
2019 Rank: 148
Biggest Fan(s): phil (#13), andyd1010 (#17), acroamor (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Blue Album (#90), Pinkerton (#247)
Forum Favorite Songs: Say It Ain't So (#310), Buddy Holly (#409), El Scorcho (#1165)

acroamor: Weezer is the funniest band to ever exist. The primary discourse surrounding them is of course, are they good? What parts are good? Did they get bad, and if so, when? To ask these questions is to misunderstand the group, a band that from its very first record proudly proclaimed themselves as deeply uncool. The "good" Weezer is incredible, the "bad" Weezer is deeply, deeply funny. The Lil Wayne collaboration, the Fortnite concert, the Teal Album, songs with names like "The Girl Got Hot" and "I'm Your Daddy": it's all so, so, so funny. I love Weezer, I've always loved them, I've used their masterpiece second album as my avatar on this site since I've joined. The song I think of as a "shit test" for a Weezer fan is a deep cut from 2008's Red Album: "Heart Songs". It's corny, overwrought, and somewhat stupid. In spite of all that, it's profoundly beautiful. I think, if you can't listen to that song and understand that, oh, this is what they're all about, then you don't really <i>get</i> Weezer. In a few months, they're releasing a winter-themed album inspired by Elliott Smith. The very concept is absurd, and there's no possible way that the band as they are now can make it work. I will listen to it One Million Times.

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132. Sigur Rós
Points: 768.04 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 122
Biggest Fan(s): DaveC (#14), Gillingham (#21), ProjectTermina (#32)
Forum Favorite Albums: Ágætis Byrjun (#83), ( ) (#269), Takk… (#539)
Forum Favorite Songs: Svefn-g-englar (#507), Hoppipolla (#912), Untitled 8 (#980)

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131. Steely Dan
Points: 771.14 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 94
Biggest Fan(s): Henry (#2), Fred (#5), Miguel (#36)
Forum Favorite Albums: Aja (#248), Pretzel Logic (#380), Can't Buy a Thrill (#488), Countdown to Ecstacy (#828)
Forum Favorite Songs: Reelin' in the Years (#853), Deacon Blues (#868), Aja (#1178)
Last edited by BleuPanda on Thu Sep 15, 2022 4:07 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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130. AC/DC
Points: 775.8 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 114
Biggest Fan(s): Dexter (#25), Karla (#38), Renan (#38)
Forum Favorite Albums: Back in Black (#244)
Forum Favorite Songs: Back in Black (#430), You Shook Me All Night Long (#560), Highway to Hell (#745)

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129. Aerosmith
Points: 777.84 (19 Votes)
2019 Rank: 113
Biggest Fan(s): Karla (#3), Renan (#17), kaue (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: Rocks (#691), Toys in the Attic (#942)
Forum Favorite Songs: Dream On (#301), Walk This Way (#776), I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (#829)

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128. Patti Smith
Points: 784.12 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 180
Biggest Fan(s): Lagunin (#33), Elder (#37), aalamar (#41)
Forum Favorite Albums: Horses (#64)
Forum Favorite Songs: Gloria (#163), Because the Night (#417), Land (#1300)

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127. Frank Ocean
Points: 793.35 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 147
Biggest Fan(s): FrankLotion (#12), Elder (#21), Neil (#22), Chris K. (#23), Renan (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: Channel Orange (#131), Blonde (#265)
Forum Favorite Songs: Pyramids (#208), Thinkin Bout You (#610), Forrest Gump (#1931)

FrankLotion: I only just found out that there’s a word to describe the sensation when music gives you chills or goosebumps, which is “Frisson.” Frank’s music gives me that sensation constantly, especially when listening to what is probably the only album I consider perfect: Channel Orange. I could talk about that project endlessly (and have, much to the annoyance of my friends and family), but there is so much more about Frank Ocean that makes him so special to me. Starting with that incredible voice, he might not have the virtuosity of some of his contemporaries like Miguel or The Weeknd but he has this quality where it sounds like he’s singing straight from the chest in a way that amplifies the impact of the very complicated emotions he’s trying to communicate. Not that he communicates much anymore, he’d probably be even higher on my list if he had more material to go off of. That absence has left a lot of space to sit down with what we’ve got and really marinate in his lyrics and immaculate production. It was definitely a slow burn at first for me since I didn’t understand what everyone was so excited about, but underneath the innovative song structures what really grabbed me was his dense collage of themes about relationships that captured feelings of alienation, drug-induced anger and anxiety, or just the nostalgia and sadness he has for past unrequited love. It helps that Frank has an enviable level of self-awareness that gives all these topics an interesting perspective on his acceptance or rejection of how he interprets past experiences, which he recounts in a distinctly non-linear fashion. This is already running long but I have to at least mention that the music itself (almost all of which is co-produced by Ocean) just sounds gorgeous, whether it’s the cascade of synths and strings throughout Channel Orange or the emotional guitar work that provides the backdrop for so much of Blonde. I’m hoping that the rapturous praise Frank got in the Best of Decade lists will cause a major bump for him in this poll, I guess we’ll see where this write-up comes up in the roll out…

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126. Billy Joel
Points: 797.82 (18 Votes)
2019 Rank: 99
Biggest Fan(s): StevieFan13 (#7), Wezzo (#8), bonnielaurel (#16)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Stranger (#279)
Forum Favorite Songs: Piano Man (#464), Scenes from an Italian Restaurant (#1195), Movin' Out (Anthony's Song) (#1527)

bonnielaurel: As the son of a classical pianist Billy Joel had his instrument chosen for him. Piano Man, the song in which he describes ordinary people in a bar through a pianist's eyes, earned him his nickname. He did play the piano in a Los Angeles bar. He writes his songs at the keyboard, but arranges them with rock instruments and synthesizers. In his love ballads he plays the part of diamond in the rough. Other lyrics can be observations of everyday life, or comment on the music industry or social and political issues. Goodnight Saigon is his tribute to the soldiers who were sent to Vietnam and had a hard time after coming back - if they came back. Some of his songs are influenced by old genres like ragtime, doo-wop, rock 'n' roll and Motown soul. He also wrote some classical pieces for solo piano. Throughout his career he managed to find a good balance between depth and popularity.
Last edited by BleuPanda on Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Jackson »

Good to see a lot of newer artists doing well, especially some of the amazing female artists of the last 5-10 years.

I'm shocked to see Swans fall considering all of the top ten votes they got (including my own). I noticed they have far fewer votes than the artists around them, which makes sense as they are an artist that's kind of hard to have a neutral opinion of.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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125. Bee Gees
Points: 804.72 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 72
Biggest Fan(s): kaue (#1), profeta (#1), Renan (#4), Bruno (#17)
Forum Favorite Songs: Stayin' Alive (#112), How Deep is Your Love (#280), Too Much Heaven (#947)

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124. Beach House
Points: 810.23 (17 Votes)
2019 Rank: 165
Biggest Fan(s): DaveC (#16), phil (#19), Gillingham (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: Teen Dream (#174), Bloom (#420), 7 (#940)
Forum Favorite Songs: Myth (#543), Zebra (#1100), Take Care (#1470)

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123. Fleet Foxes
Points: 822.08 (23 Votes)
2019 Rank: 186
Biggest Fan(s): phil (#5), VanillaFire1000 (#17), prosecutorgodot (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: Fleet Foxes (#149), Helplessness Blues (#415), Shore (#9 - 2020)
Forum Favorite Songs: White Winter Hymnal (#238), Mykonos (#1002), Helplessness Blues (#1479)

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122. Taylor Swift
Points: 829.07 (19 Votes)
2019 Rank: 327
Biggest Fan(s): ProjectTermina (#1), Neil (#4), M24 (#12), Wezzo (#14), andyd1010 (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: folklore (#7 - 2020)
Forum Favorite Songs: Blank Space (#1248), All Too Well (#1298)

ProjectTermina: Taylor Swift began her career as a teenager, writing, playing, and singing songs about teenage experiences. It was popular at the time to shit-talk contemporary popular musicians for not writing and playing their own music. Even though she did both, Taylor faced a lot of scorn. On her self-titled debut, her writing at times was awkward or lacking in perspective, yes. But, besides her ear for hooks and killer knack for writing bridges, what made millions of young people die-hard Swifties was how vibrantly and economically she articulated the white-hot emotions of adolescence.

Swift’s pair of lush folky quarantine albums, Folklore and Evermore, garnered her a lot of critical clout. But critics were reevaluating Taylor Swift as early as 2019, when Brad Nelson at Pitchfork retrospectively rated Red a 9.0. I could go on and on about Red. Every song is a crystal-clear recreation of a different flavor of yearning. Boy does Taylor Swift love to yearn. She and I have that in common. Not to get too personal, but Red helped me recognize and understand my own teenage emotions, and a lot of people who love this album love it for that reason.

If you liked Folklore and Evermore, welcome to the Swiftie club! Maybe check out some of her older work. Everything that made Taylor Swift Taylor Swift was in Taylor Swift on Taylor Swift. Whoops, how did that line make it past Quip Control? Okay I’m done. Go buy Red: Taylor’s Version at https://store.taylorswift.com/ okay bye

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121. Parliament/Funkadelic
Points: 830.65 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: 83
Biggest Fan(s): Moonbeam (#16), sonofsamiam (#23), StevieFan13 (#27)
Forum Favorite Albums: Maggot Brain (#217), Mothership Connection (#395), One Nation Under a Groove (#400)
Forum Favorite Songs: Maggot Brain (#233), Flash Light (#921), One Nation Under a Groove (#1138)

Moonbeam: Thank you for filling the architecture of funk with such whimsy and wild imagination. You took the tight grooves of James Brown, the social commentary of Sly and the Family Stone, and most importantly, the wild wonderment and afro-futurism of Sun Ra and created a veritable empire of P-Funk that constitutes one of the greatest and most expansive contributions to music in history. Whether it be the heady, psychedelic fury, childlike storytelling flipped on its head, epic sci-fi adventures, guttural, gospel-tinged soul, or ass-shaking extravaganzas, it felt like there was no limit what you could do.

