ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2025: Ballots/Stats/Recriminations Thread

Carrying on from the roll-out thread: ILM's Top 77 Albums of 2025

Post your ballots and ah hominems!

Full results

Voter stats

CMAT @ 81
.clipping @ 83

77 voters, amazing

here's my mixed ballot. as usual there's a slightly annoying in retrospect end-of-the-year bias that I'd correct for now, but I'd def recommend any of the ones that didn't place, especially Yves Jarvis and Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes, the latter should have been weighted. I think many ilxors would enjoy Automatic; it's not groundbreaking but if a slightly more post-punky ESG appeals, check it out.

Yves Jarvis - All Cylinders
Dijon - Baby
Makaya McCraven - Off the Record
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Jim Legxacy - Black British Music
Brìghde Chaimbeul - Sunwise
Ben Lamar Gay - Yowzers

Automatic - Is It Now?
Bitchin Bajas - Totality
Disiniblud - Disiniblud
Ela Minus - DÍA
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson & Sam Wilkes - Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes
Holden & Zimpel - The Universe Will Take Care Of You
Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Kieran Hebden & William Tyler - 41 Longfield Street Late ‘80s
Laurie Torres - Après coup
Moon Apple - Four Pillars
Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III
Park Jiha - All Living Things
Resavoir & Mat Gold - Horizon
ROSALÍA - LUX
Sarathy Korwar - There Is Beauty, There Already
Sofie Birch & Antonia Nowacka - Hiraeth
Various Artists - Emerald: New Sounds from Moon Glyph Records
Yazz Ahmed - A Paradise in the Hold

As usual I didn’t get it together enough to vote but my top 3 would have been Clipping, De La Soul and Nourished by Time.

Who was the third Water Gun Water Gun Sky Attack voter??

weighted

DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Oklou - Choke Enough
Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t
Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power
The Necks - Disquiet
ROSALÍA - LUX
De La Soul - Cabin in the Sky
Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
Algernon Cadwallader - Trying Not to Have a Thought
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Hüsker Dü - 1985: The Miracle Year
Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal
Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Mercy
Circuit des Yeux - Halo On The Inside
Bitchin Bajas - Totality
Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
SUMAC & Moor Mother - The Film
Guerilla Toss - You're Weird Now
William Tyler - Time Indefinite
Deftones - private music
billy woods - Golliwog
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Phantom Island
They Are Gutting a Body of Water - LOTTO
Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On

mixed ballot

Oklou - Choke Enough
Doves - Constellations for the Lonely
PinkPantheress - Fancy That
Edith Frost - In Space
Call Super - A Rhythm Protects One
Tony Molina - On This Day
Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
George Riley - More is More
Living Hour - Internal Drone Infinity
John Glacier - Like A Ribbon
Patrick Wolf - Crying the Neck
Akira Umeda & Metal Preyers - Clube da Mariposa Mórbida
Youth Lagoon - Rarely Do I Dream
Just Mustard - We Were Just Here
Perfume Genius - Glory

Khadija Al Hanafi - !OK!
Danny Brown - Stardust
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
Flock of Dimes - The Life You Save
Robert Forster – Strawberries
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Sudan Archives - The BPM
Venturing - Ghostholding
Whatever the Weather - II

Beach Bunny - Tunnel Vision
Eliza McLamb - Good Story
Emma-Jean Thackray - Weirdo
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
Flock of Dimes - The Life You Save
Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson & Sam Wilkes - Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes
Haim - I Quit
Hatchie - Liquorice
Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Jay Som - Belong
K-LONE - sorry i thought you were someone else
Lily Allen - West End Girl
​​Little Simz - Lotus
Madeline Kenny - Kiss from the Balcony
Men I Trust - Equus Caballus
Makaya McCraven - Off the Record
PinkPantheress - Fancy That
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Sudan Archives - The BPM
Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl
The Beths - Straight Line Was A Lie
Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
Wednesday - Bleeds
Wet Leg - Moisturizer
Wolf Alice - The Clearing

(Unweighted ballot)

ALBUMS
Mixed

Biota - Measured Not Found
The Necks - Disquiet
Daniel Bachman - Moving Through Light
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Phantom Island
Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool Volume 25
Gigi Masin - Implodendo in una accecante oscurità Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
Gina Birch - Trouble
Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t
Hüsker Dü - 1985: The Miracle Year
The Legendary Pink Dots - So Lonely in Heaven

