Best of the Year

Right, let’s cut to the chase: forget all those other narrow, limited, parochial and partisan Best Albums lists, here’s the only list you need: my round-up of the 40 albums that have charmed, enthralled, awed and amazed me the most during 2018. In case anyone was in any doubt, it’s …

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! As of today, 5:4 is ten years old, so first of all i want to say an enormous thank you to all of you who have read, commented, enjoyed, shared and supported this blog over the last decade, especially to my merry band of patrons. As this …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * So here they are, the best of the best of 2017. Your CD racks and audio libraries would be so much better off with these incredible gems nestling among …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * i started last year’s Best Albums of the Year list  concerned about whether or not such lists were a good, viable or indeed practical idea. This year finds me …

HAPPY NEW YEAR! i’m starting 2017 in the usual way, with a mixtape bringing together one track from each of the forty albums on my best of 2016 list. i’m sure posterity will come to regard last year as something of a trough in human history, but this mixtape does …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Here they are, then: the best of the best of 2016, each and every one of them packed full of the rarest imagination, invention and ingenuity. i can’t recommend them highly …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * i’ve long wondered whether there’s any justification—or, indeed, any point—in making end of year lists, particularly when, as usual, there’s a pile of as yet unplayed discs staring down …

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! In keeping with 5:4 tradition, here’s the new year Mixtape showcasing music from each of my Best Albums of 2015. Three hours that demonstrate something of the sonic wonders that materialised last year. Enjoy! — and there are links to buy each …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * And here, bringing 2015 to a truly glorious end, is the conclusion of my countdown of the year’s best albums.

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Pausing only to reiterate once again how fundamentally definitive and provisional are all lists, here we go with my countdown of 2015’s best albums, starting with numbers 40 to …

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! Many, many thanks to all of you who have followed the blog through the last 12 months, particularly to all those who have commented and tweeted in response or retort. As usual, here’s my new year mixtape featuring a track from all forty of my Best …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Bringing the main course to an end, here’s the conclusion of the countdown of my forty best albums of 2014. It’s been a breathtaking year. 20 | Salvatore Sciarrino – Cantare con silenzio …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * And so to the main course: the countdown of my forty best albums of the year; part 2 will follow tomorrow.

It’s that time once again, so as the year starts to sputters to its close, here’s my annual round-up of the best encounters i’ve had with 2014’s crop of new releases, beginning with the top 10 EPs. 10 | Deaf Center – Recount Feel the solemnity; Norwegian duo Erik Skodvin and Otto …

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! i want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s followed 5:4 in the last year, and especially to those of you who’ve posted comments and tweets in response. There are lots of exciting things planned for 2014, so watch this space. In …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Bringing 2013 to an end, here’s the final part of the best albums of the year. Go on, give your ears a treat, they deserve it.

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * Continuing my round-up of the best music of the year, here’s the first part of the most outstanding albums of 2013; part two will be coming tomorrow.

So, having listened to no fewer than 261 EPs and albums released this year, it’s time to distil that listening into the annual Best of the Year lists. As always, we’ll start with the ten most exceptional EPs.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! Today marks 5:4‘s fifth anniversary, and so i’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who regularly read, share and respond to the articles and music explored here. Since 2008, the blog has grown from being an occasional hobby (reading the …

* Please note this list has how been superseded by the one on the Best Albums of the Years page * The lists reduce the vastness into controllable sizes, into the size of things that can fit into our mind, where they can expand again to the size of everything. …