Polyester Records


Top 50
POLYESTER RECORDS TOP 50 POLYESTER RECORDS TOP 50 POLL (2004 - 2009) At Polyester Records we love a good list. Over the past couple of months we’ve been compiling our Top 50 albums of the past five years. Twelve Polyester staff have voted and come up with list of albums that have entertained, inspired, continue to amaze and we think will stand the test of time. This new list follows the poll we did five years ago, when Gillian Welch’s Time (The Revelator) was voted number one, that list can be viewed at Top 50 section on the website. Over the past five years there have been thousands of new releases. We whittled the original list down to hundreds and then came up with our Top 50. Of course with any list there will be anomalies: very good albums just missing out and albums included you may violently disagree with. We all had those discussions when the final list presented itself. Phenomenally, 48 out of the 50 in our list by our calculations were released on independent labels. We are happy and proud to announce the Number One spot in our list is the sublime Sufjan Steven’s album ‘Come on Feel the Illinoise.’ A 22 track epic dedicated to the state of Illinois. An album so good it spawned a spin-off in the shape of the ‘The Avalanche’, this time the spin-off being a mere 21 songs. An album so good, it’s been four years and there’s still no sign of a follow-up. Just as we wait for post-masterpiece releases from other great artists such as The Avalanches, Postal Service and Gillian Welch, we also feel the weight on Sufjan Stevens’ shoulders in following up his masterpiece. And like many great albums controversy followed, this time involving the album’s artwork, Steven’s was made to remove Superman from the front cover by DC Comics. An album that lasts 74 minutes, not a note too long or short, not a note out of place. So many great songs like "John Wayne Gacy, Jr” matched equally to great song titles "The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning”, or, “We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You're Going to Have to Leave Now”, or, 'I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!'" The LA Times gave it 10/10. Pitchfork gave it 9.2. In 2005 most music publications gave ‘Illinoise’ album of the year. At Polyester we’re happy to say it’s our favourite album of the last five years. We’re proud of our role in promoting new music. We would look forward to any feedback and comments about the list. We hope it inspires you to dig out a forgotten album or explore something new. Thanks for all the continued support we receive; our customers make us what we are. Enjoy! Polyester Records Top 50 Poll (2004 – 2009) 1. Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illinoise 2. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 3. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion 4. Arcade Fire - Funeral 5. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago 6. Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam 7. Broadcast - Tender Buttons 8. Deerhunter - Microcastle 9. Midlake - Trials Of Van Occupanther 10. LCD Soundsystem - The Sound of Silver 11. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca 12. Fleet Foxes - Fleets Foxes 13. Smog - A River Ain’t Too Much To Love 14. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 15. Drones - Wait Long By The River And The Bodies Of Your Enemies Will Float By 16. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest 17. Radiohead - In Rainbows 18. Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna 19. Hercules & Love Affair – Hercules & Love Affair 20. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene 21. Tv On The Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain 22. Low - The Great Destroyer 23. Antony & The Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now 24. Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of The Country 25. Beirut - Flying Club Cup 26. Flying Lotus - Los Angeles 27. Scout Niblett- This Fool Can Die Now 28. Grizzly Bear - Yellow House 29. Caribou - Andorra 30. Beach House - Devotion 31. Joanna Newsom - Y's 32. Bill Callahan - Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle 33. Grand Salvo - The Temporal Wheel 34. Casiotone For The Painfully Alone - Etiquette 35. Cornelius - Sensuous 36. M.I.A - Kala 37. Wolf Parade - Apologies To The Queen Mary 38. Feist – The Reminder 39. New Buffalo - Last Beautiful Day 40. Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank 41. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 42. Yo La Tengo - I'm Not Afraid Of You And I'll Beat Your Ass 43. Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea 44. Scout Niblett- Kidnapped By Neptune 45. Beirut - Gulag Orkestar 46. The National - The Boxer 47. Mum Smokes - Easy/House Music 48. Blow - Paper Television 49. Danger Doom - Mouse & The Mask 50. Deerhoof - Runners Four Here is a list of Top 10's album from 2004 - 2009 from some of our freinds and customers: Josh Earl 1.The National - Boxer 2. Les Savy Fav - Let's Stay Friends 3. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago 4. The Mountain Goats - The Sunset Tree 5. Wolf Parade - Apologies To the Queen Mary 6. Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson 7. Art Brut - Bang Bang Rock and Roll 8. Hot Chip - Made In The Dark 9. Broken Social Scene 10. Why? - Alopecia Woody McDonald The Knife - Silent Shout Eddy Current Suppression Ring - Primary Colors Antony - I Am A Bird Now Dinosaur Jr - Farm M.I.A - Arular Joanna Newsom - Y's Kanye West - all of them Lil Wayne - The Carter 2 J Dilla - Donuts Linh Nguyen 1. In Rainbows - Radiohead (2007) 2. Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River (2005) 3. Funeral - Arcade Fire (2004) 4.The Bachelor - Patrick Wolf (2009) 5. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear (2009) 6. The Flying Club Cup - Beirut (2007) 7. Tools For Survival - Jackson Jackson (2008) 8. Seven Swans - Sufjan Stevens (2004) 9. