The 11 Best Record Store Releases (Triple List)

I picked up so much vinyl this year...I'm not even sure how I'm going to pay rent.  And isn't that what good music is about?  Living in a van...down by the river.  There wasn't a release this year that I went in excited about...but I came out loving almost everything I purchased.  I've had the chance to listen to most of my purchases and have heard a lot of other stuff.  And the Calexico album...best release of the year...Period.

It was a crazy day...and I'm still reeling from it.  Some say Record store Day is Christmas for music fans.  It's better than Christmas...because on Record Store Day you get exactly what you want.

To celebrate such a momentousness day and with nearly 400 releases...there's no way to condense it down to a mere 11.  Instead, I've created 3 lists to give light on some on a lot of the material that you may have missed.  And by the way, many record stores still have a lot of product...so if there's something that was sold out at one store...I'd check out the store down the street...just in case.

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day 7-inches:

1. Pornography (Ryan Adams)  - 7 Minutes in Heaven
2. Elliott Smith - Either/Or Demos 
3. Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
4. David Bowie - Drive-In Saturday Night
5. Hold Steady - Criminal Fingers
6. The Black Keys/Iggy & The Stooges - No Fun
7. Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels - Live 1973
8. Old 97s & Waylon Jennings - Double Set
9. Superchunk - Void 
10. Iron & Wine - Next To Paradise
11. Husker Du - Amusement

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Reissues:

1. Orange Juice - Rip It Up
2. Porno For Pyros - Porno For Pyros (splatter vinyl)
3. White Stripes - Elephant (red, white and black vinyl)
4. At The Drive-In - Relationship in Command
5. Braid - Frame and Canvas
6. The Roots - Things Fall Apart
7. The Band - The Last Waltz
8. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts (yellow vinyl)
9. Blind Melon - Blind Melon
10. Built To Spill - Live
11. The Zombies - The Zombies

Here are the 11 Best Record Store Day Releases:

1. Calexico - Spiritoso
2. Stephen Malkmus - Ege Bamyasi
3. A Place To Bury Strangers - Strange Moon
4. Soundgarden - King Animal Demos
5. Garbage - Because the Night
6. Willie Nelson - Crazy Demo Sessions
7. G. Love and Jack Johnson - Bloodshot & Blue
8. Mumford and Sons - Live At Bull Moose
9. Grouplove/Manchester Orchestra/Frightened Rabbit - Make It To Me
10. Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me
11. Deftones - Live: Volume 1

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (78-88):

May get the next 11 out tomorrow...if not...off on a mini-vaca...will continue on Monday.

The 111 Best Albums of the 2000s (78-88):

78. Jose Gonzalez - Veneer (2005)
- JG's first solo album since his Zero 7 years is a haunting yet beautiful folk record.

79. Beck - Modern Guilt (2008)
- Beck drafts super-producer Dangermouse (whose impact is felt through this list)...to create an album suited for radio play in the 70s on AM...but somehow feels fresh and new for this decade.

80. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (2000)
- The indie supergroup featuring Neko Case, A.C. Newman, Ban Bejar (Destroyer) may be the best release any of them have done. Just a solid example of what happens when great minds think alike.

81. Pete Yorn - Musicforthemorningafter (2001)
- Pete Yorn's debut literally came out of nowhere. There was a very little buzz about this guy prior to the release...and being on Sony...there was very little thought that this might be anything more than a major label's attempt at woeing the indie crowd. But over the past decade...Pete has remained diligent about his craft, keeping it his own. And over that period...his debut has only ripened with age. (Lose You)

82. Jurassic 5 - Quality Control (2000)
- Possibly the release that legitimized the underground hip-hop movement. Though none of their other releases...solo or as a group...came close the originality or personality of this debut, the album continues to be a heralded landmark on the hip-hop landscape. (Lausd)

83. Kings of Leon - Only By Night (2008)
- Six months ago...I may not have included this...but the album has fought and clawed its way in critical and commercial success. Something that is no small feat in today's music industry. But that aside, it's just a good rock record. Not as strong as maybe their last release...but their music has matured as they have.

84. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007)
- Though it lacks in life and "fire" that the debut had...it's still a collection of intensely constructed songs...dark but vibrant...morid but alive. Even when they're a half-step off their game...they're still a full step in front of everyone else. (Antichrist Television Blues)

85. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges (2008)
- The one thing severely lacking from the 2000s are the pure old fashioned rock records. A few bands tried to carry the rock n roll torch...but very few came close. But on MMJ's release from last year...it was like the band was harnessing the past and everything that made them what they are. It may be too early to tell how great this record is...and who knows...a couple years down the road...I could see this album hanging out near the top. (The Librarian)

86. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion (2009)
- This year's front-runner is a ecclectic mix of the future of music. Many people are struggling to grasp this album, which only means it's one that takes time. And any album with that kind of attention needed is one that is usually worth the time invested.