Edward Ka-Spel/Twilight Circus - 800 Saints
Eve Libertine & Eva Leblanc - Live at the Horse Hospital
Grykë Pyje - Crepuscular Elixirs
Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
Lyra Pramuk - Hymnal
Mekons - Horror
Snõõper - Worldwide
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia
The Dwarfs Of East Agouza - Sasquatch Landslide
The Ex - If Your Mirror Breaks
Various Artists - Emerald: New Sounds from Moon Glyph Records
Ø/Mika Vainio – Sysivalo
Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty, Hahn Rowe - Second
Bitchin Bajas - Totality

weighted ballot

Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Blawan - SickElixir
caroline - caroline 2
Barker - Stochastic Drift
james K - Friend
Cory Hanson - I Love People
Call Super - A Rhythm Protects One
The Necks - Disquiet
loscil - Lake Fire
Al Wootton - Calvinist Hospitality
23wa - AZ
HiTech - HoneyPaqq Volume One
Daniel Bachman - Moving Through Light
U.e. - Hometown Girl
Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
Annahstasia - Tether
Amaarae - Black Star
Geese - Getting Killed
Baths- Gut
Nation of Language - Dance Called Memory
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
Kelly Moran - Don't Trust Mirrors
OTON - New Forms of Silence 2
Ruth Parker - Otherwise Occupied

legitimately surprised about Bachman and U.e. (aka Ulla Strauss) not making the cut— their records were really important for me this year, as along with loscil, theirs were for the quieter or more ponderous moments. the U.e. record in particular is incredible— on the bandcamp for it, a comment reads “there’s subtle and then there’s whatever this is.” it’s so subtle it’s almost not there, but it’s incredible

Weighted:

Daryl Johns - s/t
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
The Tubs - Cotton Crown
Pulp - More
Pinkpantheress - Fancy That
Squid - Cowards
Billy Woods - Golliwog
Destroyer - Dan's Boogie
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
CMAT - Euro Country
Eddie Chacon - Lay Low
Panda Bear - Sinister Grift
Half Man Half Biscuit - All Asimov and No Fresh Air
Nourished by Time - The Passionate Ones
Safe Mind - Cutting The Stone
Moreish Idols - All In The Game
Wet Leg - Moisturiser
Cass McCombs - Interior Live Oak
University - McCartney, It'll Be OK
Brian D'addario - In The Morning
Armand Hammer - Mercy
John Tejada - The Watchline
Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia
Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
Lifeguard - Ripped and Torn

Weighted, bold did not place:

Mossaï Mossaï - Fourrière
Water Gun Water Gun Sky Attack - Six Tenants Killing One Home Owner Six Times Over
Katarina Gryvul - Spomyn
Ted Hearne & The Crossing - Farming
The New Eves - The New Eve Is Rising
Taku Hannoda & Kazuhisa Uchihashi - ABA
Prolapse - I Wonder When They’re Going To Destroy Your Face
The Tubs - Cotton Crown
Osmium - Osmium
Rattle - Encircle
Kate NV - Room for the Moon Live
Kasai - 〽
SANAM - Sametou Sawtan
Juana Molina - DOGA
Dancer - More or Less
Marie Davidson - City of Clowns
KAMIKAMIKAMI - Aftermath of Spring and Autumn
Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer
Me Lost Me - This Material Moment
Stealing Sheep - GLO (Girl Life Online)
Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS
Nobukazu Takemura - Knot of Meanings
Lucy Railton - Blue Veil
Proc Fiskal - Canticle Hardposte
Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures

5/25 placed, and I have clawed back some obscurantist credibility - 4th least hivemindy, 9th loneliest voter. Closest neighbour was Bingo Dabber Acid, high five.

mixed ballot for me, bold placed (10 out of 25), italics lone vote

Annahstasia - Tether
Dijon - Baby
Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
friendship - caveman wakes up
billy woods - Golliwog
nino paid - love me as i am
Cory Hanson - I Love People
Ben Lamar Gay - Yowzers
De La Soul - Cabin in the Sky
Silvestre - Fantasma

