Ranking Years in Music (1965 - 2004) | Tier List 

This is where we really need Kramzer to come and point out that the '80s strong point is singles, not albums and that's what makes it great.

1966 and 1967 are easily S-tier , no question

1981 is my favorite year for music with Post-Punk artists firmly establishing their presence. Top tier albums from Echo & The Bunnymen , The Cure , X , Comsat Angels , The Psychedelic Furs , The Sound , Human League , Japan , Siouxsie &The Banshees , Wall Of Voodoo , Ultravox , Au Pairs , Siouxsie & The Banshees , Grace Jones , New Order , Prince , Rick James , Killing Joke , Simpleminds , Urban Verbs , U2 , Tom Verlaine & many others !

1979 for me is pretty special, it’s when I really started listening to music and working out what I loved and what I didn’t: XTC, Blondie, The Undertones, Ian Dury, Gary Numan, Elvis Costello, totally against what my friends at school were listening to 😆🇬🇧🇺🇸

1971 is the year.

More of a modern music lover here, so I don't personally hold the 60's or 70's on a pedestal quite like most people, leaning more towards the 90's and on but of course there are some amazing classics in certain years that are undeniable.

1969-1972 is the best four year run ever

as someone's who's favorite five year run is 79-83, this was admittedly a tough ranking to swallow at some parts. but i definitely agree the first half of the 2000's were great

Jason hates the 80s too much, Joe hates the 90s too much. That's ok, you both got the 70s right!

65 -69 are all s tier for me ,when u include singles.

The first half of the 80s is a bit weird, because the album depth isn't close to what came before it, but the singles world has so many bangers. I have to bump those ones up because I can't not consider both angles.

Great topic! 1973 is definitely my favorite year!

Haven’t watched yet by curious to see where we match. 1970 is a Fat S. Probably my favorite year of all time for music.

I don't know enough to comment on your analysis, but it is very interesting to see.

Hi Jason & Joe, are you guys gonna make a separate Tier list for 2005-->2023 🌌

Many of the big mainstream records of the 2000s have aged like milk.

Jason should do his own list on 2005-2020 :)

For me, it doesn't get any better than 1966 to 1984. That 18 year run produced the best music ever.

Loved this tier list btw 👍

The whole ten year run, 1965-1975 is S tier. But I think it's sad to try and compare our decade(s), 2010s or 20s, with the decade then. If today's musicians had the same access to resources, funding and talent and record companies actively invested in their artists - we'd be singing praises of albums in this decade too.

'65, '71, '73, '75, '83, '87, '93, '94 are definitely S tier. Those are my favorites

The birth years of my family members: Father - 1973 [S S] Mother - 1975 [S S] Parents, you can be proud! :) Sister - 1997 [D C] Me - 2000 [B C]

From mid 70s on your tastes clearly diverge and even when you agree on a year you reference very different types of albums. Opposites must attract 😅

good job guys , many good opinions and points here , and I love how you guys can disagree too

well, even thou im from the 70s...my favorite are the 80s deep cuts like This Corrosion by Sisters of Mercy, Peter Shilling, Major Tom ( Coming Home) and Tears For Fears Pale Shelter I still love your alls videos because I enjoy all types of music...keep em coming!

93-96 was phenomenal at the top. I’m not sure what the hell was going on for you guys those years, but they were great musical years for everyone else.

before i start 1967 is the biggest year for me and in 1967 no mention of the 2 doors album and surrealistic pillow , hendrix shame shame

I was 11 years old in 1970, so you’d think all the so called glory years of the early 1970s would be my years of choice. Yes, we had Floyd getting their act together, Gabriel-era Genesis, 10cc, Paul Simon and Neil Young, but the general singer/songwriter scene, heavy rock, Metal, Glam and anyone who noodled with the Blues and got nowhere meant nothing to me then and still means nothing to me now. 1975 was the nadir and it wasn’t until punk (in the UK) came in that interesting artists who had something different to say and ways to say it that my interest was piqued. I don’t really like Punk, but what came afterwards was fantastic: Joy Division, Talking Heads, Human League, REM, Peter Gabriel solo work, Prince, the best Springsteen material means that 1978 until 1988 is the best for me. 1980 is probably my favourite year as we had some of my absolute favourites: Closer, Remain In Light, PG3, and The River. 1986, with The Queen Is Dead, So, Graceland, Green and Colour Of Spring is a close second. I think you view years differently if you lived through them. I prefer the 1960s to the 1970s because I only understood that decade from a distance. It’s different if you have to live through it.