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2008) 10. Release The Stars - Rufus Wainwright (2007 Greg Clohesy 1.cease to begin - band of horses 2.havilah - the drones 3.evil urges - my morning jacket 4.our earthly pleasures - maximo park 5.dear science - tv on the radio 6.bitte orca - dirty projectors 7.conditions - the temper trap 8.sunspot letters - leader cheetah 9.we were dead before the ship ever sank - modest mouse 10.wolfgang amadeus phoenix - phoenix Mark Arness 1. Funeral - Arcade Fire 2. Alopecia - Why? 3. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah 4. Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River 5. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver 6. Boxer - The National 7. Apologies To The Queen Mary - Wolf Parade 8. Tanglewood Numbers - Silver Jews 9. Our Endless Numbered Days - Iron & Wine 10. Person Pitch - Panda Bear Charlie Harrison 1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago 2. The National - Boxer 3. Arcade Fire - Funeral 4. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl 5. Fat Freddy's Drop - Based On A True Story 6. The Good The Bad & the Queen - The Good The Bad & the Queen 7. Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Cold Roses 8. Jose Gonzalez - Veneer 9. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning 10. Antony & the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now Olly Wright 1. Road to Rouen - Supergrass 2. For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver 3. Together We're Heavy - The Polyphonic Spree 4. The Hollow of Morning - Gemma Hayes 5. Some Cities - Doves 6. The Fragile Army - The Polyphonic Spree 7. Comments of the Inner Chorus - Tunng 8. The Miracle Inn - Euros Childs 9. Happiness is the Road - Marillion 10. Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters - The Twilight Sad Steve McLennan Blue Cathedral - Comets on Fire Feathers - Dead Meadow Bubblegum - Mark Lanegan In Rainbows - Radiohead Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon Everything All the Time - Band of Horses s/t - Fleet Foxes Rubber Factory - Black Keys Aha Shake Heartbreak - Kings of Leon Springtime Can Kill You - Jolie Holland Peter Ryan The National - SAD SONGS FOR DIRTY LOVERS Bob Dylan - MODERN TIMES Chris Knight - HEART OF STONE Matthew Ryan - vs. THE SILVER STATE Walkabouts - ENDED UP A STRANGER Tift Merritt - ANOTHER COUNTRY The Twilight Sad - 14 AUTUMNS & 15 WINTERS Shearwater - PALO SANTO Clem Snide -END OF LOVE Levon Helm - DIRT FARMER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLYESTER RECORDS TOP 50 POLL (1999 - 2004) This list was voted for by six Polyester staffers, our favourite Top 50 releases from 1999 - 2004. Most obsessive music fans love a good list. Sometimes it’s just to compartmentalise your own collection or to remind yourself of those favourite records and how you came to know them. Often it’s just a good conversation starter. In 1999 Chris Crouch and Warwick Lobb took over the establishment that is Polyester Records and this list represents the first 5 years of the new ownership. This list includes albums that have inspired, entertained and stayed with us over the years. We’re happy to announce Gillian Welch’s amazing ‘Time (The Revelator)’ topped our poll. Other high charters include the career defining rock crossover of Wilco’s ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ and the understated charm of Low’s ‘Things We Lost In The Fire.’ At Polyester we believe in the quality and uniqueness of new music and hope that this list sparks interest for what’s out there now rather then being caught up in only the nostalgic retrospection for music of past generations. We hope to do another list in 2009, for the next 5 years. *1. Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator)* 2. Low - Things We Lost In The Fire 3. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 4. Cat Power - You Are Free 5. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy- Master And Everyone 6. Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out 7. Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun 8. Beck - Sea Change 9. The Reindeer Section - Y'all Get Scared Now Ya Hear! 10. Machine Translations - Happy 11. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World 12. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow 13. Postal Service - Give Up 14. The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs 15. Iron & Wine - The Creek Drank The Cradle 16. The Flaming Lips - Soft Bulletin 17. Bright Eyes - Lifted 18. The Folk Implosion - One Part Lullaby 19. Architecture In Helsinki - Fingers Crossed 20. Damien Jurado - Where Shall You Take Me? 21. Art Of Fighting - Wires 22. Superchunk - Here's To Shutting Up 23. Papa M - Whatever Mortal 24. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 25. The Reindeer Section - Son Of Evil Reindeer 26. Her Space Holiday - Manic Expressive 27. The Avalanches - Since I Left You 28. Four Tet - Rounds 29. Grandaddy - Sophtware Slump 30. The Beta Band - Hot Shots II 31. Grandaddy - Sumday 32. The American Analog Set - Know By Heart 33. Looper - The Geometrid 34. Radiohead - Kid A 35. Bjork - Vespertine 36. Okkervil River - Down The River Of Golden Dreams 37. The Strokes - Is This It 38. Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News 39. Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life 40. Notwist - Neon Golden 41. M.Ward - Transfiguration Of Vincent 42. Grand Salvo - (1642 - 1727) 43. DJ Shadow - The Private Press 44. The Polyphonic Spree - The Beginning Stages Of.... 45. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender 46. Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker 47. The New Pornographers - Electric Version 48. Laura Veirs - Carbon Glacier 49. Calexico - Feast Of Wire 50. Smog - Supper --- The Polyester Crew