Juana Molina - DOGA
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
lelo - new detroit
herbert & momoko gill - clay
keiyAa - hooke’s law
Makaya McCraven - Off the Record
Lucrecia Dalt - A Danger to Ourselves
Titanic - HAGEN
Sudan Archives - The BPM
greg freeman - burnover
rio da yung og - f.l.i.n.t. (feeling like i'm not through)
ringlets - the lord is my german shepherd (time for walkies)
SML - How You Been
Hannah Frances - Nested in Tangles
Yves Jarvis - All Cylinders

most surprising of my votes to miss, imo, is lucrecia dalt. i thought people really liked that one.

i wrote about my top ten albums here and top 25 songs here

I didn’t get it together to vote unfortunately but did compare the results to my own AOTY list (bold placed - my #1 would prob have been ‘horizon’ or ‘LUX’)

resavoir / matt gold - horizon
chiu / honer - different rooms
brighde chaimbeul - sunwise
DJ dadaman / moscow dollar - kagaza
vegyn / air - blue moon safari
ichiko aoba - luminescent creatures
eddie chacon - lay low
the necks - disquiet
ela minus - dia
ie - reverse earth
piotr kurek - songs and bodies
los thuthanaka - S/T
agriculture - the spiritual sound
yasmine hamdan - I remember I forget
23wa - AZ
rosalia - LUX

Who was the third Water Gun Water Gun Sky Attack voter??

I was! Discovered it through music league, that album is really something.

my ballot:
bold placed, italics sole voter

Circuit des Yeux - Halo On The Inside
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Coen - Moshpit
Blawan - SickElixir
Unspecified Enemies - Romance in the Age of Adaptive Feedback
Water Damage - Instruments

Destroyer - Dan's Boogie
Zombie Zombie - Funk Kraut
Huremic - Seeking Darkness
Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t
Water Gun Water Gun Sky Attack - Six Tenants Killing One Home Owner Six Times Over
Hieroglyphic Being - Dance Music 4 Bad People

unweighted, bold placed

Annie A - The Wind That Had Not Touched Land
Anthony Naples - Scanners
Big Hands - Thauma
Brìghde Chaimbeul - Sunwise
Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying
feeo - Goodness
James K - Friend
Joanne Robertson - Blurrr
Jules Reidy - Ghost/Spirit
Lucy Gooch - Desert Window
Lyra Pramuk - Hymnal
Model/Actriz - Pirouette
Nadah el Shazly - Laini Tani
Natura Morta - Un Pensiero Intrusivo
Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III
Pink Must - Pink Must
Pouya Ehsaei - People of the Wind
Raisa K - Affectionately
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Smerz - Big City Life
Voice Actor, Squu - Lust (1)
Voices from the Lake - Voices from the Lake II
Volodja Brodsky - Raindrops
Water from Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds

apologies, this was a bit hastily assembled tbh...

Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity)

Bitchin Bajas - Totality
COLA REN - Mekong Ballad
ddwy - Beaming Backwards
Init - Pool Jams
Klein - Thirteen Sense
Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka
Lucy Gooch - Desert Window
Lyra Pramuk - Hymnal
Marina Zispin - No You See Me, Now You Don't
Polygonia - Dream Horizons
Proc Fiskal - Canticle Hardposte
Trystero - Humming Fuzz
Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
WINO-E - WINO-E

Tim F is my top neighbor this time. Gooch galz 4 life

mixed ballot, bold placded

Erika de Casier - Lifetime
feeo - Goodness
FKA Twigs - EUSEXUA
keiyAa - hooke’s law
Annahstasia - Tether

Nyron Higor - Nyron Higor
Model/Actriz - Pirouette
Oklou - Choke Enough
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
BOOF - Night Blooming Cereus
Anthony Naples - Scanners
anaiis - Devotion & the Black Divine
Mark William Lewis - Mark William Lewis
Leon Thomas - PHOLKS
Andrew Aged - crowned
Joanne Robertson - Blurrr
Lucrecia Dalt - A Danger to Ourselves
Helviofox - Rodeado de Batida
Kelela - In The Blue Light
Elujay - A Constant Charade
Chronixx - Exile
Venna - MALIK
Rochelle Jordan - Through The Wall
Addison Rae - Addison
Isaia Huron - CONCUBANIA

.28 loneliness, yay me

Shoutout to the other Samia and Ken Pomeroy voters!