70's>90's>80's>60's>10's>00's

1990, Violator by Depeche Mode! thats a fire album

I would consider 1994 the greatest year ever, so I guess we're about to disagree vehemently on the deep dive coming up lol. Appreciate Jason's 2005 shout at the end as I would also consider it a top 5 year.

My year rankings based on both albums and singles 65 B 66 B 67 S 68 A 69 S 70 A 71 S 72 S 73 S 74 A 75 A 76 A 77 B 78 C 79 S 80 C 81 D 82 C 83 D 84 S 85 B 86 D 87 B 88 B 89 A 90 D 91 D 92 D 93 D 94 F 95 D 96 F 97 F 98 F 99 F 2000 F 2001 F 2002 F 2003 F 2004 F

I really don't understand Jason's argument of 1965-1966 not being "deep enough". Like I understand what he tries to say, but it's crazy. I mean, by his own admission those years had "20-30 all time classics". Imagine getting a new classic album every two weeks, and still somehow thinking that the year was merely mid. I would rather have 20 albums that I will listen 100 times and nothing else, than 2000 albums that I will listen once.

70's was the decade. Reich and Co in the USA, ECM starting up with some masterpices, Jazz getting more interesting, innovative overall. Emergence of deep Ambient with Budd, Eno, and the better Krautrockers. French Art Rock at its Zenith. Interesting sounds coming out of Africa and occasionally South America. 'Black' mostly USA Soul getting deeper, more musically sophisticated. Deep Disco classics now and then hitting the pop charts. Plus the pop/rock tunes you guys gravitate towards from the UK/USA were often impressive. Roxy Music, Talking Heads, Gong, ...plus the golden age of singer songwriters like Mitchell. As to why, one theory is more economic equality, funding for art projects and less wars going on. I remember from 1985-1990 ish it was very difficult to find any new releases worth picking up across genres.

Thank you, Jason for mentioning Forever Changes .. even though I realize neither of you dig that record. It happens to be one of my favorites of all time!! Also, I find it odd that Jason would score the year 1984 as an ‘F’ .. when that particular year houses, Jason’s favorite album of the decade in Heartbeat City by The Cars. Also, Bellybutton by Jellyfish decidedly does NOT sound like ass .. so there’s one ☝️ Jason!! Lol

My first instincts, just from the gut, for my favorites by just seeing the headline and topic, where 1991, 1972, 1974, 1994 and 2004.

This is more ranking music in albums rather than just music in general.

I’d say 1994 and 1987 are the two best years in music. 1975, 1989, 1984, 1967, and 1971 give stiff competition.

Doing the yearly deep dives has made me hesitant to proclaim much about ranking most post-80 years at this point. I've done enough diving of 65-79 to have a good idea where I would put those between deep dives here and my own mini dives but after that my deeper exploration still feels incomplete. Sure I know what a lot of my favourites are but I feel like when rating years there has to be an element of considering the depth too. As of right now, our deep dives of 82, 98, 84 and 94 have all gone differently than I ever would have guessed as far as assessing the full scope of those years. I'd be really curious to see how all the 80s and 90s years shake out after proper assessment, I feel like it might lead me to some different conclusions than I ever thought. Anyway, pretty well agree on the assessments of 65-79 overall.

1969 baby!

It's funny 1985 has 5 out of my 100 favorite songs of all time in "Holding Back The Years" by Simply Red, "Something About You" by Level 42, "Head Over Heels" and "Shout" by Tears For Fears (SFTBC is a top 5 all time album for me), and "Your Love" by The Outfield, but from an album quantity perspective it's on the weaker end. 100% on the money with 1991.

