Alas we are finally here to present the Annual Brainwashed Readers Poll. Once again, this is what the readers choose, as staff and contributors, we only make our comments here and there.

Sorry for the delays, these have been exceptionally stressful and demanding times for just about everybody. Production may be high, but morale remains low. This couldn't be more evident with this year's poll, which had the most entries in years, but had a remarkably low voter turnout. It is difficult to hold out until the very end of the year to be all-inclusive, where most places have made up their mind by November, and music of the year is being released constantly until the clock strikes midnight. So by the time we come around to soliciting votes, most people have checked out for the year.  We will do some re-evaluation to the process prior to future polls.

Thanks again to everybody who participated. This is your voice.

The staff nominates, the readers add to the nomination list, the readers vote, and we write some comments back. That's how it is. The Brainwashed Annual Readers Poll is a snapshot of what our readers and staff were listening to for the year. As always there are some rankings that are surprises along with others that come as no surprise.

This year we decided to get rid of the "worst album of the year" category (2020 was harsh enough). We also decided to add honorable mentions to the Lifetime Achievement Recognition category because it seems like there's so many people who we cherish that it's an injustice not to give a nod to musicians who have left a lasting impression on music as a whole.

Thanks again to all who participated and we wish you all a safe and healthy 2021.

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the nomination and voting rounds of this year's annual readers poll.

All the best wishes for 2020!

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to this year's readers poll and has over the last two decades. All the best wishes for 2019!

It's time for record store day again and I want to talk about the need for better mastering and cutting and manufacturing on the new vinyl being created today.

So many of the new records I buy, whether reissues or brand new recordings by current bands, are noisy. Surface noise. Yes, sometimes it is caused by the COLOR of the vinyl, because diff colors have diff chemical makeups and there for give differing playback ability (white is actually much closer to plastic and tends to sound the noisiest because it is really not the correct medium to be retaining sound) (and multi colored can have issues due to the diff colors not melting at the same temps and then not taking the information from the stampers as well as they should due to temp differences).

However, a lot of the issues with newly manufactured vinyl come from a lack of knowledge in the mastering and plating phases, and from how quickly records are being turned out. handling them too quickly means mistakes - scratches happening before the albums are sleeved, vinyl not cooling slowly enough and then warping but still being sleeved and sold.....

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Recount of the 1999 Annual Brainwashed Readers Poll.

The original vote which took place at the end of 1999 was clearly less expansive and inclusive, however the new top picks aren't drastically different than the original vote for the most part. Numerous releases which have now charted weren't even on the radar of most readers at the time while other releases have noticeably dropped in popularity due to changing times and changing opinions.

No more polls until the end of 2019.

In 1997, the independent music business was thriving worldwide, musical acts were reaching new audiences via the World Wide Web, and the economy was booming. Brainwashed.com was a year old, and we had not even begun to start conduction Annual Readers Polls. However, we began expanding the domain to host sites for independent labels and distributors like Kranky, Thrill Jockey, Happy Go Lucky, RRRecords, and World Serpent Distribution along with the multitude of sites we were hosting for musical acts.

It has been a pleasure to revisit the music of 1997 and we appreciate all the time and effort put in by the readers to make your opinions known.

Two decades ago the Annual Readers Poll began. The old version of the first annual readers poll can still be viewed online here, but we wanted to re-examine 1998 in the new system and get a broader picture of the music of that year. Perhaps these are truly the releases that have withstood 20 years of listening or the readership demographics have changed in 20 years. Either way, thanks to all who participated. Look for a 1997 recount nomination round coming soon and the 2018 Annual Readers Poll to follow.

Once again it's time to thank everyone for their participation in the Brainwashed Annual Readers Poll. As always, the Readers Poll doesn't particularly represent what the staff and writers feel are the best and worst of the year, but we happily once again provide commentary. All the best for 2018!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Annual Brainwashed Readers Poll.

and now, the results:

Once again thanks to everybody who participated in the 18th Annual Brainwashed Readers Poll. It's an honor to be able to do this every year and we appreciate everyone who contributed to the nominations and voted.