Bold = dnp
** = sole voter

Mixed ballot.

ROSALÍA - LUX
Jeff Tweedy - Twilight Override
Dijon - Baby
Big Thief - Double Infinity
Geese - Getting Killed
Bon Iver - Sable, Fable
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
Alex G - Headlights
Sam Stoane - Tales of the Dark West**
Jim Legxacy - Black British Music
Justin Bieber - SWAG
Samia - Bloodless
Margo Price - Hard Headed Woman
Great Grandpa - Patience, Moonbeam

Jens Lekman - Songs For Other People’s Weddings
Hayley Williams - Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
james K - Friend
Ken Pomeroy - Cruel Joke
loscil - Lake Fire
Ashley Monroe - Tennessee Lightning
Pulp - More
Wolf Alice - The Clearing
Barker - Stochastic Drift
Wednesday - Bleeds
PinkPantheress - Fancy That

Mixed, bold dnp, ** sole voter

DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Logic1000 - DJ-Kicks
PinkPantheress - Fancy That
The Tubs - Cotton Crown
The Beths - Straight Line Was A Lie
james K - Friend
McKinley Dixon - Magic, Alive!
Haim - I Quit
Wolf Alice - The Clearing
Hatchie - Liquorice
Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity)
Jonny Nash - Once Was Ours Forever
Dijon - Baby
Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine

Acopia - Blush Response **
Auntie Flo - Birds of Paradise
Darkside - Nothing
Eli Keszler - Eli Keszler
Ex-Void - In Love Again
Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
Rose Gray - Louder Please
Snocaps - Snocaps
Suede - Antidepressants
Wet Leg - Moisturizer

xp to nickB: that WINO-E record is such a trip, it might've made my ballot if i'd actually heard it before last month

is there an easy way to see which albums you were the sole voter for?

Not really. You just have to search on the spreadsheet. I thought I might have been for McKinley Dixon but two others also voted for it

yes donna rouge! <3

weighted, bold p

Barker - Stochastic Drift
Voices From the Lake - Voices From the Lake II
Call Super - A Rhythm Protects One
K-LONE - sorry i thought you were someone else
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia
These New Puritans - Crooked Wing
Shinichi Atobe - Discipline
Unspecified Enemies - Romance in the Age of Adaptive Feedback
Jonny Nash - Once Was Ours Forever
Oklou - Choke Enough
John Tejada - The Watchline
Arp - Drift
Surgeon - Shell~Wave
Ex Libris - 001/002
Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
Westerman - A Jackal's Wedding
james K - Friend
The Orb - Buddhist Hipsters
Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine
Anthony Naples - Scanners
Auntie Flo - Birds of Paradise
Paul St. Hilaire - w/The Producers
Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III
loscil - Lake Fire

already looking forward to the "orphan #1 votes" poll, in which I will vote for Biota yet again.

Here are the albums that received just one vote, but in the #1 position:

Dave Shuford and Pat Murano - Sing and Play for the Guru
Go Kurosawa - Soft Shakes
Molly Nilsson - Amateur
Packaging - Packaging
Pebbledash - To Cast The Sea In Concrete
RAVEN - GNOSIS
Taku Hannoda & Kazuhisa Uchihashi - ABA
The Alien Dub Orchestra - Plays the Breadminister Songbook
The Delines - Mr. Luck and Ms. Doom
The Weather Station - Humanhood
Tony Molina - On This Day
Total Wife - Come Back Down
Turnstile - Never Enough
gwenifer raymond - last night i heard the dog star bark
nino paid - love me as i am

Scratch that. Was on 40. These are the 50s.