Thank you for proving that synthesizers belong in funk’s aesthetic. Synth funk may be my very favorite genre, and your pioneering of it with songs like “Flash Light” and “Liquid Sunshine” added a colorful and textural dimension that fills me with unfettered glee. There is an incredible power in the unrelenting rhythm and the inevitable dancing that follows that feels like it connects me to all of humanity in a way no other music can. As in the lyrics to “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”, “funk not only moves, it can remove”. Whatever might be clouding my days can be eliminated with one shot of the “Bop Gun”.
Last edited by BleuPanda on Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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120. The Byrds
Points: 833.37 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 160
Biggest Fan(s): Miguel (#10), mileswide (#15), Krurze (#46)
Forum Favorite Albums: Mr. Tambourine Man (#398), Sweetheart of the Rodeo (#614), Younger Than Yesterday (#726), The Notorious Byrd Brothers (#804)
Forum Favorite Songs: Mr. Tambourine Man (#359), Eight Miles High (#467), Turn! Turn! Turn! (#732)

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119. Grimes
Points: 843.03 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 230
Biggest Fan(s): Edre Peraza (#32), bonnielaurel (#40), ProjectTermina (#43)
Forum Favorite Albums: Art Angels (#252), Visions (#617)
Forum Favorite Songs: Oblivion (#139), REALiTi (#485), Flesh Without Blood (#1021)

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118. The Strokes
Points: 844.74 (23 Votes)
2019 Rank: 198
Biggest Fan(s): Arsalan (#14), Lagunin (#23), Holden (#26)
Forum Favorite Albums: Is This It (#42), Room on Fire (#760), The New Abnormal (#8 - 2020)
Forum Favorite Songs: Last Nite (#170), Hard to Explain (#791), Reptilia (#1026)

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117. Sly and the Family Stone
Points: 876.27 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 110
Biggest Fan(s): mileswide (#22), stone37 (#22), Listyguy (#29)
Forum Favorite Albums: There's a Riot Goin' On (#225), Stand! (#226)
Forum Favorite Songs: Family Affair (#297), Everyday People (#455), Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (#525)

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116. Massive Attack
Points: 883.84 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 146
Biggest Fan(s): ordinaryperson (#7), Holden (#29), Gillingham (#55)
Forum Favorite Albums: Mezzanine (#187), Blue Lines (#213)
Forum Favorite Songs: Teardrop (#97), Unfinished Sympathy (#110), Protection (#966)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Live in Phoenix »

The Bee Gees used to be the top act in our Artist poll not inducted in our Hall of Acclaim, by a good margin. Now we've got Grimes, Taylor Swift, and Beach House, and maybe more. (No one even voted for Beach House for the Hall of Acclaim last time, so this is my little PSA/public service announcement for the power of voting.)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Arsalan »

I am the biggest The Strokes fan? That's cool although I thought for sure someone would have them in their top 10.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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115. Jacques Brel
Points: 893.24 (20 Votes)
2019 Rank: 101
Biggest Fan(s): Dan (#2), nicolas (#4), mileswide (#5), bonnielaurel (#14), Rob (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: Olympia 64 (#636), Jacques Brel [Ces gens-la] (#900)
Forum Favorite Songs: Ne me quitte pas (#438), Amsterdam (#475), Vesoul (#991)

Honorio: Inside the fascinating (and underrated) world of the French chanson there were an heterogeneous group of singer songwriters ranging from the sarcastic Brassens to the poetic Ferré with theatrical (cabaret-influenced) performers like Édith Piaf. But the main name of the style (in my opinion) was not from France but from Belgium. Why Brel was the best for me? He was the synthesis of the style, combining a prodigious song-writing with a no less prodigious way of performing. As a songwriter he excelled as a vivid dissector of his contemporary society (but usually with a poetic tone not extent of empathy for his characters) but also with his songs about life, death (one of his favourite subjects) and, of course, love ("Quand on n'a que l'amour"). He was an extraordinary lyricist, the way he turns the story upside down at the end of some songs (sometimes in the last verse) is masterful. We know at the end that the narrator of the dysfunctional family of "Ces gens-là" is also part of this family, we know that both the narrator and "Jef" are beggars only in the last verse. And he was an outstanding performer, his natural state was the stage. He not only sang his songs, he inhabited them. He lived his lyrics, he acted his stories. In his live performances the movements of his hands and his mouth and the expressions on his face were as important as the singing or song-writing. All delivered with a contagious passion. Chauffe, chauffe!

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114. The Stooges
Points: 895.85 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 153
Biggest Fan(s): Jackson (#34), Holden (#36), aalamar (#46)
Forum Favorite Albums: Fun House (#150), Raw Power (#271), The Stooges (#569)
Forum Favorite Songs: Search and Destroy (#323), I Wanna Be Your Dog (#364), 1970 (#1704)

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113. St. Vincent
Points: 896.47 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 204
Biggest Fan(s): Maschine_Man (#13), Chris K. (#16), BleuPanda (#27)
Forum Favorite Albums: Masseduction (#344), St. Vincent (#353), Strange Mercy (#650)
Forum Favorite Songs: Digital Witness (#1153), Los Ageless (#1392), Cruel (#1686)

BleuPanda: St. Vincent is a prime example of succeeding at music in a post-Spotify world. Now that all popular music can be accessed by anyone at any time, our collective musical horizons have expanded greatly. As a natural shapeshifter, St. Vincent excels in this environment – she wears her influences on her sleeves, but all it takes is a quick listen to pick up what she’s doing differently. No matter the style, her music is tied together by a few key traits – her stellar guitar work, her surrealist verses contrasted against pointed choruses, sometimes unexpected shifts in energy. As the lines between genres become increasingly blurred, St. Vincent has learned how to leave a personal signature on whatever sound she explores.

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112. Foo Fighters
Points: 908.98 (20 Votes)
2019 Rank: 126
Biggest Fan(s): Karla (#14), M24 (#15), Renan (#27)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Colour and the Shape (#645)
Forum Favorite Songs: Everlong (#201), Learn to Fly (#1193), The Pretender (#1804)

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111. My Bloody Valentine
Points: 913.09 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 127
Biggest Fan(s): Jackson (#7), CupOfDreams (#20), sonofsamiam (#29)
Forum Favorite Albums: Loveless (#48), Isn't Anything (#566)
Forum Favorite Songs: Soon (#345), When You Sleep (#350), Only Shallow (#451)
Last edited by BleuPanda on Thu Sep 01, 2022 4:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

Apologies - I just realized I overlooked TheLastEnemy's blurb on Pet Shop Boys and have added it.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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110. Aphex Twin
Points: 920.32 (20 Votes)
2019 Rank: 125
Biggest Fan(s): Krurze (#1), ordinaryperson (#20), Cadavaca (#21), panam (#22)
Forum Favorite Albums: Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (#399), Selected Ambient Works Volume II (#661)
Forum Favorite Songs: Windowlicker (#793), #3 [rhubarb] (#1375), Xtal (#1504)

Krurze: Richard D. James is one of the very few artists to have, under roughly two dozens of aliases, created a full, breathing universe out of sound. From the spastic and often unnerving breakbeats on Drukqs to the ethereal, soothing drone monuments on Selected Ambient Works Volume II and everything in between, James has touched upon every human emotion (almost) without uttering a single word. Together with his humour, apparent in his extravagant music videos, and his shy, yet oblique public persona you get an artist surrounded by as much mystique as admiration whose music can be both touching and deeply unsettling, just like life itself.

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109. Chuck Berry
Points: 921.84 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 89
Biggest Fan(s): Bruno (#12), aalamar (#13), whuntva (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: Chuck Berry Is on Top (#936)
Forum Favorite Songs: Johnny B. Goode (#47), Maybellene (#685), Roll Over Beethoven (#796)

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108. King Crimson
Points: 922.02 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: 144
Biggest Fan(s): cetamol (#2), Schüttelbirne (#7), sonofsamiam (#15), Honorio (#15), Jackson (#16), panam (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: In the Court of the Crimson King (#95), Red (#229)
Forum Favorite Songs: 21st Century Schizoid Man (#236), Starless (#432), The Court of the Crimson King (#1728)

Schüttelbirne: To be clear: When I write about King Crimson here, I only write about the first iteration of the band, formed in 1968 and disbanded a few years later in 1974. I can‘t judge the rest of their output because I‘m not familiar with it.
I am familiar however with the five years in which King Crimson was able to release seven albums and re-invent what rock music could sound like on every release. Taking inspiration from jazz and classical music they created a world of sound they inhabited for a very short time before they started building a different world again.
This came along with every album basically being created by a different band with only guitarist Robert Fripp staying in the group consistently. It‘s incredible to see how a band that consistently fought amongst its ranks like that could still turn out such consistently high quality.

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107. Jay-Z
Points: 935.42 (22 Votes)
2019 Rank: 115
Biggest Fan(s): FrankLotion (#7), Edre Peraza (#15), M24 (#18)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Blueprint (#321), The Black Album (#623)
Forum Favorite Songs: Crazy in Love (#217), 99 Problems (#319), Umbrella (#550), Empire State of Mind (#638), Monster (#905)

FrankLotion: The man primarily famous for being Beyoncé’s husband. In all serious, Jay-Z looms so large in American culture that it’s hard to choose what to talk about. Focusing on the music, Jay has so many hits throughout his entire discography that it’s hard to think of a time growing up when he wasn’t a constant fixture on the radio, at school, or at any public event really. I’ve spoken about my former rap snobbiness before on the forum, I definitely wrote Jay-Z off for a while because I was a huge fan of his then-rival Nas but eventually admitted to myself that Jay didn’t just win that contest commercially, but I think ultimately he was a much stronger songwriter and clearly had a more discerning ear for great beats that complimented his style and vision. Starting from his hardnosed boom bap days with Reasonable Doubt to his more open and contemplative 4:44, Jay constantly reset the high bar for flow and technique, clever wordplay, inventive presentation, and vivid storytelling that helped us buy into the fantasy of experiencing Jay’s dramatic and extravagant life. Which leads into another aspect that I think made Jay-Z the musician and Jay-Z the mogul such an enthralling personality: his whole career is a fascinating story on its own with clear milestones of growth as both a musician and as a person. I think the best example of this besides his huge public mea culpa about his marriage infidelity is that he’s said that he looks back at songs from his past like “Big Pimpin’” as being an embarrassment for him now (likely due to the blatant misogyny). That song’s still a banger but I have to appreciate that one of the most powerful people in the world is still looking back and trying to learn from his mistakes for how he treats people, which has been a consistent subtext of his music from the start. Finally, part of what makes hip hop such a fun genre to talk about is the arbitrary argument about who’s the GOAT rapper, he definitely gets my vote.

