Collaborators' Top Albums of 2012

Back to the "fanboy" complaint - it does seem as if established and popular prog artists do tend to dominate the rankings.  I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing, even if the release by said artist is "substandard" (which is in the eye of the beholder anyway).  For better or worse, the system does reflect the "best" releases, where "best" equals that one deemed best by the most people, i.e. it is a popular choice.

I will concede that there may be some "fanboy" voting by people who are lifelong fans of, say, Rush, and any new album of theirs will pretty much get an automatic vote.  I'm not willing to guess as to how often this happens, nor am I willing to doubt any collab's judgment in what they thought was the best of the year.  But the excitement of a new release, especially after a long hiatus, does tend to be reflected in an album's ratings, at least in the short term.

This made me think of a point I had on another thread a few weeks ago, as I was lamenting the fact that one year (at maximum) really isn't enough time to develop my "favorites" list of that year.  In a couple of years, I may suddenly realize how good Tea Party's (to use an "underdog" example from this past year) new album is.  But I can't then go back and fix my vote for 2012.  Once the poll's done, it's over, and we're on to a new year.   I tend to take a long time to absorb and truly appreciate and understand prog albums, and often I need several years of perspective to arrive at a judgment which truly reflects how I feel.  Sure, some albums are "instant favorites", but most of them aren't.   I raised this point on a thread and didn't expect much of a response, but several people seemed to agree.    The "Best of (Year)" list would ideally be a cumulative thing, where one's favorites are adjusted and refined over time, rather than judged as "Best" in a much shorter time frame.

I realize this would require a lot more work on somebody's part, but if enough people think this way, I'd be glad to put my head together with some others to see what we could do.  If not, no skin off my nose, but I think it's an interesting idea.


Edited by HolyMoly - February 07 2013 at 10:03

Well of course there is no top 50 albums it is the top 100 albums and i think if you look you will find Discipline somewhere around 46th or so.  I was not referring to Opeths album being on the top 100 of all time. I still stand by my opinion that the top 100 albums of the year is a more accurate reference tool than is the collaborators poll. Since it is only an opinion you should treat it as such.

I went back and looked and I did have the Discipline album as number 1 and the Opeth album as number 2 in 2011.

HolyMoly wrote: I get a little confused when people complain a lot about "popular" stuff making the top 10, and lesser-known but just as good stuff not making the top 10.  By my reckoning, if the lesser known stuff were more popular, then it would naturally rise up in the polls.  But it isn't, so fewer people vote for it.  It turns into a chicken/egg thing.   We don't operate outside of natural physics and social dynamics here. Should some less popular stuff be more popular?  Sure.  Everything should be more popular.  But it can't. This post is blowing my mind.

timothy leary wrote: I consider it to be a masterpiece.

"To Shatter All Accord" was my number one for last year.

I don't want to hijack the thread, especially ranting about last years list. As I said the format of the poll is awesome and as expected the winners won't meet everyones expectations. So lets hear more opinions and gripes.........

I consider it to be a masterpiece.

Last year at the Collab polls we had Opeth in  the number 2 position of the year while an absolute masterpiece of prog  rock, in the top 50 albums of all the history of prog rock was in 4th place. All I would say to a newbie, which I did say in my original post was the top 100 albums of the year is a better and more accurate opinion of an album's worth. That does not mean the Collab poll is not of value. The format of it is absolutely wonderful and I wish the top 100 albums of the year had such an awesome format. As one person said he believed such and such a band could release anything and people would go bonkers about it. I think that is true to a certain degree but I also think time is the great leveller. What is a masterpiece today may be run of the mill in the future.

Where do you see me elevating my opinion over the herd. I put my opinion on a page with numerous other opinions. Actually I respect your opinion about my opinion. My opinion is not more valid than others but as I pointed out the people who make up the body have a more complete opinion than the collaborators poll and it says the album you mentioned is a 3.7 album after over 250 ratings. We could talk about the other two albums also but I won't bother. So don't make it about me. Who cares anyway in the long run.

Mellotron Storm wrote: Sean Trane wrote: 98 Perigeo Il Giardino Onirico 24   What's this one.... I love the old Italian fusion band , but neither ProgArchives nor Rate Your Music list if...   ============   Great work Andy Hey Hugues i had to look this one up myself. The album's title is Perigeo and the band's name is Il Giardino Onrico. Yeah a little confusing.

Edited by Sean Trane - February 05 2013 at 04:06