BRUIT ≤ - The Age of Ephemerality
Biota - Measured Not Found
Francie - Jane Doe
Haley Heynderickx / Max García Conover - What of Our Nature
Kevin Drumm - Neither Here Nor There
Mossaï Mossaï - Fourrière
Ron Gallipoli - An Imposter
bvdub - No More Rain

Weighted, Bold DNP, ** sole voter

james K - Friend
ROSALÍA - LUX
Oneohtrix Point Never - Tranquilizer
Sofia Kourtesis - Volver
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
Oklou - Choke Enough
Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
Barker - Stochastic Drift
Yetsuby - 4EVA **
fka boursin - Cowboys Don't Cry **
Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia
Ex Libris - 001/002
Make McCraven - Off the Record
Voices From the Lake - Voices From the Lake II
Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity)
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Surprise Chef - Superb **
Amadou & Mariam - L'amour a la folie **
Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends - Saul Williams Meets Carlos Niño & Friends at Treepeople **
Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles - Alan Sparhawk with Trampled by Turtles
Lyra Pramuk - Hymnal
billy woods - Golliwog
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
Rafiq Bhatia - Environments **
Sudan Archives - The BPM

Crazy, 17/25 placed. Might never match that again haha

Actually surprised at being the only voter for Amadou & Mariam, Yetsuby and Surprised Chef.

omg someone else voted for Biota!!! that just made my day

wait no, it's just missing from Indexed's list

oh I see, carry on, sorry

MIXED (bold placed, on my phone so)

Sudan Archives - The BPM
DJ Koze - Music Can Hear Us
Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine
Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying
Eddie Chacon - Lay Low
Packaging - Packaging
James Shinra - Meteorites
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Gush
Neggy Gemmy - She Comes From Nowhere
Two Shell - Iicons

Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Just Mustard - WE WERE JUST HERE
Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
Tops - Bury The Key
Blood Orange - Essex Honey
Rochelle Jordan - Through The Wall
Leon Vynehall - In Daytona Yellow
Oklou - Choke Enough
These New Puritans - Crooked Wing
Perfume Genius - Glory
Barker - Stochastic Drift
james K - Friend
Sofia Kourtesis - Volver
Tennis - Face Down in the Garden
JADE - THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!

argh just noticed thanks to The Brainwasher's ballot that I forgot to vote for Chronixx, which I think I nominated

My bad, sleeve. I will sample Biota to make up for my error.

saving your write-ups to read when I'm less screen-fried, voodoo chili, but I always like those

Weighted, bold dnp, ** sole voter, strong year for artistic capslock:

ROSALÍA - LUX
Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying
Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Eiko Ishibashi - Antigone
Maria Somerville - Luster
Annahstasia - Tether
Terre Thaemlitz - RA.1000 mix
JADE - THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!
Titanic - HAGEN
Lily Allen - West End Girl
Hilary Woods - Night CRIÚ
Juana Molina - DOGA
Pulp - More
These New Puritans - Crooked Wing
Logic1000 - DJ-Kicks
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
Emma Pollock - Begging the Night to Take Hold
james K - Friend
Call Super - A Rhythm Protects One
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
U.e. - Hometown Girl
Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Westerman - A Jackal's Wedding
Hydroplane - A Place in My Memory is All I Have to Claim **

18/25! Sole voter for reformed heritage Britpoppers Hydroplane! slightly arbitrary order with many regretted omissions; if I'd heard the Hannah Frances album before this week it would have been in my top 5 but wouldn't have helped much

ninajirachi 78'd, damn!

saving your write-ups to read when I'm less screen-fried, voodoo chili, but I always like those

― obvious old hat (rob), Thursday, February 5, 2026 4:54 PM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

<3

here's my mixed ballot, the bolded albums placed

Sudan Archives - The BPM
Annahstasia - Tether
Lorde - Virgin
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Oklou - Choke Enough
Rochelle Jordan - Through The Wall
Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun
Debby Friday - The Starr Of The Queen Of Life
Addison Rae - Addison
Rose Gray - Louder Please

George Riley - More is More
Ela Minus - DÍA
PinkPantheress - Fancy That
Anthony Naples - Scanners
Mallrat - Light hit my face like a straight right
Natanya - Feline's Return
Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer
ROSALÍA - LUX
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
Amaarae - Black Star
Lady Wray - Cover Girl
JADE - THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!
Say She She - Cut & Rewind
Hatchie - Liquorice
Jessica Winter - My First Album

Aw... busy week didn't get time to follow the albums poll live at all.

here's my unranked ballot

Addison Rae - Addison
Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS
Annahstasia - Tether
Automatic - Is It Now?
Bad Bunny - Debi Tirar Mas Photos
Barker - Stochastic Drift
caroline - caroline 2
Car Culture - Rest Here
Dijon - Baby
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise In Unity)
herbert & momoko gill - clay
james K - Friend
K-LONE - sorry i thought you were someone else
Maria Somerville - Luster
Nourished By Time - The Passionate Ones
Oklou - Choke Enough
Saya Gray - Saya
Smerz - Big City Life
Space Ghost & Teddy Bryant - Majestic Fantasies
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
U.e. - Hometown Girl
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds

turns out I didn't even vote for the Rochelle Jordan album :&/ I had to vote very hastily and didn't even see it.

