The Animal Years

At this point I’m getting tired of describing the albums so I remember what they are later so I’m just gonna say this was a decent 45 minutes of listening.

This was a great addition, I feel like some of the examples of this sound on the original list were very unique, but this was much more in the zeitgeist in my opinion.

Brilliant. Thin blue flame 👏

I can't believe there are so many artists on this list that I have never heard of. Especially, people like Josh Ritter. Wow, the style is right up my alley. This came out nearly 20 years ago and it sounds so fresh to me today. I also appreciate the unique and interesting album cover. Standouts: Girl in the War, Wolves, Monster Ballads, Idaho, In the Dark, Lillian Egypt 4.5/5

A lovely singer songwriter album from an artist I'd never heard of. Soothing and beautiful. It seems there was a lot of great music being made in 2006 that passed me by. Rating: 4.5 Playlist track: Girl In The War Date listened: 26/11/24

I love the album cover, love the music, I love it all. Really great addition and a really nice way to spend the afternoon. Really terrific!

7/10. At its best, it reminded me a bit of America (the band), at its worst, it reminded me of the mass of pleasant but nigh-indistinguishable indie-folk of the last two decades.

A little on the fence on this one. Well crafted and performed but to me dull in parts. The stronger material sustained it though.

A lovely folkin' good time. Idaho is achingly beautiful.

This is really, really good. I need to listen to more Josh Ritter. 4 stars.

I really enjoyed this album at first, but it started to drag in the last quarter. The Americana here is a much better representation than can be found on other albums that are on the list. For example, this album far exceeds Ryan Adams' work. The music is well executed, and I enjoyed the soft electronic sounds that could be heard in the background throughout. Though I found it a bit dull in parts, I want to listen again to give it a fair chance.

I was expecting the musical stylings of the late comedic actor John Ritter. Thankfully, this was certainly better.

Nice intimate singer-songwriter album. My favorite tracks are Girl in the Water and Good Man.

Solid listen! Haven't heard of this guy, but it's some singer/songwriter stuff with an Americana edge. Took some settling in, but the back half really started to shine for me. "Good Man" is fantastic. The sort of rapping he did on "Thin Blue Flame" was interesting, didn't quite work for me but I respect it. Overall, pretty great album. Made me think of that one Benjamin Francis Leftwich album, Last Smoke Before the Snowstorm, not necessarily sonically but more thematically. That would be a good album for a list like this too. Favorite tracks: Good Man, One More Mouth, Best for the Best, Idaho, Wolves. Album art: A horse balancing on a log floating in water. It's got an invisible saddle effect going on, makes it look like it's just disfigured. Very folksy art style, fits the album well. 4/5

Gives me the feeling of seeing a small band in a large mountain cabin. I think it starts out very strong but loses me in the later half. The final songs are great though. Favorite tracks: "Monster Ballads", "Lillian, Egypt", "Idaho"

Another really fun discovery. Kind of an Andrew Bird vibe, or a less extravagant Father John Misty. Very lovely and well arranged singer songwriter tunes

Another folksy Americana album; I take it pretty much everyone who ever listened to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, or Johnny Cash has, at some point, gone into a studio with four chords and a book of story lyrics. It's good, but not really anything unique, and it would, in my opinion, probably have to take the place of something similar sounding if it was to find a place in the next edition.

Never heard of Josh Ritter before, but this is a great example of a singer songwriter album, good choice.

Never heard of this artist and it was perfectly acceptable folk / americana. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it as much as some other folk artists on this list. The guy seems quite prolific and maybe that'll inspire me to check out some of his other discography. Seems like a veteran solid singer-songwriter. My personal rating: 3.5/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Probably should revisit

These are really good heartfelt songs. A bit too American heartland for me but that's not his fault.

Usually the sort of thing I'd turn my nose up at but this hit just right.

Enjoyed that.

This is nice. It’s not making a huge impact on me, but pleasant and enjoyable.

This man is a hell of a songwriter. The imagery he portrays in Thin Blue Flame is amazing. Favorite songs: Thin Blue Flame, In the Dark, Wolves, Girl in the War, "Lillian, Egypt", Monster Ballads, Good Man, Here at the Right Time Least favorite songs: Idaho 4/5

Such extraordinarily easy listening tends to hide the considerable substance here. Does seem perhaps excessively normie and in 2025, there's a sense of just how much this has been done (see recent Whitney-trashing Pitchfork review). And just to get the jokes out of the way, this is better than Josh Groban, but not as good as Josh Rouse (a long-time personal fave). Good line: “You dance you like don’t need no one else.” Thanks, recommender for this insertion as it encourages one to spend a bit more time on an artist one's mostly ignored. Could easily replace Muse and maybe Joanna Newsom (though the originality of JN is a plus) from 2006 alone and would likely take over John Grant, too, in the same genre category.

Thin Blue Flame is epic, bona fide. The rest of Animal Years's conceit is sneakier, an approach to America which works reliably from inside or out. Instruments varied and old and new work through the tapestry of the songs, never artificial but significantly less enigmatic than Ritter's word choice.

Some quick little singer songwriter action

A little bit boring at times

Harmony, good lyrics, good rhythm...invites you to enjoy and listen to him calmly.

