Third Estate Sunday Review: 60 years of great albums

So we're naming the best albums of the last sixty years -- the best album of each year of the last sixty years. These lists are starting points, not end points. Agree, disagree, build your own list.

We split up by decades and came up with our picks for the five best albums of each year. Then when we got back together, we picked what we thought was the single best of each year. We argued, we swore at each other, we laughed and these are our picks.

1963: Bob Dylan: THE FREEWHEELIN' BOB DYLAN.

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan's album cover. Wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans, a man walks along a snowy street. A woman wearing a long green coat and black pants holds onto his arm and walks alongside him. The words "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" frame the man's head, and the names of songs contained within the album are listed in small print in the bottom left and right of the image.

1964: Diana Ross & the Supremes: WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO?

1965: Bob Dylan: HIGHWAY 61 REVISTED.

1966: The Mamas & the Papas: IF YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR EYES AND EARS.

the band members all squashed into a bathtub together; a toilet is prominently visible to the right

1967: The Beatles: SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND.

1968: Laura Nyro: ELI AND THE THIRTEENTH CONFESSION.

1969: Buffy Sainte-Marie: LLUMINATIONS.

1970: Jimi Hendrix: BAND OF GYPSIES.

1971: Joni Mitchell: BLUE.

1972: Stevie Wonder: TALKING BOOK.

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1973: David Bowie: ALADDIN SANE.

1974: Joni Mitchell: COURT & SPARK.

1975: Patti Smith: HORSES.

The album cover features a black-and-white photograph of Patti Smith slinging a jacket over her shoulder.

1976: Stevie Wonder: SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE.

1977: Fleetwood Mac: RUMOURS.

1978: Blondie: PARALLEL LINES.

1979: Diana Ross: THE BOSS.

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1980: Diana Ross' diana.

1981: Prince: CONTROVERSY.

1982: Prince: 1999

1983: Pretenders: LEARNING TO CRAWL.

1984: Tina Turner: PRIVATE DANCER.

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1985: Eurythmics: BE YOURSELF TONIGHT.

1986: Janet Jackson: CONTROL.

1987: Prince: SIGN OF THE TIMES.

1988: Tracy Chapman: TRACY CHAPMAN.

A black-and-white photograph of Chapman looking down

1989: Tracy Chapman: CROSSROADS.

1990: George Michael: LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE VOL. 1.

1991: Nirvana: NEVERMIND.

A nude infant swimming in blue-tinted water toward a dollar bill which is attached to a fishhook on a string.

1992: Tori Amos: LITTLE EARTHQUAKES.

1993: Liz Phair: EXILE IN GUYVILLE.

1994: Soundgarden: SUPERUNKOWN.

1995: Pretenders: THE ISLE OF VIEW.

1996: The Afghan Whigs: BLACK LOVE.

1997: Ani DiFranco: LIVING IN CLIP.

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1998: Lauryn Hill: THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL.

1999: Fiona Apple: WHEN THE PAWN . . .

2000: Carly Simon: THE BEDROOM TAPES.

2001: Janet Jackson: ALL FOR YOU.

2002: Tori Amos: SCARLET'S WALK.

2003: Dashboard Confessional: A MARK A MISSION A BRAND A SCAR.

2004: kd lang: HYMNS OF THE 49TH PARALLEL.

2005: The Cowboy Junkies: EARLY 21ST CENTURY BLUES.

2006: Ben Harper: BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN.

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2007: Joni Mitchell: SHINE.

2008: Jack Johnson: SLEEP THROUGH THE STATIC.

2009: Ben Harper: WHITE LIES FOR DARK TIMES.

2010: Sade: SOLDIER OF LOVE.

2011: PJ Harvey: LET ENGLAND SHAKE.

2012: Animal Collective: CENTIPEDE HZ.

2013: Shannon and the Clams: DREAMS IN THE RAT HOUSE.

2014: Stevie Nicks: 24 KARAT GOLD.

2015: Janet Jackson: UNBREAKABLE.

2016: Nick Jonas: LAST YEAR WAS COMPLICATED.

2017: Sam Smith: THE THRILL OF IT ALL.

2018: Janelle Monae: DIRTY COMPUTER.

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2019: Vampire Weekend: FATHER OF THE BRIDE.

2020: Fiona Apple: FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS.

2021: Diana Ross:THANK YOU.

2022: Harry Styles: HARRY'S HOUSE.

2023: Chase Rice: I HATE COWBOYS & ALL DOGS GO TO HELL.

Tuesday, August 29, 2023

60 years of great albums