best pick from the album exchange I do with a friend

No idea if this objectively arbitrary list of albums will be of interest as a poll — though if people like it, I can do more as we’re coming up on round #100 — but I’ve been meaning to do this for a while because I recommend it as a fun way to keep in touch with someone regularly plus be exposed to music you might otherwise have avoided or never known about. You have to listen at least 3 times and then provide some kind of response via text, preferably a song-by-song breakdown though that isn’t always possible. Sometimes we ask for a prompt (genre, time period, mood), but generally there are no restrictions and despite being tempted I’ve never outright vetoed any of his picks, despite our differing tastes.

I have a bunch of these but it's got to be Liege & Lief.

That would be in contention for me too, but I feel slightly honour-bound to vote for one of my friend's picks, which almost certainly means Hejira though Mississippi John Hurt was also revelatory.

Though I put on that Terry Allen album the other day for the first time since 2020 and while it didn't even sound particularly familiar, it was great

Popol Vuh

Lucinda

Hosianna Mantra is on a short list of albums that still sound as beautiful to me now as when I first heard them

I need to revisit the Lucinda. The one downside of the game for me is it tends to mean I listen intently for a few weeks and then move on, hence my remembering I liked On Lubbock but couldn't remember at all what it sounded like. Lucinda very much in the category of: I would never have listened to this without being assigned it.

That would be in contention for me too, but I feel slightly honour-bound to vote for one of my friend's picks, which almost certainly means Hejira though Mississippi John Hurt was also revelatory.

― obvious old hat (rob), Tuesday, January 20, 2026 2:24 PM (fifty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Though I put on that Terry Allen album the other day for the first time since 2020 and while it didn't even sound particularly familiar, it was great

― obvious old hat (rob), Tuesday, January 20, 2026 2:25 PM (fifty-six minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Those are two other contenders for me, along with the Dylan (though I like L&T a lot more).

Royal Scam

many many contenders, but Sandy is the one for me here

also this is a cool idea

voted popol vuh

blowout comb vs. hejira vs. crazy rhythms

(many other greats, those are just what i've whittled it down to)

this is a great thing to do. i'm glad it's worked out for you. i'm also doing a music exchange with a friend. he's turning me on to memphis hip-hop atm. i got him into ghosted III. he liked sunbathing to it in florida lol.

i'm also a huge fan of liege & lief but i think i have to vote for black sabbath as i finally listened to all the 70s albums last year and so it's a fresh "classic album that recently knocked you out".

SBS is my top Sab it's true

in fact I think I'm gonna crank it right now

a "music exchange" sounds like an incredibly fun concept, thanks for sharing that, rob.

lots of great albums, but my gut is telling me paris 1919

My pleasure, for real. I should also mention I noticed an attempt to do something similar on ILM a while back: https://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?boardid=41&threadid=115711.

blowout comb vs. hejira vs. crazy rhythms

― austinato (Austin), Tuesday, January 20, 2026 3:34 PM (thirty-eight minutes ago)

I don't know if you do podcasts Austin, but Life of the Record did a very good episode on Crazy Rhythms, lots of cool insights into the recording, really made me appreciate it all over again.

That's great to hear, map! As I said, I really recommend it, both for staying in touch and widening your musical horizons. Obviously you need to have the right partner — best is someone who is as into music, more or less, as you but has different areas of obsession — but I find it being a friend doing the recommending means I can't dismiss his perspective the way I could with a critic or, well, someone online. Which means you end up confronting your own prejudices & blindspots. It's a lot harder to justify, for ex, refusing to listen to Taylor Swift in this context. Doesn't mean you'll end up loving it ofc (there are a couple things on this list I don't need to hear again), but the requirement to report back means I usually end up appreciating *something* about every assignment.

yes it very naturally follows that your walls go down when there's a relationship and care involved. a nice thing about it is that even if you don't end up loving something, you can appreciate why your friend does.

Some fantastic records but I saw Cedric Im Brooks and didn't think twice

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

uniqueness bias: unlike w several other artists here---the only album of his that I stan for:

Bruce Springsteen - The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle

Terry Allen, easy. That's a top ten album for me.

Although there's a good bit here I haven't heard.

I went for the smokey reverie of Dadawah.

This is an interesting list and I'm looking forward to checking out some of the stuff I don't know.

Just one thing, on a tangent: as you've included Clube da Esquina, I'd warmly recommend Clube da Esquina II, which is heavier, deeper, more satisfying than the first, IMHO.

The Springsteen case is interesting. My friend is a big fan, so when I admitted I'd never heard a single album by him, he decided to assign me the whole discography in order over the years. I listened to The River last fall (kind of a mess imo, I much preferred Darkness). I'm not converted to fandom really, but as discussed earlier it's been fun engaging with an artist I had a pretty strong prejudice against (well, not just prejudice, I really hated the song "Born in the USA" when I was a kid) and getting to see why my friend likes it so much.

The Terry Allen album is really special, unique in a lot of ways.

Dadawah was probably my most successful pick, in that my friend has frequently requested "more stuff like Dadawah" which unfortunately is a v difficult request to fulfill.

I'm glad you mentioned Clube II. I've been on a revived Brazilian kick this month and finding the late 70s particularly interesting. My initial burst of interest in BR was pre-streaming so there are lots of albums by artists I love that I never heard back then, including Clube II.

had no idea there was a Clube II!

for "more stuff like Dadawah" maybe African Head Charge "Songs Of Praise", different but similar in some ways

I assigned him Off the Beaten Track in a later round! The Cedric Brooks was an attempt to answer his request. Also did a couple Keith Hudsons over the years, which was very successful. I should figure out a Ras Michael pick maybe. Or just make him do Grounation

yeah that too ;)

agreed that disco of Ras Michael is likely a fruitful place to explore ... but this is also an area where various youtube mixes really excel, various DJs posting homemade sets of deep roots/heavy dub, etc. finally, donna rouge shared "Jackie Mittoo - Ayatollah" on the reggae idiot's guide thread recently, definitely worth hearing!

forgot to share that i voted Popol Vuh, that record stands out even in a field as crowded as this one

ooh yeah Ayatollah is on one of my all-time favourite compilations: https://www.discogs.com/master/2685827-Various-Basic-Replay. I don't know if that's findable online, but everything on it is great

I had a college friend who was really into Ras Michael, but I've never sorted out his discography myself. Not well represented on streaming afaict but None A Jah Jah Children is good iirc

took a chance on the Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus album on Qobuz with the best-looking cover and it's a winner: Love Thy Neighbour, produced by Lee Perry though there is a lot of conflicting info online about this album. highly recommended if you're into Dadawah

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

'took a chance on the Ras Michael & the Sons of Negus album on Qobuz with the best-looking cover and it's a winner: Love Thy Neighbour, produced by Lee Perry though there is a lot of conflicting info online about this album. highly recommended if you're into Dadawah'

- really loving this. Thanks for the tip.

my pleasure! and an apt conclusion to the thread tbh