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106. A Tribe Called Quest
Points: 941.34 (23 Votes)
2019 Rank: 145
Biggest Fan(s): StevieFan13 (#11), Elder (#28), BleuPanda (#30)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Low End Theory (#133), Midnight Marauders (#559), We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service (#577), People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (#708)
Forum Favorite Songs: Scenario (#739), Check the Rhime (#1442)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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105. Paul Simon
Points: 948.18 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 98
Biggest Fan(s): VanillaFire1000 (#3), Miguel (#11), Rob (#17), Fred (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: Graceland (#86), Paul Simon (#727)
Forum Favorite Songs: You Can Call Me Al (#596), Graceland (#665), Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes (#887)

Rob: Paul Simon is a man of hidden depths. His songs are easy-going. He prefers clear melodies and catchy rhythms. Despite a wide arrange of odd influences from all over the world it is no surprise that he has remained part of radio stations and safe background playlists. Yet from the early years in Simon & Garfunkel on his songs were basically sad tales of a person lost in the world. Indeed, only someone like Simon could write something like The Only Living Boy in New York and make it seem like a simple, earnest fact instead of a heavy-handed, self-serious statement. All through his life Simon has basically kept examining his own meagre place in the world. He has a self-effacing quality that he makes you believe is warmth and affection, but if you listen closely there is at best a bemusement of his own inability to connect to anyone. His growing love for world music has also kept him fresh, but even that is a slight of hand. Graceland may be inspired on the music of South Africa and Rhythm of the Saints came from Brazil. Yet do you think about these countries when listening to these albums? I don’t, I think about Paul Simon. That could be a weakness, but I think of it as a consistent world-view that knows no amount of travel can change a person’s internal make-up. Both with Garfunkel and solo Simon is perhaps my most listened-to artist after Bob Dylan and Ennio Morricone and Graceland is certainly my most heard album. If PJ Harvey is the one among my favorite artists who seems a bit of my polar opposite, Paul Simon may be the most like me: always looking around me, trying to connect, but only really finding new music.

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104. Nick Drake
Points: 958.01 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 86
Biggest Fan(s): Listyguy (#27), Rob (#36), nicolas (#38)
Forum Favorite Albums: Pink Moon (#104), Five Leaves Left (#158), Bryter Layter (#223)
Forum Favorite Songs: Pink Moon (#501), River Man (#740), Things Behind the Sun (#1247)

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103. Eminem
Points: 959.84 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 81
Biggest Fan(s): kaue (#19), M24 (#19), Renan (#23), whuntva (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Marshall Mathers LP (#193), The Eminem Show (#880)
Forum Favorite Songs: Lose Yourself (#92), Stan (#192), The Real Slim Shady (#1519)

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102. Roxy Music
Points: 965.17 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 88
Biggest Fan(s): Chris K. (#14), Moonbeam (#15), Krurze (#22)
Forum Favorite Albums: For Your Pleasure (#230), Roxy Music (#500), Avalon (#711), Country Life (#731)
Forum Favorite Songs: More Than This (#619), Virginia Plain (#918), Editions of You (#1453)

Moonbeam: Thank you for your wild sense of adventure. The way you’ve warped sounds into being through the sheer wills of our collective imagination has given me countless hours of wonder and enjoyment. “Editions of You” makes me feel like I’ve been plugged into an electrical socket with a furious energy that is unmatched by any song I’ve ever heard. That beguiling saxophone solo and descending refrain in “If There Is Something” makes my heart leap out of my chest. The twists and turns of “Mother of Pearl” make me feel like I’ve stumbled upon some tormented epic of legend. The electric violin solo in “Out of the Blue” makes me feel like I’m being hurtled into a new galaxy. The worlds your songs and your albums create in my mind are vivid treasures. As your sound evolved from thrilling arty glam rock to dancey pop rock to the seeds of New Romantic and finally to sophisti-pop, your decade of exploration through pop art ranks among the most exciting.

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101. Sleater-Kinney
Points: 968.64 (18 Votes)
2019 Rank: 80
Biggest Fan(s): Rob (#3), luvulongTIM (#5), Nassim (#10), Listyguy (#16), FrankLotion (#18), Lagunin (#19), StevieFan13 (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Woods (#228), One Beat (#330), Dig Me Out (#350)
Forum Favorite Songs: Jumpers (#1487), One Beat (#1682)

Listyguy: From the moment Janet Weiss joined Sleater-Kinney right up until their hiatus in 2006, there was arguably no better band around. I do, however, feel pretty confident in saying there certainly wasn’t a better pure rock group around. Sleater-Kinney understood “the rock sound” more than a lot of rock bands, and they leaned into it beautifully. The band famously doesn’t use bass; instead, they let the guitars have an even bigger sound to fill the void, and often add on top of this with wild vocal harmonies (the band sort of treats vocals like guitars, often having a “lead vocal” and “rhythm vocal”). The aforementioned Janet Weiss was the missing piece, with her bombastic drums perfectly enhancing the guitars and vocals of Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein. The loud, energetic sound is best epitomized on tracks like “One Beat” and “Let’s Call It Love,” which are both overpouring with those qualities. Even when the band is a bit more reserved, like on “One More Hour,” the vocal interplay and melodies still result in a great song.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

Now, I will take a slight break as we finish out blurbs for the remaining artists.

(for those curious, Nick Drake, Roxy Music, and Sleater-Kenny would have ended up at spots 99-97 without the controversial group, replacing #75, #86, and #100)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by slick »

This is fantastic! Thank You for putting this together. I started working on my list months ago, but things have been crazy, and I never did get to finish. I had Nine Inch Nails and #2 and ATCQ at #14 from what I remember. Keep up the good work and I will be anxiously awaiting the results for the Top 100. Cheers!
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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100. Guns N' Roses
Points: 974.35 (23 Votes)
2019 Rank: 70
Biggest Fan(s): Karla (#3), kaue (#8), Renan (#16), Arsalan (#17), Dexter (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: Appetite for Destruction (#110)
Forum Favorite Songs: Sweet Child o' Mine (#42), Welcome to the Jungle (#289), November Rain (#369), Paradise City (#681)

Rob: I grew up thinking that Guns N’ Roses was the epitome of coolness and grown-up taste. That might be a laughable statement, but as a kid of the nineties and teenager of the 2000’s who grew up in a very white, yet also very country-side area, guitar-driven white trash music was pretty much the most widely respected music around. Critics and music historian like to gloss over it, but I remember very well that during my young years the most played music by my contemporaries was hyper-masculine rock machos like Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, Bon Jovi, Three Doors Down, Disturbed and Linkin Park. Above all these bands stood Guns N’ Roses, in the way William Shakespeare stands over the complete theatre tradition. They were untouchable, godlike and the one band everyone agreed on was the best, regardless of personal preferences. They were also the only of the aforementioned bands I personally liked. There was something about those hard yet surprisingly sweet guitar riffs by Slash that had a special soul to them. I also fell for Axl Rose’s wailing voice and the amused yet world-weary lyrics which felt deep to me at the time. Really, for a certain moment this felt like the epitome of what music was all about. That moment passed and I don’t return to Guns N’ Roses all that often anymore. But in contrast to some other rock vices of mine from that time I still like them when I do get back to them. Contradictory to their topics their songs remind me of a warm safe place where as a child I'd hide and pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by.

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99. Smashing Pumpkins
Points: 984.15 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 85
Biggest Fan(s): Chris K. (#13), ProjectTermina (#17), Toni (#28)
Forum Favorite Albums: Siamese Dream (#105), Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (#267)
Forum Favorite Songs: 1979 (#219), Today (#724), Disarm (#781), Tonight Tonight (#800)

BleuPanda: Most bands labelled as ‘alternative rock’ can be easily divided into several distinct subgenres – grunge, shoegaze, Britpop (for whatever reason). Smashing Pumpkins are among the rare acts to blur the lines so effectively that there is no better label – no band better defines alt-rock in its entirety. Part of this is Billy Corgan’s endless desire to explore. He rocks with the best of them on tracks like “Zero” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings.” Endless walls of guitars erupt on album staples “Soma” and “Mayonaise.” “Disarm” and “Tonight, Tonight” push the limits of the era’s popular instrumentation. “1979” is unrivalled in its balance of electronic elements and alternative sensibilities. Between their pair of hit albums and the eternally underrated works that surround them, few bands had a better output throughout the 90s. Smashing Pumpkins represents alternative music without limits, capturing an arena-sized grandeur.

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98. Otis Redding
Points: 996.97 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 91
Biggest Fan(s): Miguel (#18), cetamol (#32), andyd1010 (#33)
Forum Favorite Albums: Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul (#188)
Forum Favorite Songs: (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay (#17), Try a Little Tenderness (#321), I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) (#1322)

BleuPanda: Something about Otis Redding feels bigger than life. Though an indisputable master of the soul genre, the greater part of his legacy rests in his voice. The raw passion of his delivery would inspire so many that followed, no matter the genre. But few have ever matched his ability to sound so elegant even while devolving into desperate repetitions. Though not the first to highlight this distinction, Redding capitalized on the line between singing and performing – he knew singing was not an endless search for aesthetic beauty but a tool to explore all shades of human emotion. Otis Redding may have died in an accident at age 26, but fifty years on, his music and influence appear immortal.

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97. The Flaming Lips
Points: 1019.44 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 117
Biggest Fan(s): ProjectTermina (#6), DaveC (#20), Lagunin (#26)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Soft Bulletin (#109), Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (#137)
Forum Favorite Songs: Race for the Prize (#402), Do You Realize?? (#472)

BleuPanda: Few modern rock bands have felt as unabashedly sincere as The Flaming Lips during their peak. Wayne Coyne’s voice is defined by a nervous waver. Cast against the uncaring emptiness of space or overwhelming medical traumas, his vocal style could easily suggest hopelessness. Instead, the elaborate yet whimsical instrumentation pushes him to a higher level, an optimistic David versus the world. The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots perfectly balance vulnerability with sheer wonder. While their other work tends to be less accessible, it should not be discounted – some of their experiments work better than others, but there’s something compelling about a band unafraid of exploring.

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96. Sonic Youth
Points: 1020.89 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 100
Biggest Fan(s): Live in Phoenix (#13), Brad (#19), cetamol (#29)
Forum Favorite Albums: Daydream Nation (#84), Sister (#438), Goo (#469), Dirty (#611), EVOL (#969)
Forum Favorite Songs: Teen Age Riot (#103), Kool Thing (#1308)

Live in Phoenix: After Kurt Cobain died, Sonic Youth gave me a focal point. Supposedly, appreciation of them and Nirvana went hand in hand, which in a way is ridiculous, but they were both indie cool, with Nirvana following them onto the same record label. By “Schizophrenia,” the band sounded like a major talent, with Daydream Nation, Goo, and Dirty being their classic run. Kim Gordon’s charisma left the other singers (Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo) trailing, but the band’s sound – odd tunings; song hooks fighting with flat-out noise; a creepy, haunting setting – bolstered them, regardless. Unlike many of their alternative rock peers, Sonic Youth didn’t really have classic rock reference points (except for Karen Carpenter, without sounding at all like her). It didn’t seem like part of them was trying to be in Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, the Byrds, etc. They were a triumph of a new era. Maybe that’s why my relation to Daydream/Goo/Dirty is still a tender spot, even though I’m well past being a teenager. Visiting the band could mean having your emotions, usually processed through well-known rock styles, exposed back at you in strangely beautiful configurations. As a Kim Gordon lyric goes on Sonic Nurse, “It’s a place I know.”
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

--AMF Top 100 Debut--
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95. Janelle Monáe
Points: 1042.93 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 162
Biggest Fan(s): ProjectTermina (#5), Toni (#9), VanillaFire1000 (#12), prosecutorgodot (#16), Moonbeam (#17)
Forum Favorite Albums: The ArchAndroid (#127), Dirty Computer (#312)
Forum Favorite Songs: Tightrope (#356), Cold War (#510), Make Me Feel (#512)

Moonbeam: Thank you for being absolute dynamite. When I first saw the video for “Many Moons” in 2009, I was completely awestruck by the megawattage of your star power. The breadth of your palette is astonishing, but even more astonishing is the seismic energy that you put into your performances! Seeing you at the Sydney Opera House put on such a dazzling show and injecting your 10-minute performance of the “Come Alive (War of the Roses)” with enough voltage to power the whole city was unbelievable! Thank you for crafting such a captivating story that weaves through Metropolis: The Chase Suite and the two studio albums that followed. And thank you for changing the script so abruptly with Dirty Computer, IMO your best release yet, even though it angered some fans who either wanted to pigeonhole your artistic expression or disapproved of the empowering message held within. Hearing “Make Me Feel” for the first time made me emotional as it felt like you were carrying on Prince’s legacy in such an inspired way. I feel like you deserve to be the biggest superstar on the planet with the talent and artistic vision you have, and thank you for sharing your unimaginable gifts with us all.