My weighted ballot in order:

Kevin Drumm - Neither Here Nor There
Sam Prekop - Open Close
Tortoise - Touch
Various Artists - Save The Waves: People for Public Media (PBS Benefit Compilation)
Vanessa Rossetto - Pictures of the Warm South
Dave Shuford and Pat Murano - Sing and Play for the Guru
The Necks - Disquiet
Primitive Isolation Tactics - All Pressures Past
Organs Obsolete - Void User
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Larry June, 2 Chainz & The Alchemist - Life Is Beautiful
Wednesday - Bleeds
Kevin Drumm - Sheer Hellish Miasma II
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
Kevin Drumm - If Tomorrow Gets Here
Marcia Bassett - Phosphorescent Reality Flickers
Guided by Voices - Thick Rich and Delicious
earl sweatshirt - live laugh love
Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t
David Holmes - Black Bag OST
Parasite Nurse - Lack
Mouth Wound - Tallow
Geese - Getting Killed
Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist - Alfredo 2

unweighted ballot - 2/25 (voices from the lake, the necks)
probably would have put lori goldston #1 if i had mixed it up and made a top 3 as i usually do

Abul Mogard - Quiet Pieces
Amina Hocine - ātamōn
Concepción Huerta - El Sol de los Muertos
Glaring, Karl Kave - Mantras
Hari Maia - The Endless Hum
Henrik Meierkord - MOOD
Igor Dyachenko - Remnants Of Noise
Le Motel - Odd Numbers / Số Lẻ
Lori Goldston - Open Space
lullahush - Ithaca
Madeleine Cocolas - Syndesis
Maurice Louca - Barĩy (Fera) برٌِي
Mike Lazarev - Tarnished Tapes and Saturated Signals
The Necks - Disquiet
Ocean Moon - Ways To The Deep Meadow
Oksana Linde - Travesías
Old Sorcery - The Escapist
Posuposu Otani - Posuposu Otani
SML - How You Been
Stephen Vitiello, Brendan Canty, Hahn Rowe - Second
Voices from The Lake - Voices From the Lake II
Yann Novak - Continuity
Ylem - Ylem
Yunis - Ninety Nine Eyes
zakè [ft. various artists] - Silentium

thank you seandalai, Moka, emil.y and rob

(takes notes)

xp to Raymond

and nxd! I also voted for Vitiello, high five

had no idea there was a solo Louca album either

*anyone but me liked it

raf reza - ekbar

feel like some of you (tim, etc) would dig this one https://rafreza.bandcamp.com/album/ekbar

the Destroyer record was not his best work, and i like him a lot. even after repeated listening, nothing stood out. just sort of unremarkable.

219	Nadah el Shazly - Laini Tani	56	3	0	0.37

thought this would place

I really liked the Destroyer album and I voted for it. Hes consistently putting out good albums. I really liked "Cataract Time" off the new one.

i hadn’t heard that raf reza, flopson, it’s great!

(or like the one track i sampled was extremely my thing)

i liked the destroyer album a fair bit, just not enough to vote for it, kinda surprised it didn't place at all because it wasn't a huge misstep or anything

it just wasn't quite up there with labyrinthitis which was one of his best

i differ a bit from ilm hivemind on his work, admittedly

These appear to be the aggregate rankings for my unweighted selections. ( Placed | Didn't place | Sole vote )