87. Kanye West - Graduation (2007)
- Maybe the weakest of KW's non-autotune releases...is still a masterful hip-hop album and a scolding lesson of what can be accomplished with smart production. And any album that samples Daft Punk should always get an honorary listing.

88. Elliott Smith - Figure 8 (2000)
- ES' last official release before his death shows the singer growing and expanding. He may have conquered on tunes that were simple bare bones kid & and a guitar folk...but Elliott wasn't satisfied being just that. He was ready to challenge what he was capable of doing and where he could go...too bad we'll never know what he could do. (Somebody That I Used To Know)

Buy the best of the 2000s now!

The 11 Best Elliott Smith Songs

There are few greater tragedies to our world than losing a voice. While movie-making and story-telling changes as the generations evolve, songs remain eternal. Think of all the nursery songs that we sing our children. Most of them have been around for over a hundred years. It's amazing to think that music being made today may survive long into the next century or even the next millenium. So when we lose a great singer/songwriter before it's their time, we lose their entire catalogue of music that they will never make. Imagine if Bob Dylan died at the age Elliot Smith died. The world would never hear Blood on the Tracks, Desire, not to mention his collasal later work Time Out of Mind and Modern Times. There is no doubt when peopledust off Dylan's work a hundred years from now, songs like "Hurricane," "Idiot Wind," "Tangled Up In Blue," and "Not Dark Yet" will be among the giants. Now close your eyes and imagine that those songs not only no longer exist...they never did. World's seems a little more empty, doesn't it?

After hearing Elliott Smith's fantastic new album, it only saddens you to know what his career might have been capable of had he carried on. Would he become the next Dylan? Probably not. But that is a question that will now remain forever unanswered.

Here are the 11 Best Elliott Smith Songs:

1. Waltz #2 (X/O)
2. Angeles (Either/Or)
3. Happiness (Figure 8)
4. Miss Misery (Good Will Hunting)
5. A Fond Farewell (From A Basement)
6. Pictures of Me (Either/Or)
7. Twilight (From A Basement)
8. Say Yes (Either/Or)
9. Everything Reminds Me of Her (Figure 8)
10. Ballad of Big Nothing (Either/Or)
11. Single File (Elliott Smith)

The 11 Best Elliott Smith Songs You've Never Heard

I've been asked a few times now why I don't post all the songs that I list on the site. So, I figured it's about time I address the question. On most sites, the site is dedicated to the actual songs that are being posted. Someone may get a cool B-Side or a live cover, then they post something about the band addressing the MP3. Other times, the blog is about a specific band and the blogger posts songs specific to the band at the center of the article. My goal on this site is to not only talk about cool bands or to share music from cool bands but to let my readers know about all the other great music out there. The point of the blog is to give you a sample of what is out there, in hopes, that it will motivate you to head out and find more of the music. Obviously, no one wants to leave the safety and security of their computer...no one wants to spend hours scrounging the net for that last obscure track. And hell if anyone wants to pony up $12 on Amazon for the CD single to get one song. But sometimes in life, if you want something bad enough, you have to earn it. And if by me not posting every song means that you have to go on iTunes and pay .99 cents for a track...well, then at least that artist earned something for the great work they shared with the world.

Elliott Smith's New Moon (get it free here) is an excellent collection of many of Elliott's lesser and better known outtakes and demos. But Elliott was far more prolific than the set reveals. There is easily enough unreleased material out there to have another two or three more 2-disc sets. Here's a sampling...

The 11 Best Elliott Smith Songs You've Never Heard:

1. Division Day (X/O B-Side)
2. Enemy Is You (X/O B-Side)
3. A Living Will (Figure 8 B-Side)
4. Amanda Cecilia (Jackpot Demos)
5. I Can't Answer You Anymore (Jackpot Demos)
6. How To Take A Fall (Figure 8 B-Side)
7. Taking A Fall (Outtake)
8. I Don't Think I'm Ever Going To Figure It Out (Speed Trials EP)
9. Some Rock Song (A Taste of Lemon)
10. No Name #6 (Speed Trials EP)
11. No Confidence Man (Pete Krebs single)