All the best wishes for 2016.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed, nominated, and voted.

It's not easy to like weird music, so we understand that when meeting someone new, tact must be employed in order to get to the next level. Here's our list of albums that are safer to introduce once you and the new friend have gotten to know each other better.

Do you have Oscar Fever? Probably not if you're reading brainwashed.com, but once again Hollywood has managed to engage in their yearly ritual of televised autofellatio. Here we present to you our picks of soundtracks that have, as far as we know, have gone unrecognized in internationally broadcast award ceremonies.

Pretty much everybody in the northern hemisphere is sick of this winter, with all the snow, ice, rain, much, mayhem, and misery. Fortunately springtime is on its way, but until now, we present records to spend your time with, hidden away, avoiding the mess.

Nobody wants to put up with the crappy music choices that the networks shove down our throats when we watch sport competition. In order to break free from the tyranny of the rampant commercialism, Brainwashed staff have chosen the BEST recordings to soundtrack your enjoyment of cold sport watching.

Love is in the air and Brainwashed knows how important it is to set the mood for the perfect evening. This is why we are proud to present our list of recommendations that are sure to make that day extra special, with a soundtrack to provide a memorable time for you and the one dearest to your heart.

Album of the Year

1. Tim Hecker, ""Virgins"" (Kranky)
2. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, ""Push the Sky Away"" (Kobalt)
3. Boards of Canada, ""Tomorrow's Harvest"" (Warp)
4. My Bloody Valentine, ""m b v"" (self-released)
5. The Haxan Cloak, ""Excavation"" (TriAngle)
6. Autechre, ""Exai"" (Warp)
7. Grouper, ""The Man Who Died in His Boat"" (Kranky)
8. William Basinski, ""Nocturnes"" (2062)
9. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""The Gethsemane Option"" (Metropolis)
10. Wire, ""Change Becomes Us"" (Pink Flag)
11. Matmos, ""The Marriage of True Minds"" (Thrill Jockey)
12. Locrian, ""Return to Annihilation"" (Relapse)
13. Barn Owl, ""V"" (Thrill Jockey)
14. Julia Holter, ""Loud City Song"" (Domino)
15. Broadcast, ""Berberian Sound Studio"" (Warp)
16. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""Code Noir"" (Beta-Lactam Ring)
17. Oren Ambarchi, Jim O'Rourke and Keiji Haino, ""Now While It's Still Warm Let Us Pour in All the Mystery"" (Black Truffle)
18. Chelsea Wolfe, ""Pain is Beauty"" (Sargent House)
19. Bill Callahan, ""Dream River"" (Drag City)
20. Tropic of Cancer, ""Restless Idyll"" (Blackest Ever Black)
21. Carter Tutti, ""Coolicon"" (Conspiracy International)
22. Mika Vainio, ""Kilo"" (Blast First Petite)
23. Pan American, ""Cloud Room, Glass Room"" (Kranky)
24. Wolf Eyes, ""No Answer: Lower Floors"" (De Stijl)
25. Low, ""The Invisible Way"" (Sub Pop)
26. Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld, ""Still Smiling"" (Specula)
27. Colin Stetson, ""New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light"" (Constellation)
28. The Knife, ""Shaking the Habitual"" (Mute)
29. Lustmord, ""The Word As Power"" (Blackest Ever Black)
30. Mazzy Star, ""Seasons of Your Day"" (Rhymes Of An Hour)
31. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""The Curse of Marie Antoinette"" (Rustblade)
32. Forest Swords, ""Engravings"" (TriAngle)
