Another year come and gone. Another year full of great records. Here are our favorites… 

Click the listen link next to each title for a link to the Spotify stream. If you dig what you hear, please come by the shop (or hit up our online store) to buy a copy of the actual record. We should have most, if not all, of these great records in stock. The artists and the record store will thank you for it 😉

Releases with an * next to it indicates that particular title was selected for our Record of the Month Club. You can check that out here.

Be sure to check out our list of the Best Records of the Decade.

 

Album of the Year: David Berman’s Purple Mountains s/t LP from Drag City Records 

New Releases:

 

Reissues/Archival Releases:

  • Kankyo Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990 (Light in the Attic) listen buy a copy
  • Rupa Disco Jazz (Numero) listen buy a copy
  • Buzzcocks Singles Going Steady (Domino) listen buy a copy
  • Mark Hollis s/t (Universal) listen sold out
  • Dinosaur Jr. Where You Been, Without a Sound, Hand it Over, and Green Mind (Cherry Red) listen sold out
  • Various Artists Pacific Breeze: Japanese City Pop AOR & Boogie 1976 – 1986 (Light in the Attic) listen buy a copy
  • Various Artists Outro Tempo II: Electronic & Contemporary Music From Brazil 1984-1996 (Music From Memory) listen sold out
  • The Beatles Abbey Road (50th Anniv. Giles Martin Remix) listen buy a copy
  • Grateful Dead Saint of Circumstance: Giant Stadium 1991 vinyl box set (Rhino) listen buy a copy
  • The Frogs It’s Only Right and Natural (The End of All Music) listen buy a copy
  • Various Artists The World of Keith Haring (Souljazz Records) listen buy a copy
  • Stereolab deluxe vinyl reissues of the groop’s entire catalog (Stereolab) listen buy a copy
  • Akiko YANO vinyl reissues (Wewantsounds) ~ these LPs aren’t on Spotify buy a copy
  • Peter Ivers Becoming Peter Ivers (RVNG Intl.) listen buy a copy
  • Prince 1999 Remastered 10 LP Deluxe box set (NPG) listen buy a copy
  • Marvin Gaye You’re the Man (UMG) listen buy a copy
  • Animal Collective Ballet Slippers 3LP live set from 2009 tour (Domino) listen buy a copy
  • Jessie Mae Hemphill Run Get My Shotgun (Big Legal Mess) listen buy a copy
  • Mississippi/Cairo Records 4 volume set of American Soul Music 1955-1972 listen sold out
  • Steve Hiett Down on the Road by the Beach and Girls in the Grass (Be With Records) listen buy a copy
  • Arthur Russell Iowa Dream (Audika) listen buy a copy
  • R.E.M. Monster 25th Anniversary Remix (Craft) listen buy a copy
  • Gene Clark No Other (4AD)* listen buy a copy
  • Charlie Megira Tomorrow’s Gone (Numero Group) listen buy a copy
  • Boris Akuma No Uta (Third Man Records) listen buy a copy
  • Andrew W.K. I Get Wet (Island) listen buy a copy
  • Various Artists New Orleans Jazz Fest CD+Book box set (Smithsonian Folkways) listen buy a copy
  • Various Artists Sad About the Times (Anthology Recordings) listen buy a copy
  • Grouper AIA: Dream Loss and AIA: Alien Observer (Kranky) listen buy a copy
  • Big Star In Space and Alex Chilton My Rival 10-inch EP (Omnivore Records) ~ not streaming buy a copy
  • Mort Garson Mother Earth’s Plantasia (Sacred Bones) listen buy a copy
  • Various Artists The Time for Peace is Now: Gospel Music About Us (Luaka Bop)* listen buy a copy
  • Blue Note Tone Poets Series of jazz reissues by Grant Green, Andrew Hill, Kenny Burrell, Dexter Gordon, Sam Rivers, and more! listen buy a copy
  • Azar Lawrence Summer Solstice (Jazz Dispensary) listen buy a copy
  • The Replacements Dead Man’s Pop (Rhino) listen buy a copy
  • Bob Dylan Rolling Thunder Review: The 1975 Live Recordings CD Box Set (Columbia) listen buy a copy
  • Prince Originals (NPG) listen buy a copy