 10  Barker - Stochastic Drift                      467  15
 18  billy woods - Golliwog                         336  11
 23  Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary      299  10
 28  Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka                279   8
 29  Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget           267   8 
 36  Blawan - SickElixir                            236   7
 46  Titanic - HAGEN                                208   8
 57  Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying               181   6
 65  aya - hexed!                                   166   6
 96  Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta - Mapambazuko           119   6
117  Raisa K - Affectionately                       102   3
157  Debit - Desaceleradas                           76   3
168  Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist - Alfredo 2       71   5
184  Valentina Magaletti & YPY - Kansai Bruises      68   3
209  Armand Hammer & The Alchemist - Mercy           60   3
213  Eli Keszler - Eli Keszler                       58   3
230  Pouya Ehsaei - People of the Wind               52   2
230  Various Artists - Não Estragou Nada             52   2
263  Helviofox - Rodeado de Batida                   47   2
263  Thomas Morgan - Around You Is A Forest          47   2
366  Lucy Railton - Blue Veil                        32   2
406  James Krivchenia - Performing Belief            26   1
406  Karizma - Can't Call !t                         26   1
406  Johnny Richards & Dave King - The New Awkward   26   1
406  The Bug/Ghost Dubs - Implosion                  26   1

I'd forgotten that I doubled up on Alchemist and Billy Woods appearances lol. There were otherwise no overlapping artists across tracks and albums ballots such that track votes for the likes of Neggy Gemmy, Smerz, Oren Ambarchi et al, Saint Etienne, Real Lies, Kali Uchis and Nourished By Time often kinda sorta represented longplayers that were squeezed off the end of this ballot.

someone voted for the karizma album! dope.

Weighted, bold placed:

bvdub - No More Rain
Men I Trust - Equus Caballus
james K - Friend
DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ - Fantasy
Neggy Gemmy - She Comes From Nowhere
RAVEN - GNOSIS
Venturing - Ghostholding
100%WET - 100%WET
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
Daryl Johns - s/t
Oksana Linde - Travesías
Pyramids - Pythagoras
Gelli Haha - Switcheroo
Oklou - Choke Enough
Voices From the Lake - Voices From the Lake II
Hatchie - Liquorice
Eve Maret - evergreen
Glaring, Karl Kave - Mantras
DJ Immaterial - Post-Op
Hayden Pedigo - I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away
Malibu - Vanities
Alison Goldfrapp - Flux
Repelican - Dim Halo
Tennis - Face Down in the Garden

...or maybe more like that 'scissors' category that Xgau used in Nourished By Time's case! (XP)

Yeah, Karizma was a late addition! But I seemed to keep putting it on repeatedly in January.

Now I'm reminded that I didn't set aside enough time for the Hatchie record. I meant to, before voting.

Weighted; bold placed; italics sole voter:

Raisa K - Affectionately
Nuovo Testamento - Trouble EP
Anika - Abyss
Kali Uchis - Sincerely,
John Glacier - Like A Ribbon
Saya Gray - Saya
Smerz - Big City Life
PinkPantheress - Fancy That
Jenny Hval - Iris Silver Mist
Decius - Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience)
Barker - Stochastic Drift
Gloria - III
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
Hayley Williams - Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party
Population II - Maintenant Jamais
Oklou - Choke Enough
Addison Rae - Addison
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
Richard Dawson - End of the Middle
FKA twigs - EUSEXUA
aya - hexed!
Lucy Dacus - Forever Is a Feeling
The Legendary Pink Dots - So Lonely in Heaven
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Phantom Island
Messa - The Spin

– I was not at all sure about my #1; every time I put it on I was a bit oh huh interesting, and then hmm is this actually nothingburger, and then it totally sucked me in every time in ways I don't quite get.

– My #2 is just a handful of songs of California italo disco I happened to enjoy a lot.

– I put French band Gloria #1 in the album poll a few years ago, and got to be in the coveted "#1 voted albums that did not get any other votes whatsoever" poll. It didn't win, but I believe I got a thumbs up from someone for describing them as "if Broadcast were obsessed with The 5th Dimension instead of the United States of America". They're still pretty good it turns out.