33. Rashad Becker, ""Traditional Music of Notional Species, Vol. I"" (PAN)
34. Cindytalk, ""A Life Is Everywhere"" (Editions Mego)
35. The Necks, ""Open"" (Northern Spy)
36. Prurient, ""Through the Window"" (Blackest Ever Black)
37. Body/Head, ""Coming Apart"" (matador)
38. Julia Kent, ""Character"" (Leaf)
39. Mogwai , ""Les Revenants Soundtrack"" (Rock Action)
40. Wrekmeister Harmonies, ""You've Always Meant So Much To Me"" (Thrill Jockey)
41. Dirty Beaches, ""Drifters/Love Is the Devil"" (Zoo Music)
42. Master Musicians of Bukkake, ""Far West"" (Important)
43. Oneohtrix Point Never, ""R Plus Seven"" (Warp)
44. The Dead C, ""Armed Courage"" (Ba Da Bing!)
45. Daniel Menche, ""Marriage of Metals"" (Editions Mego)
46. Main, ""Ablation"" (Editions Mego)
47. These New Puritans, ""Field of Reeds"" (Infectious)
48. Factory Floor, ""Factory Floor"" (DFA)
49. Föllakzoid, ""II"" (Sacred Bones)
50. Laurel Halo, ""Chance of Rain"" (Hyperdub)
51. Boduf Songs, ""Burnt Up On Re-Entry"" (Southern)
52. Phill Niblock, ""Touch Five"" (Touch)
53. Implodes, ""Recurring Dream"" (Kranky)
54. Ensemble Pearl, ""Ensemble Pearl"" (Drag City)
55. Emptyset, ""Recur"" (Raster-Noton)
56. Julianna Barwick, ""Nepenthe"" (Dead Oceans)
57. Pere Ubu, ""lady From Shangai"" (Fire Records)
58. Benoit Pioulard, ""Hymnal"" (Kranky)
59. Vatican Shadow, ""Remember Your Black Day"" (Hospital)
60. Chris Watson, ""In St. Cuthbert's Time"" (Touch)
61. Mohammad, ""Son Sakrifis"" (PAN)
62. Steve Gunn, ""Time Off"" (Paradise of Bachelors)
63. Noveller, ""No Dreams"" (important)
64. CoH, ""Retro 2038"" (Editions Mego)
65. Jesu, ""Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came"" (Avalanche)
66. Bardo Pond, ""Peace on Venus"" (Fire)
67. Jasper TX, ""An Index of Failure"" (Handmade Birds)
68. Svarte Greiner, ""Black Tie"" (Miasmah)
69. Fire! Orchestra , ""Exit!"" (Rune Grammofon)
70. *AR, ""Succession"" (Corbel Stone Press)
71. Mountains, ""Centralia"" (Thrill Jockey)
72. Roly Porter, ""Life Cycle of a Massive Star"" (Subtext)
73. Bill Orcutt, ""A History of Every One"" (Editions Mego)
74. Ryoji Ikeda, ""Supercodex"" (Raster-Noton)
75. Black Boned Angel, ""The End"" (Handmade Birds)
76. Date Palms, ""The Dusted Sessions"" (Thrill Jockey)
77. Jacob Kirkegaard, ""Conversions"" (Touch)
78. Matana Roberts, ""Coin Coin Chapter Two: Mississippi Moonchile"" (Constellation)
79. Zola Jesus and JG Thirlwell, ""Version"" (Sacred Bones)
80. Pharmakon, ""Abandon"" (Sacred Bones)
81. Pet Shop Boys, ""Electric"" (x2)
82. Aidan Baker, ""Already Drowning"" (Gizeh)
83. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""Taos Hum"" (Trademark of Quantity)
84. Demdike Stare , ""The Weight of Culture"" (No Label )
85. Hacker Farm , ""UHF"" (Exotic Pylon)
86. The Stranger, ""Watching Dead Empires In Decay"" (Modern Love)
87. William Tyler, ""Impossible Truth"" (Merge)
88. Gabriel Saloman, ""Soldier's Requiem"" (Miasmah)
89. Wooden Wand, ""Blood Oaths of the New Blues"" (Fire)
90. Paul Jebanasam, ""Rites"" (Subtext)
91. Colleen, ""The Weighing of the Heart"" (Second Language)
92. Matt Elliott, ""Only Myocardial Infarction Can Break Your Heart"" (Ici d'ailleurs)
93. Basic House, ""Oats"" (Alter)
94. Jenny Hval, ""Innocence is Kinky"" (Rune Grammofon)
95. Bruce Gilbert & BAW, ""Diluvial"" (Touch)
96. Daniel Menche, ""Vilke"" (Sige)
97. Duane Pitre, ""Bridges"" (Important)
98. Glenn Jones, ""My Garden State"" (Thrill Jockey)
99. Kaboom Karavan, ""Hokus Fokus"" (Miasmah)
100. The Silverman, ""Finisterre"" (Trademark of Quantity)