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94. Ramones
Points: 1044.42 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 103
Biggest Fan(s): Krurze (#8), CupOfDreams (#22), ordinaryperson (#42)
Forum Favorite Albums: Ramones (#151), Rocket to Russia (#340)
Forum Favorite Songs: Blitzkrieg Bop (#222), I Wanna Be Sedated (#1064), Sheena is a Punk Rocker (#1273)

Krurze: Not the Sex Pistols, not the Clash - it was the Ramones that represented the true Punk Rock spirit like no other band. Sure, they were also snotty (albeit not as snotty as the Sex Pistols) and they were also political (albeit not as political as the Clash) – but first and foremost, they believed in the magic of Rock and Roll more than anyone else at their time. Songwriting-wise, they’ve often been just as close to the Beach Boys and the Ronettes as to their Punk Rock peers of the late 1970s. The lyrics also alternated between sugary-sweet love songs and blunt descriptions of violence and addiction. Combine all that with a raw production style plus a reasonably fast delivery and you’ve got yourself the premier Punk Rock experience that to this day hasn’t been bettered.

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93. Ray Charles
Points: 1050.73 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 75
Biggest Fan(s): StevieFan13 (#5), Bruno (#11), profeta (#13)
Forum Favorite Albums: Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (#482)
Forum Favorite Songs: What'd I Say (#96), Georgia on My Mind (#245), Hit the Road Jack (#471)

bonnielaurel: Ray Charles will always be remembered as the blind singer with the dark glasses who sat swinging at his piano. His musical roots are in jazz, blues, boogie woogie and gospel. He was trained as a classical pianist. In the 1950s he became one of the founders of soul music by adding gospel influence to rhythm 'n' blues. He had an exceptional sense of rhythm. Jerry Wexler played an important role as his producer at Atlantic Records. His backing group The Raelettes included great vocalists like Margie Hendrix and later Merry Clayton and Minnie Riperton. He could go into dialogue with them, have them shout responses, or improvise while they were singing the basic melody. Songs like I Got a Woman and What'd I Say had a frantically swinging rhythm, but he could also sing an affecting ballad. The Genius Hits the Road was an early example of a concept album, because every song focuses on one state of the USA. Hoagy Carmichael's Georgia on My Mind, recorded with string arrangement and cracking voice, has a double meaning, because Georgia can also be a woman. He remained an inspired performer for decades and gained new attention by appearing in The Blues Brothers. His influence on soul and popular music in general can't be overestimated.

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92. Wilco
Points: 1053.01 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 96
Biggest Fan(s): Nick (#11), Toni (#18), Holden (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (#61), Summerteeth (#257), Being There (#787)
Forum Favorite Songs: Jesus Etc. (#259), Impossible Germany (#1418)

BleuPanda: Wilco is one of those bands that is easy to overlook at first blush. They belong to the rare elites who have defined themselves more through prolific consistency than any singular song – their biggest is more the result of a collective reflection on the band’s lasting success than a contemporary hit. Like Nick Cave or Low or Tom Waits, a tour through their discography shows a band slowly but assuredly pushing in new directions.
There’s one obvious hiccup with my opening thoughts – Wilco is also the band that released Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, the sort of mega-album that can overshadow all other accomplishments. Like Tom Waits with Swordfishtrombones and Rain Dogs, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot captures a band searching for a more defined identity and stumbling into a sound like nothing else. Some might lament they never made another record that sounded quite like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – but it is the very fact they are always searching for something new that such a record was spawned in the first place.

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91. Public Enemy
Points: 1056.02 (28 Votes)
2019 Rank: 84
Biggest Fan(s): Jackson (#25), sonofsamiam (#28), Holden (#35)
Forum Favorite Albums: It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (#63), Fear of a Black Planet (#245)
Forum Favorite Songs: Fight the Power (#136), Bring the Noise (#840), Don't Believe the Hype (#1776)

FrankLotion: If “Like a Rolling Stone” is the sound of someone kicking open the door of your mind as Springsteen once said, then Public Enemy’s lyrics and the shrieking wall of sound on “Bring the Noise” is like blowing the whole damn roof off. Even on a cursory listen it’s impossible to ignore the authoritative provocation in Chuck D’s voice or the dense and explosive production from the appropriately named Bomb Squad. I couldn’t do justice talking about the systemic problems that PE addresses in their music to any degree that Chuck D has but I will say that if there is any music act that really did open my eyes to the world it’s probably this one. I’ve always been reasonably in touch with history but Chuck D would rap about people I had never even heard of which actually caused me to look up who these people were. I would subsequently find out that they were instrumental in the proliferation of black civil rights in the U.S. but their names were never widely known. Public Enemy gives these people an amplified voice through the gruff and combative lyrics of Chuck that challenged people (myself included) to confront some unpleasant truths about a host of social issues. Plus, the beats were so forceful and cacophonous that they commanded you to pay attention rather than letting the music just sit in the background. I can’t imagine a better purpose for music than that.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by FrankLotion »

I never expected Rob to be one of the biggest champions of Guns n’ Roses, you indeed contain multitudes, sir.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Jackson »

Guns 'N Roses over My Bloody Valentine makes no sense at all in the battle of "late 80s/early 90s acts with a small discography and long-awaited followup album."
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

Jackson wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 3:24 am Guns 'N Roses over My Bloody Valentine makes no sense at all in the battle of "late 80s/early 90s acts with a small discography and long-awaited followup album."
(with the four controversial users removed, GNR would fall to #149 and be 42 spots behind MBV)
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Rob »

FrankLotion wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 1:47 am I never expected Rob to be one of the biggest champions of Guns n’ Roses, you indeed contain multitudes, sir.
There is always a rockist lurking inside me that yearns for a Slash solo for sure!
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Live in Phoenix »

guitar-driven white trash music was pretty much the most widely respected music around.
the most played music by my contemporaries was hyper-masculine rock machos like Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, Bon Jovi, Three Doors Down, Disturbed and Linkin Park.
Wow, this was the Netherlands scene?
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Rob »

Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 2:34 pm
guitar-driven white trash music was pretty much the most widely respected music around.
the most played music by my contemporaries was hyper-masculine rock machos like Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, Bon Jovi, Three Doors Down, Disturbed and Linkin Park.
Wow, this was the Netherlands scene?
I don't know about scene and I am not speaking for the whole Netherlands, but it was certainly the biggest thing where I lived, which was a small-town, semi-agricultural, almost completely white area far removed from big city influences. Not exactly the type of area were people celebrate The Strokes, a band I only learned existed in the late 2000's.
But let us not kid ourselves, all the bands in your quote had huge mainstream success across Western countries and probably outside of that too. It's just the critics and the more 'discerning' music lovers that don't rate them highly. The main difference with perhaps the rest of the world is that where I lived there was basically no appreciation for hip-hop outside of Eminem. I knew a few kids at school who loved 2-Pac and the Notorious B.I.G., but those kids were exceptions.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Gillingham »

Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 2:34 pm
guitar-driven white trash music was pretty much the most widely respected music around.
the most played music by my contemporaries was hyper-masculine rock machos like Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, Bon Jovi, Three Doors Down, Disturbed and Linkin Park.
Wow, this was the Netherlands scene?
As another Dutchman growing up in a village in the 90s:
Some of it was, with teenagers in certain circles anyway. Although I don't see as much overlap between Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot and Linkin Park on the one hand (basically the popularity of nu metal in those days) and Bon Jovi, Nickelback and Three Doors Down on the other hand. Don't know about Disturbed, that band wasn't well known as far as I know. Also not sure where Guns 'n Roses fits in.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by whuntva »

I can now say I've met a Top 100 artist. Janelle Monae was at the National Book Festival promoting her novel last weekend. We took a big photo.

I see Arcade Fire and Beck in October, so it will soon be three.
" Ah, yes! Our meager restitution"
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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90. Charles Mingus
Points: 1077.76 (21 Votes)
2019 Rank: 131
Biggest Fan(s): Fred (#3), cetamol (#4), Dan (#8), Schüttelbirne (#8), sonofsamiam (#9), panam (#17), Jackson (#19)
Forum Favorite Albums: The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (#120), Mingus Ah Um (#529), Let My Children Hear Music (#894)
Forum Favorite Songs: Modes D, E, F: Trio and Group Dancers, Single Solos and Group Dance, Group and Solo Dance (#748), The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jiveass Slippers (#1305)

Schüttelbirne: Mingus might be the true heir to Duke Ellington, in the sense that he brought jazz for small ensembles and big bands out of the Dixieland era into the (at that point) modern age (Ellington continued working while Mingus was active, of course). He was a very talented bassist which he showed especially in smaller trios and quintets, but his true skills are in composing and leading a band.
From his very early years Mingus wasn‘t content with playing "normal" Bebop jazz. His early compositions were released on the album Pre-Bird, referring to the influence Charlie Parker had on his own personal style. Now I can‘t say I‘m a huge fan of the album, but it does show influences from classical music, before Third Stream was en vogue.
Later on he started to create ensemble pieces featuring collective improvisation. The truly wondrous thing about these pieces is the energy they display. They bridge a gap between avant-garde and catchiness that‘s rarely been displayed since. Listening to albums like Blues & Roots and The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady means listening to an extremely sophisticated musical style while I can't help but swing with them. The force of the playing is evident and it seems like the players get lost in the jamming. Many of his albums feature extensive vocalizing by the instrumentalists, just moaning along or screaming "Yahoo!" in between, which always seems like evidence for how into it they really are. It also helps how there‘s some nice humor involved in some of his songs: "Eat That Chicken" in particular always stood out to me as one line that doesn‘t really seem all that remarkable while looking at it, but turns hilarious in musical form.
The pace of his output changed in the middle of the ‚60s, but the ‚70s still brought us at least two great albums: Cumbia & Jazz Fusion, which features compositions combining the titular musical styles and Let My Children Hear Music, an incredible achievement of compositions combining classical and jazz while never sacrificing the groove.
Mingus in general seems to combine all sorts of styles into a form of jazz music that both rewards intense listening, but is also just plain fun.