Fun idea for a show!

you should have listed the years weakest to strongest

1975! Born to Run! Born to RUN! say it! SAY IT! (thanks, Joe, finally)

A bit harsh on the early 80s; Echo and the Bunnymen, OMD, Joy Division… the music of my uni days. But perhaps I’m hearing my own golden years there, rather than the golden years of music which, to be fair, have to be 66-75

Scientifically unimpeachable ranking. For me, 1967-1973 would be the mini-peak, 1964-1979 the broader peak. I think I have more "favorite albums" from 1970, but more "all-time favorite albums" from 1969, so 1969 would win. Except for 1967. Or for 1973. Fuck it, I give up. I do love the '80s, but see it as a decade tailor made for mixtapes. I don't just mean it was a decade for great singles, because I keep finding individual gems buried on albums, but the albums just don't seem to flow with the consistency of a 1967-1973 album. They don't have that certain ... je ne sais quoi.

"Music is the mirror of reality" (Karl Marx, 1845)

29:22. This confirms the age old adage that you like what influenced you early. As someone who turned 15 in 1990, it was right at my time of getting into ‘my own music’. So guys that are 10 years younger than me won’t have the same memories or nostalgia. And Nostalgia always plays a role in music appreciation. I give 1990 an easy “A”: The Origin (self-titled)--My pick for AotY and a HIDDEN GEM Violator (Depeche Mode) Blue Sky Mining (Midnight Oil) I Do Not Want...: (Sinead O’Connor) Flood (They Might Be Giants) X (INXS) MCMXC a.D (Enigma) Pale (Toad the Wet Sprocket) CloudCukooland (The Lightning Seeds).ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HZFJVAaSOrE.html The La’s (self-titled Shake Your Money Maker (Black Crowes) Belly Button (Jellyfish) Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic (Sundays) There’s good stuff that year that brings back a lot of memories.

Knew there’s a reason for my simpatico with Joe, I actually take notes with you two. As with yrs 84’ 85’ 90’ 98’ there was the greatest variance between you 2 that’s interesting

Jason is a roast king in the comments 😂

Congrads and great work y'all. I agree that 69 isn't the best but I do feel it established musical norms we're still stuck in, just with more. Totally agree that everything changed on a dime for the 80s sound. Still haven't found my way through it. Recorded or released between '68-70, '93-95, '01-03 and '14-16 keep coming up in my purchases.

I figured Songs for the Deaf would singlehandedly drag 2002 up a B for Joe

If you were hip-hop heads, you'd rank 1990-1995 a LOT higher. :)

I totally agree with Jason about the drop off from 79 to 80. That's the end of peak Golden era of pop music and in general the last resurgence of romanticism in America (i.e. the good stuff).

1976 might be, in the words of Joe, “easily the worst” of the 70s years to that point. BUT…It is unforgivable that you both failed to mention it was the year of Boston’s self-titled debut. That album is on the short list of greatest 70s records.