Single of the Year

1. Autechre, ""L-Event"" (Warp)
2. Burial, ""Rival Dealer"" (Hyperdub)
3. Demdike Stare, ""Testpressings 4"" (self-released)
4. ( r ), ""The House Of The Rising Sun"" (self-released)
5. Larsen, ""Uncruel Cool Mouth"" (Zos Kia Sounds Recordings)
6. Helm, ""Silencer"" (PAN/Alter)
7. Vatican Shadow, ""When You Are Crawling"" (Hospital)
8. Cut Hands, ""Damballah 58"" (Blackest Ever Black)
9. Pete Swanson, ""Punk Authority"" (Software)
10. Miles, ""Unsecured"" (Modern Love)
11. Nurse With Wound/Graham Bowers, ""Diploid"" (Red Wharf)
12. Khan Of Finland, ""Thin White Sinner"" (I'm Single)
13. Pye Corner Audio, ""Conical Space"" (Dekorder)
14. Songs:Ohia, ""Hecla & Griper"" (Secretly Canadian)
15. Lee Noble, ""Ruiner"" (Bathetic)
16. Pye Corner Audio, ""Superstitious Century"" (Boomkat)
17. The Fall, ""The Remainderer"" (Cherry Red)
18. Boduf Songs/Jessica Bailiff, ""Decapitation Blues / Lakeside Blues"" (Morc)
19. Edward Ka-Spel, ""The Patriot"" (Unlimited Drift)
20. Moin, ""EP"" (Blackest Ever Black)
21. The Bug, ""Filthy"" (Ninja Tune)
22. Al Cisneros, ""Ark Procession"" (Drag City)
23. John Foxx and the Belbury Circle, ""Empty Avenues"" (Ghost Box)
24. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, ""Needle Boy"" (Kobalt)
25. Al Cisneros, ""Teresa Of Avila"" (Sinai)

Live album/vault recording/reissue (or otherwise not really a ""new full-length album"")