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89. Metallica
Points: 1090.2 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 108
Biggest Fan(s): Dexter (#13), Karla (#13), Arsalan (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: Master of Puppets (#212), The Black Album (#396), Ride the Lightning (#775)
Forum Favorite Songs: Enter Sandman (#308), Master of Puppets (#479), One (#492), Nothing Else Matters (#914)

FrankLotion: I was talking to a friend once about how crazy it is to look at the current music landscape and realize that there was actually a time when metal bands were some of the most popular musicians around, and I can’t think of any other metal band besides Metallica that seemed to appeal to such a huge variety of people. It’s not hard to see why, the technical skill on display is still mesmerizing and while Lars Ulrich couldn’t play very well himself, he and James Hetfield and Cliff Burton had an incredible talent for compelling melodies that could coexist with all the thrashing aggression. It also helps that James Hetfield is such a great, if still underappreciated, lyricist. Rather than devolving into fantasy like a lot of metal bands before and since, Hetfield’s lyrics were surprisingly grounded and relatable as he talked about the real terrors of addiction, mental health, abusive families, and a more ground-level and sober perspective on war (though the less said about his modern perspectives on the American military, the better). Also, I’m surprised it took me this long in this writeup to bring up the fact that the music just sounds awesome, there’s a reason why so many beginning guitar players try to learn those iconic Kirk Hammit riffs. Last thing, only a band that sounds this good could get away with a name as dumb as Metallica, they’ve earned it.

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88. Vampire Weekend
Points: 1091.96 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 143
Biggest Fan(s): VanillaFire1000 (#7), Toni (#13), andyd1010 (#20), Dan (#23), Lagunin (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: Modern Vampires of the City (#136), Vampire Weekend (#163), Contra (#497), Father of the Bride (#898)
Forum Favorite Songs: Step (#1121), A-Punk (#1226), Diane Young (#1354)

BleuPanda: Mixing a twee aesthetic with occasional classical music stylings and references ranging from Lil Jon to religious ponderings, Vampire Weekend make up a late but great postmodernist take on popular music. Ezra Koenig might be the smartest man in the room, but he is doing everything in his power to obscure this fact. Their indie pop sound is immediately accessible, seemingly constructed to be underestimated until you listen closer – there is a perfect balance between listenability and true depth on each of their tracks. I find myself revisiting their self-titled debut and Modern Vampires of the City more than most albums, both offering something new upon each listen.

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87. Gorillaz
Points: 1100.74 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 102
Biggest Fan(s): Safetycat (#8), Toni (#14), Maschine_Man (#16)
Forum Favorite Albums: Demon Days (#246), Plastic Beach (#489), Gorillaz (#729)
Forum Favorite Songs: Feel Good Inc. (#187), Clint Eastwood (#195), On Melancholy Hill (#529)

Safetycat: The band leader is Murdoc Niccals, the worst person in the world. His vocalist, 2-D, is an addled, put-upon but overall nice dude who Murdoc severely injured before forcing him into a band. His drummer, Russel Hobbs, is possessed by all his murdered friends’ ghosts and continuously has terrible things happen to him. His guitarist, Noodle, is a prodigy who was shipped to the band at the age of 7. Together, they are Gorillaz, and they have faced down zombie apes, the paparazzi, the boogieman, and most recently a cult, all while releasing incredible music at every turn.
Of course, that’s all made up. The real band is Damon Albarn, who developed the project as partially a parody of bands he felt were manufactured, and partially as a vehicle to explore more experimental genres. The other major figure is Jamie Hewlett, who developed the characters and story that were just as instrumental (haha) as Albarn’s tunes in making the band work. I can’t talk up every record, but the hits they have come out with, especially the first three albums, far outweigh any weaker work. Importantly, it’s all interesting, and as of this year the hits just keep coming.
But as my first paragraph may speak to, the most engaging aspect of this band is the story. Every music video presents a new wrinkle or update to the lives of these characters, and I have been following that story for well on 24 years now, ever since I saw the music video for Clint Eastwood on my TV. I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

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86. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Points: 1105.89 (28 Votes)
2019 Rank: 78
Biggest Fan(s): Karla (#5), Renan (#11), kaue (#20), Arsalan (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: Blood Sugar Sex Magic (#236), Californication (#460), By the Way (#963)
Forum Favorite Songs: Under the Bridge (#113), Scar Tissue (#678), Otherside (#922), Californication (#962)

BleuPanda: Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of those bands that, while they didn’t quite define alternative rock, have made their name as long-lasting ambassadors. In an era defined by brooding and angst, RHCP instead came off as the practical jokers of the batch. Which is not to say that they can’t be serious – “Under the Bridge” is among the hardest hitting songs of the early 90s – but that their playful attitudes cast them among the more approachable major acts. This playfulness is evident in their stylistic choices, leaning into elements of funk and hip hop that influenced dozens of major acts in the late-90s – most of which serve as stunning reminders of how impressive it is that RHCP made their sound work.
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BleuPanda
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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85. Belle and Sebastian
Points: 1128.92 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 92
Biggest Fan(s): luvulongTIM (#2), Brad (#9), Toni (#15), phil (#16), VanillaFire1000 (#20)
Forum Favorite Albums: If You're Feeling Sinister (#96), The Life Pursuit (#525), Tigermilk (#653), The Boy With the Arab Strap (#756)
Forum Favorite Songs: The State I Am In (#1065), Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying (#1328), Like Dylan in the Movies (#1536)

TheLastEnemy: When I first heard Belle And Sebastian, the way in which we ‘consumed’ music was very different. I first heard them on Mark Radcliffe’s show on Radio 1 – people remember his shows with Marc Riley for their humour, but forget how much great alternative music they championed – and was struck by the gentle melodies of tracks like “The Stars of Track and Field” and “Like Dylan in the Movies”. Having heard them a few times, it was only Radcliffe that was playing them, so I taped a couple of songs from his shows, I went down to the record shop to buy a single or an album, and there was nothing to be found. As I lived in a small town my options were fairly limited, but I kept looking. It became something of a mission to find Belle and Sebastian every time I went on holiday or away for the day, but no luck. I eventually plucked up the courage to ask at my local shop why they weren’t stocking the latest single, and was told that they only sold singles likely to make the Top 40. The single in question (Lazy Line Painter Jane) later charted at no. 41.
Eventually Belle and Sebastian became sufficiently popular that I could finally buy an album, and I wasn’t disappointed – the tunes were great, the lyrics better than ever, and it was great to see them finally make the charts. Twenty-five years later, the standard has never dropped and there is a consistent body of work I can listen to whenever I want, which is often. Part of me misses the anticipation though…

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84. Frank Sinatra
Points: 1130.12 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 71
Biggest Fan(s): Bruno (#7), Akhenaten (#13), bonnielaurel (#15), Live in Phoenix (#17), profeta (#17), Karla (#18), acroamor (#22)
Forum Favorite Albums: In the Wee Small Hours (#264), Songs for Swingin' Lovers! (#890)
Forum Favorite Songs: I've Got You Under My Skin (#658), My Way (#669), (Theme From) New York New York (#1622)

Live in Phoenix: Sinatra was an immediate hit as a young man, but if he was only known for his bobby soxer years, he would just be 1940s trivia. There wouldn't have been Bono, Dylan, Springsteen, et al. paying tribute in front of him some 50 years later. Somewhere along the way, he picked up some swagger, and also got his heart broken. By "Only the Lonely," he sounded like a wandering ghost who would never reconnect with his true love; on the polar end, on my favorite Sinatra song, "Theme from New York, New York," he sounded like the ultimate example of the guy who can make it anywhere now that he's made it in New York. In the early LP days, when every recording artist would hand in a hodgepodge, Sinatra made mood-specific, album-as-artform statements. While rockers try to act like they're permanently 20 years old, he embraced the passage of time on September of My Years. If you've seen, for instance, his late '70s Caesars Palace show on the Sinatra: Vegas DVD, you know that he's a good actor on stage -- but really, you knew he was a good song actor just from listening to him.

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83. John Lennon
Points: 1135.6 (32 Votes)
2019 Rank: 93
Biggest Fan(s): stone37 (#18), whuntva (#24), Fred (#35)
Forum Favorite Albums: Plastic Ono Band (#166), Imagine (#292)
Forum Favorite Songs: Imagine (#115), Working Class Hero (#779), Instant Karma! (#820), Jealous Guy (#834)

BleuPanda: The strength of John Lennon’s solo output does not necessarily prove that he is the best of the Beatles – rather, Lennon was the most constrained by the group’s aesthetic. As the opening track of Plastic Ono Band, “Mother” reveals a pained edge never explored on a Beatles record. His first two solo albums paint a stunning picture of a troubled man full of anger and despair seemingly unbefitting of someone bigger than Jesus. These two albums collectively feel like the explosive result of an artist having to hold back from true expression for several years. If I have one criticism of The Beatles, it is that their music is so universal as to feel impersonal – in his solo work, John Lennon dares to reveal the darkest sides of himself.

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82. Blondie
Points: 1136.65 (32 Votes)
2019 Rank: 87
Biggest Fan(s): Moonbeam (#11), Lagunin (#16), Akhenaten (#31), bonnielaurel (#31)
Forum Favorite Albums: Parallel Lines (#112), Eat to the Beat (#910)
Forum Favorite Songs: Heart of Glass (#102), Call Me (#391), Atomic (#453)

bonnielaurel: Debbie Harry had the looks, the coolness and the voice to appeal to different kinds of music fans. She was angelic and tough at the same time - a sugar fairy with an attitude. She founded Blondie with Chris Stein, a New York photographer and guitarist. Jimmy Destri played the keyboards; Clem Burke the drums. The original bass player Gary Valentine was later replaced by Nigel Harrison, who became the only British member. Although an American band their initial success was mainly in Europe and Australia. Their first two albums, produced by Richard Gottehrer, had a rough rock sound. Only when they evolved to a more polished new wave style, combining rock and disco elements, did they also catch on in their own country. Their new producer Mike Chapman, who had a past in British glam rock, decided to increase the speed of Heart of Glass and add a drum computer with a dance beat. With another producer, Giorgio Moroder, they recorded Call Me, in which Harry sings the part of a multilingual call girl: “Appelle-moi, chiamami…” Atomic had futuristic electronic sounds, robotic rhythms and the energy as a nuclear plant. After being trendsetters for years they split in 1982. Their solo projects didn't match the success of the band. Seventeen years later they proved that they still had it when their comeback hit Maria hit the airwaves. They're arguably the most important female-fronted American rock band.

