Liner notes: The best of 1975 is an extraordinary melange of sounds — eminently danceable, sonically filthy, quietly and deeply sad, and everything in between. Two artists feature twice — Bob Dylan and Parliament — and their Blood on the Tracks and Mothership Connection are practically co-albums of the year. For this Mixtape Monday, Zimmerman gets the nod. “Early one morning, the sun was shining…”
Mixtape Monday Marginalia: Do you like the “best of [YEAR]” mixtapes? Here’s a compilation of them all for your reference and perusal in chronological order, noting the album of the year:
1965 — A Love Supreme, John Coltrane
1969 — Abbey Road, The Beatles
1973 — Innervisions, Stevie Wonder
1977 — Marquee Moon, Television
1978 — More Songs About Buildings and Food, Talking Heads
1980 — Remain in Light, Talking Heads
1984 — Purple Rain, Prince
1985 — Hounds of Love, Kate Bush
1992 — Selected Ambient Works 85-92, Aphex Twin
1994 — Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, Pavement
1997 — Dig Me Out, Sleater-Kinney
2001 — Vespertine, Björk
2004 — Sung Tongs, Animal Collective
2006 — Return to Cookie Mountain, TV on the Radio
2007 — Strawberry Jam, Animal Collective
2011 — w h o k i l l, Tune-Yards
2016 — Blonde, Frank Ocean
2018 — El mal querer, Rosalía
2019 — U.F.O.F. and Two Hands, Big Thief
2020 — Græ, Moses Sumney
2021 — Promises, Floating Points, Pharaoh Sanders, & The London Symphony Orchestra
2022 — Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, Big Thief
2023 — Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, Caroline Polachek