I'm more with Joe on his rankings. Good to see that he ranks the 90s lower than the 80s even though he said otherwise on the albums of the year series. Although I generally agree with the assessment of the 1970s being the peak (I would say 1969-73 is the best 5 year run in history) and though, you say at the beginning of the stream that you would rank each year for music not just albums, singles were completely overlooked. The 60s 70s and especially the 80s were strong for singles. By way of illustration here is a list of singles by artists not mentioned for 1978 (which I agree is the weakest year of the 70s but not that weak). I could do the same exercise for any year from 1965-1980s. Radio Radio / Watching The Detectives ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS I Love The Sound of Breaking Glass NICK LOWE She's So Modern / Like Clockwork / Rat Trap THE BOOMTOWN RATS Ca Plane Pour Moi PLASTIC BERTRAND Because The Night PATTI SMITH Don't Care KLARK KENT (alias STEWART COPELAND) Identity / Germ Free Adolescent X RAY SPEX Top of The Pops THE REZILLOS Love You More / Promises / Ever Fallen in Love BUZZCOCKS Hong Kong Garden SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES Public Image PUBLIC IMAGE LTD. Teenage Kicks THE UNDERTONES Down in the Tube Station At Midnight THE JAM Tommy Gun THE CLASH Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS Alternative Ulster STIFF LITTLE FINGERS U.F.O. BLITZKREIG BOP Nice n Sleazy THE STRANGERS and also Summer Night City / Take A Chance on Me / The Name of The Game ABBA Rocking All Over The World STATUS QUO Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft CARPENTERS Native New Yorker ODYSSEY Uptown Top Ranking ALTHEA & DONNA Heartsong GORDON GILTRAP Fantasy / September EARTH WIND & FIRE Do You Think I'm Sexy / Hot Legs ROD STEWART Is This Love BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS Boogie Shoes KC & THE SUNSHINE BAND Love is in the Air JOHN PAUL YOUNG Airport THE MOTORS Northern Lights RENAISSANCE Forever Autumn JUSTIN HAYWARD Dreadlock Holiday 10cc Supernature CERRONE Baker Street / Right Down The Line GERRY RAFFERTY Fool (If You Think It's Over) CHRIS REA Blame it on the Boogie THE JACKSONS You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) SYLVESTER I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper SARAH BRIGHTMAN Le Freak CHIC I'm Every Woman CHAKA KHAN Song For Guy ELTON JOHN One Nation Under A Groove FUNKADELIC Never Let Her Slip Away ANDREW GOLD Girls Talk DAVE EDMUNDS

Not mentioning Animals in 1977 is insane

1990 - Violator is a 5 star album 1991 - Usually makes the Top 5 best years for music on most lists. To shrug off Nevermind, Ten, Achtung Baby, Black Album, Low End Theory, Badmotorfinger, BSSM, Loveless, Gish, Out of Time etc as a "B" is insulting to your audience

These are pretty good lists. For me, 1969 is the greatest of the 60's. 1971 is the best of the Early 1970's (and my favorite of the 70's in general). 1979 is my favorite of the later 70's due to the preponderance of Post Punk. I prefer the Early 80's to later in the decade and the same goes for the 90's. Cheers.

Also, for your next band ranking, you should do The Mars Volta. They're a great progressive rock band from the 2000s with a different style on every album they've put out. They've even won a Grammy.

I’m just curious how many albums do you guys to listen to on average each day? or how many albums could you listen to in a day?

As a suggestion you should consider checking out a John Martyn’s discography!

Either you guys hate college rock, or you choose to ignore it. The early to mid 80s were full of cool new bands and great music.

Jason, it was nice to hear a nod to Damien Rice. I’m also a big fan, especially of O. Now if only the guy would release something new. It’s been 10 years.

I'll be shocked if 1976 and 1983 aren't at least A-Tier

For me 1966 is low A tier. Revolver recorded on 4 track, rain, paperback writer, BACKWARDS GUITAR introduced n discovered, strawberry fields n penny lane written, pet sounds, bob dylan album etc.. the level of the great albums is quite amazing so that alone makes it A tier for me.. the peak of music with "primitive recording technology" compared to todays standards makes these classics stand out n hold a lot of weight. I can see the case for smaller quanity of quality albums vs modern years but still i gotta remember how times were a little different back then and music was just starting to explode vs modern times where everyone is doing it... Great list n ranking from you guys..

as my AOTY series on my channel has demonstrated, most years are very good to great or fantastic. Or in the Tiermaker scale, most are B and above. 1979, 1998..and I'm kind of with you guys on 1981. And 1965 is thin. All of those years are C or lower. Despite the fact I don't look at a year and also look at albums rated at 4+ stars necessarily. 1988 tho..really great year. 1992 also was a great year. 1991 however, was just ok. I'm not a Grunge fan overall tho. 1997 was ok..but I hate Radiohead. However, I love Fates Warning and 1997 had A Pleasant Shade of Gray, FW's masterpiece (among other huge favorites in their catalog). 1992 had III to Every Story and the Shadow Gallery debut record. 1988 had No Exit and Out of the Silenr Planet and Operation Mindcrime. For Prog Metal, that was a fantastic year. The 2000's are all great..every year has several 4-.5 to 5 star albums and that cannot be said about any other decade for me. I will agree...2005 is probably a top 5 year..man was it good and DEEP. also 1990 was really TOP HEAVY. Toy Matinee came out in 1990. Maybe the greatest pop/rock album of the last 35 years.