Moonbeam: Thank you for your delectable and broad artistic palette and for teaching me that music from before the 1980s was worth exploring! I bought The Platinum Collection in 1999 and played its 2 discs on repeat while I worked alone as night watchman at a public pool. It amazed me that the four #1 US hits were all so different, with “Heart of Glass” a disco bonanza, “Call Me” a nervy new wave rocker, “The Tide Is High” a slice of pop reggae, and “Rapture” a funk/rap hybrid. That an entire 2-disc set of hits, album tracks, and outtakes could be so packed with killer material was revelatory — I thought such territory was reserved for a select few. But with the minimal sparse weirdness of “Atomic”, the revelrous assault of “War Child”, the thrilling punch of “Kung Fu Girls”, the incandescent fireworks of “Picture This”, the stately majesty of “Union City Blue”, among others, I couldn’t resist coming back to it over and over again.

Thank you for deciding to get back together for a second run from 1999 onward. It would have been easy for you to rest on your laurels, but the albums that followed are all interesting and tackle their own new experiments. The Curse of Blondie in particular is full of thrills, with standout single-worthy tracks like “Good Boys”, “Diamond Bridge”, and “Songs of Love” giving way to bouts of sublime weirdness like “Desire Brings Me Back”, “The Tingler”, and “Golden Rod”.

To this day, whenever I think of the word “cool”, Debbie Harry’s effortless and commanding presence is the first thing that springs to mind.

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81. Lou Reed
Points: 1141.22 (32 Votes)
2019 Rank: 77
Biggest Fan(s): aalamar (#9), Fred (#23), Rob (#26)
Forum Favorite Albums: Transformer (#94), Berlin (#195), New York (#660), Songs for Drella (#713)
Forum Favorite Songs: Walk on the Wild Side (#126), Perfect Day (#144), Satellite of Love (#1521)

Honorio: Lou Reed is currently artist #55 on Acclaimed Music but I'm sure that the combined points of his solo career and as part of The Velvet Underground (after all he was undoubtedly the main creative force behind the band) could gain for him a Top 10 position. Maybe having the acclaim mainly for the first part of his career is justified but Reed's solo career was also outstanding, with many peaks as high as (chronologically) "Transformer" (Reed's take-off under Bowie's wings, maybe his most complete solo album and my personal favourite), "Berlin" (a strong candidate for the most heartbreaking album ever), "Metal Machine Music" (Reed at his most experimental, defiant and provocative),"Coney Island Baby" ("providing the subverted view of normality" according to Jack Whatley), "Street Hassle" (showing his street-wise side), "The Blue Mask" (his first maturity album), "New York" (an spectacular comeback on the late 80s), "Songs for Drella" (a homage to Andy Warhol as a collaborative work with John Cale) or "Magic and Loss" (a concept album about death). The three main music trends that Reed created with the Velvets: a) the fierce combination of art and rock (from "Heroin" to "Street Hassle"), b) the opiate pop ballads (from "Sunday Morning" to "Perfect Day") and c) the urban rock epics (from "I'm Waiting for the Man" to "Dirty Blvd.", with maybe "Walk on the Wild Side" as the best synthesis of those three trends) were further developed in his solo career while he was "growing up in public."
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Rob
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Rob »

Gillingham wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 3:34 pm
Live in Phoenix wrote: Wed Sep 07, 2022 2:34 pm
guitar-driven white trash music was pretty much the most widely respected music around.
the most played music by my contemporaries was hyper-masculine rock machos like Nickelback, Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot, Bon Jovi, Three Doors Down, Disturbed and Linkin Park.
Wow, this was the Netherlands scene?
As another Dutchman growing up in a village in the 90s:
Some of it was, with teenagers in certain circles anyway. Although I don't see as much overlap between Limp Bizkit, Korn, Slipknot and Linkin Park on the one hand (basically the popularity of nu metal in those days) and Bon Jovi, Nickelback and Three Doors Down on the other hand. Don't know about Disturbed, that band wasn't well known as far as I know. Also not sure where Guns 'n Roses fits in.
Maybe it's dependent on where you lived. I'm from a small northern village in Limburg, about as isolated as you can be in a tiny country as The Netherlands. I remember these bands being played almost non-stop. Perhaps I recall Disturbed so well because they were the favorites of my two closest friends. There were disagreements on which act was the best, but it seemed that everyone agreed on Guns 'N Roses, despite being inactive at the time. I didn't think of Metallica when writing the above piece, but they occupied a similar place as GNR: a sort of mythical overlords over all the "cool and edgy" bands.
Besides all this metal and hard rock I also remember mainstream pop, what with Britney Spears and all the boy bands, as well as some popular Dutch acts (Guus Meeuwis, Marco Borsato and their like). But as a male teenager around 2000 I felt like the earlier mentioned rock bands were what I was 'supposed' to listen to.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by Humphrey12 »

Funny. So similar in Germany even though we come from Berlin, which is not quite the small isolated village Rob is talking about. In early high school the music we encountered through our friends were SotD, Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, Nickelback and the nu metal/post-grunge like, plus some earlier bands that were still considered cool (Nirvana, Metallica, RAtM). Some guys were into gangsta rap (mainly 2Pac, Eminem, 50 Cent) and that seemed to have been about it.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

--AMF Top 100 Debut--
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80. Lana Del Rey
Points: 1144.63 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 133
Biggest Fan(s): Neil (#2), Rob (#6), Maschine_Man (#12), andyd1010 (#13), phil (#18), Gillingham (#19)
Forum Favorite Albums: Norman Fucking Rockwell! (#234), Ultraviolence (#560), Born to Die (#576)
Forum Favorite Songs: Video Games (#114), Venice Bitch (#720), Mariners Apartment Complex (#1078)

Rob: Now I’ve written extensively about Lana Del Rey before in 2018, but since then she has released Norman Fucking Rockwell!!, her biggest album yet, plus two 2021 albums that remain slightly underrated. Also, she released a book of poetry, of which she recorded some on a spoken word album. Besides all this she frequently works with other people on singles, often for movie or tv soundtracks. She is very busy. Nonetheless, her appeal to me has remained consistent. There is a unique mix of sexiness and melancholy in her music that I fall for. Lana Del Rey seems to frequently celebrate life in her songs, through sex, parties and love stories, but nothing about any of this seems to make her happy. That’s basically what she is all about for me. She marries these lyrical themes with a sultry singing voice from classic film noir and adds rich and fluent melodies straight out of the sixties and seventies (she quotes a lot from these artists in her own lyrics). The result is a sensual sadness that I’m happy to make the soundtrack of my life.

--AMF Top 100 Debut--
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79. Arctic Monkeys
Points: 1167.28 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 118
Biggest Fan(s): Arsalan (#3), Toni (#17), Maschine_Man (#26)
Forum Favorite Albums: Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not (#175), AM (#448), Favourite Worst Nightmare (#813)
Forum Favorite Songs: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (#327), Fluorescent Adolescent (#702), Do I Wanna Know (#750)

BleuPanda: When Arctic Monkeys first hit the scene in October 2005, they were fashionably late to the garage rock revival movement. Not to be lost among the fold, debut single “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” brought a blistering energy rarely seen in such an otherwise accessible song. Their debut album followed through on this with unpredictable swings. Their follow-ups were strong, if a bit too familiar. Then 2013 saw the release of AM, which slowed their sound to a pointed boom. “Do I Wanna Know?” became one of the unlikely enduring mega-hits of the decade (if you haven’t noticed, this sits among the 100 most streamed songs on Spotify). Showing a keen eye for defining their own fashion, follow-up Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino found the band ambling like a modern greaser’s fever dream of a mid-century lounge act. Arctic Monkeys are their own brand of cool, and their stellar catalog proves them worthy of standing among the all-time greats.

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78. James Brown
Points: 1172.95 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 50
Biggest Fan(s): Bruno (#8), panam (#18), sonofsamiam (#19), StevieFan13 (#22)
Forum Favorite Albums: Live at the Apollo (#315), Sex Machine (#554)
Forum Favorite Songs: Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine (#210), Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (#279), I Got You (I Feel Good) (#316), It's a Man's Man's Man's World (#547)

bonnielaurel: While other soul singers of that era were known for a subtle, sophisticated style, James Brown stood out with his rough, powerful vocal style and his physical, sweaty presence on the podium. He was more famous for his robust live performances than for his studio albums. A song like "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" lasted under three minutes originally, but the live Apollo version goes over eleven minutes. He could arouse the public when he shouted "Let me take you to the bridge!" His energetic renderings with improvisation earned him the nickname Godfather of Soul. Later he became one of the pioneers of another genre: funk. With "Say It Loud – I'm Black and I'm Proud" he gave his support to the Civil Rights Movement. In "Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine" - possibly inspired by the Excessive Machine in "Barbarella" - he used brief shouts and screams over an accompaniment of syncopated bass and guitar riffs. Sometimes he played an organ solo himself. He has a legendary status and remains influential on a younger generation of soul and funk singers.

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77. ABBA
Points: 1181.85 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 73
Biggest Fan(s): prosecutorgodot (#1), bonnielaurel (#6), Safetycat (#12), Dan (#13), StevieFan13 (#17), Wezzo (#22), profeta (#22)
Forum Favorite Albums: Arrival (#531), The Album (#971)
Forum Favorite Songs: Dancing Queen (#88), Waterloo (#666), The Winner Takes It All (#827)

bonnielaurel: In competition with Ikea this is Sweden's biggest export product. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid became an international success overnight when they won the Eurovision Song Contest with Waterloo. The two men had the skills to write catchy pop songs with a modern sound; the two women had perfectly blending voices and an innocent smile. Dancing Queen was their first song that incorporated disco beats, which made them even more popular. Babies were named after them, they toured through four continents, they were parodied on Not the Nine O'Clock News. They still wanted to expand their boundaries. Arrival contained an instrumental title track with classical influence. The final three tracks of The Album were conceived as parts of a mini musical: The Girl with the Golden Hair. Their later songs treated more serious and sad topics. Björn and Agnetha - the one without beard and the blonde one - divorced in 1979. The Winner Takes It All, written by Björn and sung by Agnetha, expresses the feelings of a rejected ex-wife. In 1982 they split up after a decade of world hits. Fältskog and Lyngstad had a few solo hits; Ulvaeus and Andersson wrote the musical Chess. The 2021 reunion was a one-time submission to nostalgia. They remain one of the biggest pop bands of all times, and by far the biggest not from an English speaking country.