1. Swans, ""Not Here/Not Now"" (Young God)
2. Grouper, ""Dragging a Dead Deer Up a Hill"" (Kranky)
3. Edward Artemiev, ""Solaris Original Soundtrack"" (Mirumir)
4. Natural Snow Buildings / Isengrind / Twinsistermoon, ""The Snowbringer Cult"" (Ba Da Bing!)
5. Songs:Ohia, ""The Magnolia Electric Co."" (Secretly Canadian)
6. Bernard Parmegiani, ""De Natura Sonorum"" (Recollection GRM)
7. Iannis Xenakis, ""GRM Works 1957-1962"" (Recollection GRM)
8. Edward Artemiev, ""Stalker/The Mirror - Music From Andrey Tarkovsky's Motion Pictures"" (Mirumir)
9. Four Tet, ""Rounds"" (Domino)
10. Chrome, ""Half Machine from the Sun"" (self-released)
11. Godflesh, ""Hymns"" (The End)
12. Sandwell District, ""Fabric 69"" (Fabric)
13. Edward Ka-Spel, ""A Pleasure Cruise Through 9 Dimensions"" (Trademark of Quantity)
14. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""9 Lives to Wonder redux"" (Trademark of Quantity)
15. Grails, ""Black Tar Prophecies Vol. 4, 5 & 6"" (Temporary Residence)
16. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, ""Live from KCRW"" (Bad Seed Ltd.)
17. Come, ""Eleven:Eleven"" (Matador)
18. Peter Jeffries, ""The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World"" (De Stijl)
19. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""Seconds Late for the Brighton Line redux"" (Trademark of Quantity)
20. Alastair Galbraith, ""Cry"" (MIE)
21. Roky Erickson, ""The Evil One"" (Light in the Attic)
22. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""From Here You'll Watch the World Go By redux"" (Trademark of Quantity)
23. Devo, ""Hardcore"" (Superior Viaduct)
24. Drexciya, ""Journey Of The Deep Sea Dweller IV"" (Clone Classic Cuts )
25. Horseback, ""A Plague of Knowing"" (Relapse)
26. Robert Wyatt, ""68"" (Cuneiform)
27. Dead Can Dance, ""In Concert"" (Play It Again Sam)
28. Eliane Radigue, ""Opus 17"" (Alga Marghen)
29. Ensemble Economique, ""The Vastness Is Bearable Only Through Love"" (Shelter Press)
30. M. Geddes Gengras, ""Collected Works Vol. 1: The Moog Years"" (Umor Rex)
31. Sun City Girls, ""Eye Mohini (Sun City Girls Singles Volume 3)"" (Abduction)
32. Fluxion, ""Vibrant Forms"" (Type)
33. Gnod, ""Chaudelande"" (Rocket)
34. Loren Connors, ""The Departing of a Dream"" (Family Vineyard)
35. The Legendary Pink Dots, ""Hallway of the Gods redux"" (Trademark of Quantity)
36. Alberich, ""Machine Gun Nest: Cassette Works, Vol. 0"" (Hospital)
37. Iancu Dumitrescu, ""Pierres Sacrees/Hazard and Tectonics"" (Ideologic Organ)
38. Robbie Basho, ""Visions of the Country"" (Gnome Life)
39. The Slaves, ""Ocean on Ocean"" (Helen Scarsdale)
40. Codeine, ""What About the Lonely?"" (Numero Group)
41. Robert Turman, ""Beyond Painting"" (Fabrica)
42. Steve Hauschildt, ""S/H"" (Editions Mego)
43. Craig Leon, ""Nommos"" (Superior Viaduct)
44. Francois Bayle, ""Les couleurs de la nuit"" (Sub Rosa)
45. Muslimgauze, ""Izlamic Songs"" (Staalplaat)
46. Troum, ""Syzygie"" (Cold Spring)
47. Fela Kuti, ""The Best of the Black President 2"" (Knitting Factory)
48. Felicia Atkinson, ""Visions/Voices"" (Umor Rex)
49. Loscil, ""Intervalo: Adaptations for Piano & Laptop"" (Frond)
50. Piano Magic, ""Heart Machinery"" (Second Language)

Various Artist Collection of the Year

1. ""Touch30"" (Touch)
2. ""Metal Dance 2: Industrial, New Wave, and EBM Classics & Rarities 79-88"" (Strut)
3. ""Mutazione: Italian Electronic & New Wave Underground 1980-1988"" (Strut)
4. ""Deutsche Elektronische Musik 2"" (Soul Jazz)
5. ""I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age Music in America 1950-1990"" (Light in the Attic)
6. ""An Anthology of Noise and Electronic Music Vol. 7"" (Sub Rosa)
7. ""After Dark 2"" (Italians Do It Better)
8. ""Change the Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1979-1987"" (Strut)
9. ""L.I.E.S. Presents Music for Shut-Ins"" (L.I.E.S.)
10. ""The Crying Princess: 78RPM Records from Burma"" (Sublime Frequencies)
11. ""Afrobeat Airways 2: Return Flight to Ghana 1974-1983"" (Analog Africa)
12. ""20 Jahre Kompakt/Kollektion 1"" (Kompakt)
13. ""Choubi Choubi! Folk & Pop Songs from Iraq Vol. 2"" (Sublime Frequencies)
14. ""Ethnic Minority Music of Southern China "" (Sublime Frequencies)
15. ""Collision/Detection"" (Front & Follow)
16. ""Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s and '80s"" (Soundway)
17. ""Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound"" (Numero Group)
18. ""Hassaniya Music from the Western Sahara and Mauritania"" (Sublime Frequencies)
19. ""Livity Sound"" (Livity Sound)
20. ""Halh: 20 Years of Downwards"" (Downwards)
21. ""Down To The Silver Sea"" (Blank Workshop / Gecophonic Audio Systems)
22. ""Feral Grind"" (Submit)
23. ""20 Jahre Kompakt/Kollektion 2"" (Kompakt)
24. ""Studio One Ska Fever!"" (Soul Jazz)
25. ""Greek Rhapsody (Instrumental Music from Greece 1905-1956)"" (Dust-to-Digital)