For sheer album depth nothing touches 1971 and 1977. The weakest year for me is 1988 , at least pre 2010

67-73 is a great period for music, but generally I’ll never understand the 70’s worship overall. My favorite sounds are in the 60’s (Baroque, Psych, etc) and in the 80’s (New Wave, Synthpop, etc), but the 70’s has always felt like a transitional period between the sounds I connect with. I love all the same stuff as Jason in that period from Big Star and Cheap Trick to Nick Drake and Todd Rundgren, but generally there’s a lot of stuff that doesn’t hit. When I think of the music I want distilled-I’ll think of songs like Hung Up on A Dream by The Zombies or Bizarre Love Triangle by New Order. The 70’s is like a universe where neither of those sounds could exist. Honestly I even prefer the 90’s to the 70’s with the 60’s remaining my favorite. So for me it’s 60’s > 90’s > 80’s > 70’s > 00’s > 10’s But no decade is truly bad. There’s so much good music in all of them if you dig enough. Despite me ranking the most recent decades lower, there’s some excellent records throughout.

3 5* John Martyn albums you should check out. One World - 1977. Solid Air- 1973. Bless the Weather - 1971.

1967 also had the first two LPs by both the Doors and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. That's 4 great albums that you didn't even mention. 🙂 '67 was a great, breakthrough year! OTOH, you're way overrating those mid-70s doldrums years. These were the crappy years that paved the way for punk. Aside from Stevie Wonder and EJ....

What rules are you imposing on yourselves for top 200 albums? Like how many albums from a certain artist...etc...?

I love punk and new wave so my opinion is different to yours.

Any chance Kramzer can make a little guest appearance? Maybe dressed as a mailman and delivering a package for a quick cameo or something? I think a lot of us miss him tbh.

They probably should have started from 1958, the start of the billboard charts

I think you guys were basing your comments mostly on album output. One anecdote - for my own amusement I’ve been listening to Sirius 70s on 7 Casey Kasey American top 40 replays. And I can say unequivocally that 1975 and 1976 SUUUCKED when it came to singles.

You never once mentioned Blue Lyster Cult, the best American rock band ever possibly bar Mountain. You never made any reviews of those bands?

Thanks!

Why didnt you rate every year until 2024?

The best years are the years where Taylor Swift released an album.😂 Greetings from Leipzig/ germany

66 widely considered the greatest year in recording history... if 66 isn't S I don't know what is...

Without Kramer this show truly feels like it lost its plot All the bashing on the 80s and putting 1991 and 2001 at B, most of the 90s below B… I get it, it’s your opinion, but without diversity the show isn’t worth watching anymore

I was thinking that you should do a list of artists that released more than one great album in a year. Obviously the Beatles, Dylan and CCR would qualify in the 60’s. The 70’s? I can only think of Neil Young in ‘75, Graham Parker in ‘76 and Bowie in ‘77

Dang, what did the 80’s ever do to Jason?

My favorite periods are: 1967-73; 1977-81; 1991-96. After '96 or so the mergers and corportization of the music industry began happening. Not that there weren't good albums coming out after that, but I think good, creative music peaked in the late 90s

"I will take those all-time albums over 10k albums from 2004!" Perfect!!!!! Great response.

1988 is when Daydream Nation came out.

interestingly 1994 is by far my favourite but 2004 is easily the worst

Pls do Johnny Cash week

hundreds of great albums in 2000?

Not sure quantity over quality is a good way to go?!

First 2 Doors released in 67 and neither of you mentioned it

Got a ❓ why is the cut off 04? Not a criticism I'm genuinely curious.

You talk about grunge hitting in 1991, but don't even mention Nevermind?

After 1999. Music became just another corporate commodity not an art form

18:36 Closer by Joy Division….

👍🏽👍🏽

No recap of 74? Lol

The 80s are dog water.

Why does spiderland suck?