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76. Coldplay
Points: 1182.21 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 82
Biggest Fan(s): kaue (#7), Arsalan (#12), Karla (#17), M24 (#14), phil (#22), Neil (#24), prosecutorgodot (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: A Rush of Blood to the Head (#155), Parachutes (#337), Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (#647)
Forum Favorite Songs: Clocks (#230), The Scientist (#266), Viva La Vida (#332), Yellow (#358)

whuntva: For a long time in the 2000s, Coldplay seemed trendy to hate. But think back to when you first heard 'Clocks' or 'Talk' on the radio. How blown away were you? They managed to keep a style all their own, with elements of baroque pop, new wave, and electro, they are still as in demand as ever. Having a well-deserved #1 with 'Viva la Vida' was mind-blowing. Having a second #1 in 'My Universe', thirteen years later, is astounding. And both are great pop records as well. It's great to see AcclaimedMusic embrace Coldplay as they have.
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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75. Pearl Jam
Points: 1215.39 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 57
Biggest Fan(s): Chris K. (#2), Renan (#5), phil (#14), whuntva (#21), Dexter (#24), Karla (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: Ten (#73), Vs. (#673), Vitalogy (#675)
Forum Favorite Songs: Black (#104), Alive (#168), Jeremy (#202), Even Flow (#575), Better Man (#701)

Chris K.: Decades removed from the grunge and alternative rock surge of the early 90’s, it’s easy to forget that at the time, Pearl Jam had become the biggest selling band of the entire scene. Not that commercial success is necessarily indicative of greatness, but there was a reason the band struck a chord with so many people. Not only did Pearl Jam have the passion and rawness to match their peers, Eddie Vedder’s lyrical and vocal approach was earnest and empathetic in a way that most other alt-rock bands didn’t attempt. Their debut Ten was a front to back classic, infusing anthemic classic rock influences with a punk rock urgency. On the spectacular Vs. and Vitalogy, the band’s sound grew increasingly visceral while Vedder’s character studies continued to mature. If Pearl Jam’s radical and very public aversion to fame resulted in an intentional withdrawal from the spotlight, the music the band continued to produce remained ever-evolving and rewarding (see the inward-looking, late-90’s albums No Code and Yield). Today, Pearl Jam continues to be one of the best live bands on the planet, treating fans to a unique set list each night.

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74. Depeche Mode
Points: 1229.54 (31 Votes)
2019 Rank: 59
Biggest Fan(s): Edre Peraza (#1), Akhenaten (#9), Moonbeam (#13), Chris K. (#19), Dan (#25), Neil (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: Violator (#119), Music for the Masses (#548), Black Celebration (#776)
Forum Favorite Songs: Enjoy the Silence (#68), Personal Jesus (#330), Never Let Me Down Again (#728)

Edre Peraza: With the passing of Andy Fletcher last May, it made me put my love for this band in clearer perspective. Depeche Mode have been champions of synthpop, darkwave, electro industrial, alternative, downtempo, and gothic electronic music for decades and their influence has expanded far beyond the limits of their own genres. Ultimately, the appeal of the boys from Basildon lies in the way that they have always been one of the most venerable and human synthpop bands lyrically and vocally and in their guitar work but often contrast that with dark and cold electronically created instrumentals. While there were many before them and many after no one quite has done it with the cadence of Depeche Mode

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73. Beck
Points: 1237.12 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 66
Biggest Fan(s): Chris K. (#9), Maschine_Man (#15), Toni (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: Odelay (#99), Sea Change (#298), Mutations (#515)
Forum Favorite Songs: Loser (#228), Where It's At (#895), Lost Cause (#1081)

BleuPanda: Beck is best defined as undefinable. Breakthrough single “Loser” mixes a folksy slide guitar with half-hearted yet strangely compelling rapping, and that’s only the beginning. Whether he’s pushing samples to a breaking point on Odelay, doing his best Prince and Kraftwerk imitations on Midnite Vultures, or getting all sincere on Sea Change and Morning Phase, he always adds his signature touch. With lyrics largely marked by surrealism and playful presentation, his discography is at once inviting and enigmatic. An artist so untethered to genre conventions might be hard to appreciate, but Beck’s songs are unified instead by their oddities. Add the fact he’s been doing this for several decades, and it’s hard to deny his impact.

--AMF Top 100 Debut--
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72. Beyoncé
Points: 1239.01 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 109
Biggest Fan(s): Elder (#4), Karla (#7), M24 (#9), Cadavaca (#12), acr0320 (#24), FrankLotion (#25)
Forum Favorite Albums: Lemonade (#198), [Renaissance - #3 on 2022 MCCh]
Forum Favorite Songs: Crazy in Love (#217), Formation (#1073), Love on Top (#1468)

FrankLotion: I think Jay-Z once referred to Beyoncé as being the “greatest living entertainer on Earth,” and honestly, I can’t really disagree with him. Besides maybe U2, I can’t think of a single artist who so consistently elevates the format of live music as much as she does, and she does it more effectively than anyone. The sophistication involved in her choreography and visuals are truly stunning and unparalleled, and some of her performances (most significantly her Homecoming concert) have made any appearance of hers appointment viewing for me to see what she does next. Of course, the impact of all this wouldn’t have the impact it has if the music wasn’t up to snuff, and in recent years she’s proved that she is one of the most ambitious and talented songwriters around. I was pretty indifferent to her growing up with exception to the pop-perfection of “Crazy in Love” or “Single Ladies,” but once her fourth album came around I had been irreversibly converted to the cult of the Bey Hive. “Formation” in particular has remained a complete revelation for me and is still very much the best song from the last decade. Also, it can’t be overstated how impressive the entirety of Lemonade was when the video dropped on HBO, using her considerable resources and talent to bring us one of the most ambitious (and surprisingly relatable) stories in the history of the medium. That album still knocks to this day and consistently offers more and more subtleties to discover, it’s been an excruciatingly long wait to see her proper follow up.

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71. The White Stripes
Points: 1240.58 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 69
Biggest Fan(s): Maschine_Man (#2), DaveC (#21), mileswide (#21), Arsalan (#24), Nick (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: Elephant (#76), White Blood Cells (#111), Get Behind Me Satan (#916)
Forum Favorite Songs: Seven Nation Army (#55), Fell in Love with a Girl (#275), Hotel Yorba (#1348)

BleuPanda: It took me years to realize I simply have little appreciation for guitar rock. The biggest hurdle was how much I loved The White Stripes. At age 10, “Seven Nation Army” was the coolest song on Earth. Jack White is simply that masterful, wielding his instrument like a sonic weapon – his guitar is the screeching exception to my general disinterest. Key to this is the band’s minimalist aesthetic. Meg White’s simple drumming thumps along, matching explosive forces at just the right moments to propel Jack forward. With such precise performances, even my young ears could recognize the raw talent on display. Their self-inflicted limitations prove no hindrance even on full works – their best albums are stylistic tour de forces, showing just how far a guitar and drums can go in the right hands.
LUVITELIAN
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by LUVITELIAN »

Can you please tell me, where can I find Forum Favorite Albums list? Thanks
panam
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by panam »

LUVITELIAN wrote: Fri Sep 09, 2022 10:36 am Can you please tell me, where can I find Forum Favorite Albums list? Thanks
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9185
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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70. Beastie Boys
Points: 1255.21 (29 Votes)
2019 Rank: 95
Biggest Fan(s): Nassim (#2), Cadavaca (#8), ordinaryperson (#19), Toni (#21)
Forum Favorite Albums: Paul's Boutique (#148), Licensed to Ill (#274), Ill Communication (#692), Check Your Head (#751)
Forum Favorite Songs: Sabotage (#229), Intergalactic (#801), Shake Your Rump (#1485)

Nassim: Versatile, fun, inventive, referential, pioneering… there are a lot of adjectives you could throw around to explain how great Beastie Boys were, but their most unique trait is that they are within a small group of pop culture icons like Harry Potter or Buffy the Vampire Slayer that you could grow up and age with.
The early EPs are teens figuring out what they love doing, Licensed to Ill is the brash and loud sound of the college years, Paul’s Boutique explodes with the limitless possibilities of mid 20s, Check Your Head is deeper self discovery and learning to recover from your failures, Ill Communication shows how embracing spirituality, maturity and finding where you are the most comfortable can lead to your most fulfilling years, Hello Nasty is that time in your 30s when you have found your comfort zone and can fully enjoy your time in it and the following of their discography are several ways of trying to remain relevant or keep having fun as you grow older, whether it’s by retreading to your origins, your times of glory or your own singular passion that nobody else really care about.
Over all those years they remained icons of cool through their music, clothes, concerts, magazines… and a true representation of friendship, through warts and all ; there might have been cooler, more brilliant or deeper bands, but none you would have wanted to be friends with more than the genius braintrust of Adam Yauch, Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond.

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69. Elliott Smith
Points: 1259.77 (26 Votes)
2019 Rank: 58
Biggest Fan(s): Nassim (#1), phil (#2), Edre Peraza (#9), Listyguy (#11), Brad (#15)
Forum Favorite Albums: Either/Or (#157), XO (#235), From a Basement on the Hill (#679), Elliott Smith (#844), Figure 8 (#883)
Forum Favorite Songs: Waltz #2 (XO) (#260), Between the Bars (#416), Say Yes (#1236)

Nassim: Elliott Smith is often pictured as a tragic figure, and though his early death unfortunately fits that bill, it often sheds a misleading light on his music. Sure at times, especially on his self titled album, the music carries a lot of sadness, dragged down by themes of addiction and self-deprecation ; but even more often a thread of hope and warmth radiates through the darkness or, on later album, takes the front step and personally his music has always felt more like a warm blanket to wrap myself into than something to wallow in.
In any case, that would not matter much if Elliott Smith had not been an endless well of the most beautiful melodies and harmonies of the 90s (so many that a whole double album of unreleased songs could be made of about 75% of songs most songwriters would kill to write once in their lifetime). Whether it's just his voice and his guitar in his early work or with full on orchestration later on, he was able from his early teen (the recently uncovered I Love My Room) to the songs he was still working on at his time of death to extract the most exquisite beauty out of the full scope of human emotions, peaking on the greatest song ever Waltz #2 (XO)

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68. Kraftwerk
Points: 1271.82 (28 Votes)
2019 Rank: 60
Biggest Fan(s): Krurze (#2), whuntva (#4), BleuPanda (#5), Elder (#8), aalamar (#22), Moonbeam (#23), Nassim (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: Trans-Europe Express (#152), The Man-Machine (#167), Computer World (#335)
Forum Favorite Songs: The Model (#224), Trans-Europe Express (#580), Computer Love (#620)

Krurze: What I’m about to say might or might not be controversial: Kraftwerk are the greatest band in history. So what can I bring to the table to support this bold claim (other than outlets like The Guardian & NME agreeing with me)? I guess it depends on how you define great. There are many bands that have sold more records and whose songs are more ingrained in the public consciousness. But there is no other band whose musical DNA is so apparent in virtually all of today’s popular music. Be it EDM (Computerwelt, Die Roboter), Hip-Hop (Nummern, Trans Europa Express) or just plain old Pop (Computerliebe, Das Modell), almost all of the music dominating the airwaves today can be traced back to some degree to Kraftwerk’s classic output of the 1970s and 1980s. And this is just talking composition and general sound since we haven’t even started discussing Kraftwerk’s innovation in music production, which might be just as big.

