Top 1 Album For Every Year I've Been Alive (A 30-Part Series)

In Which I Throw Down the Gauntlet to Eric Walkingshaw, For Whom Gauntlet-Throwing Holds No Significance Whatsoever

I was simply going to mock Eric, as I often do to no avail, either by pooh-poohing his taste in music from his most recent post, or trying to come up with some way to school him on his musical analysis. But I quickly realized neither approach was feasible, in the former case because I quite like Ratatat as well, and in the latter because I honestly wouldn't know music criticism from the Duke of Burgundy. So instead I've opted for something a bit different, something that is more self-centered and self-indulgent than my usual Eric-and/or-robot-focused efforts. But something that, should I manage to complete it, will hopefully fill Eric with a sense of jealousy and envy, in that I shall be far closer to finishing my 111 Top 1 Lists than he is his 333 Top 3 Lists. At best, it will be much effort for little gain, a pyrrhic victory (if a victory at all), but when you're matching wits against the very personification of evil, you take what you can get.

So I'll begin. The project is called "An Album For Every Year I've Been Alive," and is pretty straightforward. Using iTunes and its wonderful ability to make anal-retentiveness easy and streamlined, I have gone back through my music collection to the year 1982, when I was summarily expelled from my mother's vagina and unleashed unto the world. Starting with that year in my music library and advancing through to the present, I have chosen an album that I decree my "Favorite," which simply means I like it more than any other album from that year that I have heard. I've also, for variance's sake, picked an Honorable Mention from the same year, as well as one song from that year in my collection that I find Most Ridiculous. It might be a song I like, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's not ridiculous. Where applicable, I will include one or more albums that I deem Near Misses, which because of stiff competition didn't quite make it as an Honorable Mention, but that I love nonetheless. Also, in the interests of disclosure and time-wasting, I will post a Full Roster of albums under consideration for the given year--in effect, the albums that I own as part of my music collection. Wondering why that incredible Third Eye Blind album didn't make the cut? It may be because it is not currently sullying my hard drive or CD books with its presence.

So there you go. The project shall commence shortly. It will conclude in thirty days, or so, barring any interruptions caused by robot attacks.