 

Boxed Set

1. Eliane Radigue, ""Adnos I-III"" (Important)
2. Cabaret Voltaire, ""#8385 Collected Works (1983-1985)"" (Mute)
3. Can, ""Can"" (Spoon)
4. Natural Snow Buildings, ""Daughter of Darkness"" (Ba Da Bing!)
5. Eleh, ""Homage"" (Taiga)
6. Akos Rozmann, ""Images of the Dream and Death"" (Ideologic Organ)
7. Skullflower, ""Kino I-IV"" (Dirter)
8. The Hafler Trio, "" A Cure For Kenophobia-an Empowerment In 4 Easy Stages At Very Reasonable Rates; Recordings 87-99 "" (Vinyl On Demand)
9. My Cat is an Alien, ""Psycho-System"" (Elliptical Noise)
10. Red Temple Spirits, ""Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon/If Tomorrow I Were Leaving for Lhasa, I Wouldn't Stay a Minute More... "" (Independent Project)
11. Conny Plank, ""Who's That Man: A Tribute to Conny Plank"" (Grönland)
12. Dennis Johnson, ""November"" (Penultimate Press)
13. Greg Haines, ""2006-2012"" (Denovali)
14. Half Japanese, ""1/2 Gentlemen/Not Beasts"" (Fire)
15. Jandek, ""The Song of Morgan"" (Corwood)

 

Act of the Year

New Artist of the Year

Overlooked Staff Picks

 

Lifetime Achievement Recognition

 

Jason Molina

 

Worst Album of the Year

1. Arcade Fire, ""Reflektor"" (Merge)
2. Vampire Weekend, ""Modern Vampires of the City"" (XL)
3. The Men, ""New Moon"" (Sacred Bones)
4. !!!, ""THR!!!ER"" (Warp)
5. Darkstar, ""News from Nowhere"" (4AD)
6. Queens of the Stone Age, ""...Like Clockwork"" (Matador)
7. Smith Westerns, ""Soft Will"" (Mom + Pop Music)
8. Chvrches, ""The Bones of What You Believe"" (Glassnote)
9. Cut Copy, ""Free Your Mind"" (Modular)
10. Majical Cloudz, ""Impersonator"" (Matador)

 

This is the 15th Annual Brainwashed Readers Poll: the longest running poll from a digital publication that allows the readers to both nominate and vote for the best and worst of the year. The writers don't all necessarily agree with the placement and rankings, but we have our last word in the comments we have provided.

Thanks to everyone who participated in both rounds and we wish you the best for 2013.

Experimental music opens up our ears. Should we become too rigid or inflexible in our thinking, sound can point us toward broader avenues and unexpected possibilities. This, says Michael Pisaro, is one way that experimental music reaches out into the world. But, he says, it doesn’t just reach out, it invites listeners in and asks them to interact with what they hear. Over the course of several emails, I talked with Michael about his sense of time in music, complexity in modern composition, why silence matters as musical material, and how sound is never exactly what it seems.