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67. Green Day
Points: 1278.63 (25 Votes)
2019 Rank: 54
Biggest Fan(s): prosecutorgodot (#3), Edre Peraza (#5), Karla (#6), StevieFan13 (#8), M24 (#10), Arsalan (#13), kaue (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: American Idiot (#177), Dookie (#221), nimrod. (#914)
Forum Favorite Songs: Basket Case (#246), Jesus of Suburbia (#570), Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) (#621), American Idiot (#705), When I Come Around (#765), Boulevard of Broken Dreams (#792)

acroamor: I finally got to see Green Day live, just a few months ago, and it's truly remarkable what they've become: a classic rock act. Billie Joe's gotten old, yes, but he's hammered in what it takes for a couple of (speed) freaks from the California suburbs to become an arena scale legacy artist. He invited fans onstage, led the crowds in singalongs, bantered and laughed and covered KISS. The closest I'd come to seeing them before was actually much younger, for my first (and only) Broadway show: American Idiot. It truly speaks to something truly strange about the mid-2000s that such a production could exist, in 2004, with the album of the same name, Green Day established that they were somehow the only band on earth who could understand it all and speak to it in a way that was profound and meaningful. They'd been masters of the hook for a decade-plus at that point, the truest disciples of say, Paul McCartney, but now they constructed something huge and sprawling and yes, angsty. And it seems that like many a legacy rock act, they may have spent up all the songwriting energy they had there. Yes, the hook to "21 Guns" is superb, and yes, there have been other records released under the Green Day banner since then, but the band could have retired in 2005 and toured only on legacy material with just as much success as they do now. Perhaps they should have, because that run up to 2004 is unimpeachable.

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66. New Order
Points: 1287.5 (30 Votes)
2019 Rank: 65
Biggest Fan(s): Holden (#12), BleuPanda (#16), Moonbeam (#19), Neil (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: Power Corruption & Lies (#334), Technique (#374), Low-Life (#578)
Forum Favorite Songs: Blue Monday (#60), Bizarre Love Triangle (#182), True Faith (#448), Temptation (#514), Ceremony (#797), Regret (#854), Age of Consent (#874)

Moonbeam: Thank you for continuing the incredible legacy of Joy Division and then releasing the shackles of those tortured shadows and crafting some of the most buoyant and joyous music of the 80s. Both of these aspects of your music have meant a lot to me over the years. When my dad died, I was the exact age that Ian Curtis was when he committed suicide, and I played “Ceremony” on repeat for the whole plane ride home, appropriate line in the sand as that song is being the last one JD recorded and the first one you released as a single. Its fraught beauty is a thing for the ages! In equal measure, I’ve needed the generous bursts of sheer ecstasy that have come from the likes of “Temptation” and “World (The Price of Love)” among others as well as the moments where you powerfully merge painful experiences with euphoric dance, which makes a track like “Vanishing Point” such a cathartic release!
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Re: AMF All-Time Artist List (2022 Edition) - Results

Post by BleuPanda »

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65. Brian Eno
Points: 1301.54 (27 Votes)
2019 Rank: 53
Biggest Fan(s): Jackson (#5), BleuPanda (#10), Krurze (#13), sonofsamiam (#17), Chris K. (#21), prosecutorgodot (#23), ordinaryperson (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: Another Green World (#108), Here Come the Warm Jets (#332), Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) (#342), Before and After Science (#370), My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (#816)
Forum Favorite Songs: By This River (#548), St. Elmo's Fire (#846), Needles in the Camel's Eye (#1088)

FrankLotion: How do you even start with this guy? Even ignoring his tenure with Roxy Music or his prolific production work, his own discography is monumental enough to warrant Eno’s placement on my list. Probably like most people in my generation, my exposure to Brian Eno initially boiled down to his ever-present ambient work or by seeing his name show up in the production credits of my favorite albums, so it was a real treat diving into his early albums to hear bizarre songs that mixed discordant piano jabs and hand claps like in “Driving Me Backwards” or the unspeakably beautiful imagery conjured up by the fleeting “Another Green World.” I think the key as to why Eno resonates so well with me compared to other restless innovators in his era is that he had a strong sensibility for how strange experimentation can be structured to still evoke genuinely moving music and tell a coherent short story. Of course, this is especially impressive since these qualities were being abstracted behind what was often incongruous instrumentation and impenetrable lyrics. Also, despite what Ol’ Sourpuss Brian Eno would say, he clearly values a strong melody and has a great ear for it. He still has a consistently interesting career to this day, while not everything he does is successful, he still maintains that same exploratory spirit and I’ll always be excited to see what he does next.

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64. The National
Points: 1309.86 (24 Votes)
2019 Rank: 79
Biggest Fan(s): Wezzo (#6), Safetycat (#7), andyd1010 (#9), Gillingham (#11), ProjectTermina (#11), Listyguy (#18), DaveC (#19), Holden (#22)
Forum Favorite Albums: High Violet (#130), Boxer (#171), Trouble Will Find Me (#493), Alligator (#917), Sleep Well Beast (#970)
Forum Favorite Songs: Bloodbuzz Ohio (#199), Fake Empire (#709), England (#1210)

Safetycat: The National have haunted me for the past 12 years, ever since I first encountered them on the soundtrack for the game Portal 2. Then they appeared on Game of Thrones. I got a bunch of their music through some university file-sharing and didn’t like much of it at first. Like, one or two songs on each album. The rest was a bit too slow and depressing for me.
Fast-forward to 2017, and I am recommended their new single, The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness. I listen, and it’s a hit with me. So is the rest of the album when it comes out. And I revisit their discography and fall in love. Somehow, in the intervening years, I had grown up and now the melancholy, depressed, yet slightly optimistic and hopeful viewpoint of their songs really spoke to me. I have referred to it as music for divorced dads, but at 29 I now understand where their songs come from. And most importantly, Matt Berninger’s voice is at a perfect register for me to sing along to.
This is music for when you want to feel minorly negative emotions – but often it’s also about under spoken beauty, and light, and the little things in life and love that give everything meaning. Boxer captures this contradiction of their music the most perfectly, but it’s a running theme through to I Am Easy to Find. Give them a listen, and you will hopefully find something meaningful too.

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63. Nina Simone
Points: 1320.02 (28 Votes)
2019 Rank: 56
Biggest Fan(s): sonofsamiam (#8), Dan (#11), Rob (#13), Elder (#17), bonnielaurel (#22), Honorio (#24)
Forum Favorite Albums: Pastel Blues (#513), Little Girl Blue (#651), Wild is the Wind (#784)
Forum Favorite Songs: Sinnerman (#45), Feeling Good (#365), My Baby Just Cares for Me (#527)

Honorio: Despite the undeniable brilliance of Nina Simone's body of work, she's only being considered as part of the music canon quite recently. And maybe it's mainly due to the recent trend of including female and black artists in music lists to make them more inclusive. Whatever the reason could be, the way Nina was (relatively) overlooked was one of the main injustices music critics have committed (and there are way too many). Nina was female and (proudly) black but there were many black female artists widely acclaimed (Billie Holiday or Aretha Franklin to name the most obvious). Maybe her idiosyncratic attitude, her refusal to conventions and her stubbornness to be confined to an only music style (the very reasons that made her a giant in my book) were the main reasons. Not Jazz enough for the Jazz purists, not Pop enough to have a massive following, not Soul enough to be included among the successful 60s Soul divas. And, more significantly, not Rock enough. But Nina was all of that, she was Jazz (as played in an exclusive side street club), she was Pop (sounding even sexy on the amazing "Feeling Good"), she was Soul (even Funk), she was Blues (but the real one, the one from the soil), she was even Classical (you can hear echoes of Bach on her piano solos). And, the most important, "it is always a true emotion that her spell evokes, when she sings a song, she means it" (quoting Roger Short).

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62. Portishead
Points: 1321.29 (33 Votes)
2019 Rank: 61
Biggest Fan(s): ordinaryperson (#9), Gillingham (#12), Lagunin (#20), DaveC (#23), Michel (#23)
Forum Favorite Albums: Dummy (#35), Third (#179), Portishead (#702)
Forum Favorite Songs: Glory Box (#169), Sour Times (#262), The Rip (#288), Roads (#519)

Gillingham: Coming out of the exploding Bristol Trip Hop scene were these three talented musicians. They were at the top of their game, only rivalled by fellow Bristolians Massive Attack. Their first album served as their major statement to the world, Dummy was both recognisable and futuristic. If I think of Trip Hop, I think of the music from that album and it was and still is exactly what I want from music. That inimitable combination of beats, film noir, futuristic sound effect, scratching and Gibbon’s extraordinary voice. Portishead was a great follow-up, but after that they were gone. Just like that. And then, in 2008, they returned one glorious last time with Third. Quite different from the classic Trip Hop sound, but still unmistakably Portishead. Both honouring music from the past and pointing to the music of the future. Their output might be small, but it’s also flawless.

Favorite album: Dummy
Favorite song: The Rip
Personal gem: It's a Fire

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61. Daft Punk
Points: 1344.3 (32 Votes)
2019 Rank: 62
Biggest Fan(s): Safetycat (#14), Toni (#20), BleuPanda (#26)
Forum Favorite Albums: Discovery (#114), Random Access Memories (#139), Homework (#338)
Forum Favorite Songs: Get Lucky (#123), One More Time (#300), Da Funk (#411), Digital Love (#490), Giorgio by Moroder (#782)

BleuPanda: Daft Punk can be divided into two distinct eras. They started with pure electronic music, their debut among the best of the genre. Homework plays like one stellar night at the club, alternating between sensory overload and bonkers grooves. Their second lightens up on the electronic to mix and match their favorite genres from the past, creating perfect nostalgia pieces that even work as gateways to those earlier eras. And, just to prove themselves electronic gods, their live shows were the stuff of legend. By mixing and matching their earlier records, including the easily dismissed Human After All, they touched upon new depths and crafted one of the all-time great live albums in Alive 2007.

Their choice to dress as robots became an electronic staple, achieving the impossible combination of maintaining anonymity while achieving fame. And, as a dorky agender person, I will absolutely be imitating them if I ever become famous AND I WILL BE UNBEARABLE.
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