This started out pretty good, but slowly blended into a not so distinct backdrop during my work. Not bad, but I would have to listen to this a few more times before it would potentially find more room to nest inside my brain.

Although this was pleasant to listen to, it wasn't that noteworthy for a 1001 list in my opinion.

The kind of music my wife loves

A more modern take on a dinger-songwriter LP with some great guitar and surprising instrumental tricks up its sleeve. Still primarily vocal-driven, but thanks to Ritter’s solid writing there’s at least some sense of narrative intrigue that sits well on top of the meatier instrumentals.

Very musical folk/Americana. A better choice than a lot of the twangy country that was on the list.

Folk rock, Americana. Ni fu ni fa.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Wolves

Nice folk 2.7

Ok

A solid singer-songwriter vibe in the vein of Iron & Wine and lo-fi Father John Misty. The songs are a bit hit and miss through most of it. They're fine, but they don't do a lot to differentiate themselves. Enjoyed Girl in the War and Monster Ballads at the start. It wasn't until Thin Blue Flame that this really comes into its own. It has a great developing passion and energy that carry it like any of the prior tracks. Really solid.

Started off a bit dated, but he really picked up his groove. Hadn't heard of this artist before, but he's got a good Dylan vibe to him. The whistling/feedback in Good Man was a bit annoying.

This was really nice. Lovely arrangements, with elegant but plain-spoken lyrics. A little slow moving on the back half, but overall a really well done album. Fave Songs: Wolves, Monster Ballads, Thin Blue Flame, In the Dark, Girl in the War

This was an unexpectedly great album from an artist that I’ve never heard of before. The poetic Americana style had some excellent storytelling within the songs. Overall this was something I’d revisit as the Americana genre has been something I’ve found so raw and heartfelt. This album has all of that with the simplicity of the singer songwriter quality. 7.7/10

Mjög ljúft og kósí. Haustkvöldstónlist.

A nice little trip into folk land. Had this album been on the main list, I'd maybe question it's inclusion, but as this is a user pick I think it's very valid and was perfect for this fall day.

I forgot it already

Didn’t quite stick with me, but not a bad album

I enjoyed listening to this today, but it's not something I'd probably go back to.

It was ok

The very definition of poised, tranquil pop folk. A very self-assured vocal performance, maybe a little too pristine and perfect for the genre, but still authentic-sounding enough. Nice songs and some very interesting arrangments once in a while. That lively boogie piano on "Lillian Egypt"... That high-pitched synth line sounding like a theremin on "Good Man", along with those low-pitched, deep male backing vocals... The only problem about the inclusion of this album here is maybe how generic and devoid of real surprises the whole thing sounds, in spite of those discreet off-kilter flourishes. You'd just need more imaginative chords to wake you up at some point, or a vocalist willing to take far more risks in one way or another (even if Josh Ritter does so in the -- admittedly too long -- spoken word bridges of "Thin Blue Flame"). The lyrics are also fine enough, I guess. Yet I wouldn't bet on that horse -- ultimately looking like so many other ones of them -- to become the memorable folk thoroughbred this extra list really needs. Thanks for the suggestion, though. There are better choices for me out there, but also far worse ones! 3/5 for the purposes of this list of essential album. 8/10 for more general purposes (5+3) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 23 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 35 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 66 (including this one) --- Émile, j'ai mis ma dernière réponse sous l'album de The 1975 au dessus...

Good folky tunes. Literally never heard this name before.

Singer-songwriter stuff isn't generally my cup of tea, but I'm glad that he can at least sing. Probably also hit a lot better back when it released in 2006. Would have been fresh air for that era.

Nice enough

Above average folk Americana.

Not bad. Knew the name not the work

Perfectly pleasant background music

I listened a couple of times and I didn't quite bite on it. It's nice enough but very pedestrian.

Not really an album that I would listen to.

Okay, this has a lot of protest music on it, which I like, but it's really country-leaning, which I don't. Solid musicianship.

It’s ok.

I feel sorry for that horse.

Some chill-singer-songwriter music. Not much of my style, but respect.

More folk? Are you kidding me? Haven't we had enough folk rock already? 2/5.

Boring. The guy has a nice voice and a sweet little way with his words, but I just felt bored by it. Sorry, it is what it is.

Fuckers took a bite of my horse, can't have shit in Detroit. Very, very slow. Not my type of folk.

Meh. Was ok but didn’t set my world on fire.

Vaguely country and rock and pop and yet not hitting any of the notes that would make this album succeed for me.

Unexciting singer songwriter stuff, but I'll save it from one star inogminy, as I feel bad that Ed Sheeran made millions shilling the same bland tripe a few years later.

The Animal Years starts on quite an impressive note, the first three tracks are good, charming melodies, good songwriting and vocal delivery, but then it slips into bland generic singer-songwriter stuff and struggles to lift itself back to previous heights. Good Man gets there, nothing else does (Thin Blue Flame has its moments but it's needlessly long and confuses itself at times (plus there's some really bad mixing near the end)), so this is a 2/5, and apparently someone's must-listen.

Nice enough

It’s a pretty album. I won’t listen again, thank you.

I couldn’t much get into the lyrics or the vocal style. Music was ok. Not for me