Was really hoping to see Ninajirachi's alb appear, but most of my ILX-core albums found their way into the 77, so bravo, y'all

my mixed ballot, bold dnp

Rosalia - Lux
Halima - SWEET TOOTH
Florence Adooni - A.O.E.I.U. (An Ordinary Exercise in Unity)
Maria Somerville - Luster
Kelela - In the Blue Light
Kali Uchis - Sincerely,

Javiera Mena - Inmersion
CMAT - Euro-Country
Titanic - Hagen
Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Park Jiha - All Living Things
Kelly Moran - Don't Trust Mirrors
Just Mustard - WE WERE JUST HERE
Infinity Machine - Angelic Ascent
Prins Thomas - Thomas Moen Hermansen
Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia
Theon Cross - Affirmations (Live at Blue Note New York)
Inni-K - Still a Day
Bonnie “Prince” Billy - The Purple Bird
The Beths - Straight Line Was A Lie
Sofia Kourtesis - Volver
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - Gush
pôt-pot - Warsaw 480km
Throwing Shapes - Throwing Shapes

Mixed ballot - bold DNP, bold+italics sole voter (was away during nomination season)

Ron Gallipoli - An Imposter
Brìghde Chaimbeul - Sunwise
Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS
Dijon - Baby
Guy Blackman - Out of Sight

Ale Hop & Titi Bakorta - Mapambazuko
Bug Teeth - Micrographia
Cate Le Bon - Michelangelo Dying
Disiniblud - Disiniblud
Ex-Partner - Lore-Core
Grecco Romank - Arts Colony
Hilary Woods - Night CRIÚ
Ichiko Aoba - Luminescent Creatures
Jennifer Walton - Daughters
Light-Space Modulator - The Rising Wave
Lippard Arkbro Lindwall - How do I know if my cat likes me?
Lucy Gooch - Desert Window
Maria Somerville - Luster
maxine funke - Timeless Town
Maybe Happy Ending - Original Broadway Cast Recording
Mercury Fèng - archive for humble stones
Noura Mint Seymali - Yenbett
O/PUS - Out At Sea, The Water Is Deep
the Necks - Disquiet
Valentina Magaletti & YPY - Kansai Bruises

I hate seeing ballots and seeing all the albums I regret not voting for: Disiniblud, The Rising Wave, Jennifer Walton…

voodoo chili, I totally forgot about friendship - might have thrown "Resident Evil" a vote on the tracks poll. technopolis, I made the call to vote for Hydroplane in the singles poll with "Incident At Westall" - think I ended up against the grain for how I split artists for singles and albums.

weighted

BRUIT ≤ - The Age of Ephemerality
Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
billy woods - Golliwog
Weed420 - Amor de encava
keiyAa - hooke’s law
Stara Rzeka - Wynoś się z mojego domu
Over-Gain Optimal Death - Die Underground
aya - hexed!
Boldy James & Real Bad Man - Conversational Pieces
Dano - Nuevos trapos
Gelli Haha - Switcheroo
Panda Bear - Sinister Grift
Pyramids - Pythagoras
John Michel & Anthony James - Egotrip
Celestaphone & Dealers of God - Cult Subterranea
Ale Bop & Titi Bakorta - Mapambazuko
Guerilla Toss - You're Weird Now
Gingerbee - Apiary
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
The Armed - THE FUTURE IS HERE AND EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED
Freddie Gibbs & the Alchemist - Alfredo 2
Black Milk & Fat Ray - Food from the Gods
Sexores - Sangre
Landing - Tendrils
Midnight Odyssey - Master of the Nebulous Reach

Halima - SWEET TOOTH

― sous-vide summer camp (seandalai), Friday, 6 February 2026 1:58 PM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Never heard of this before but gave it a go based on the rest of your ballot and really enjoyed it, thanks for the tip!

Mixed; bold placed

Yasmine Hamdan - I Remember I Forget
Voices From the Lake - Voices From the Lake II
The Necks - Disquiet
Coatshek - Sound Bath
Orcutt Shelley Miller - s/t
BOOF - Night Blooming Cereus

DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Natural Information Society - Perseverance Flow
Bitchin Bajas - Totality
DJ Koze - Music Can Hear Us
Oren Ambarchi/Johan Berthling/Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III
Real Lies - We Will Annihilate Our Enemies
Saint Etienne - International
Stereolab - Instant Holograms on Metal Film
Steve Hauschildt - Aeropsia
Tortoise - Touch
Darkside - Nothing
Dean Wareham – That’s the Price of Loving Me
Eddie Chacon - Lay Low
Ex Libris - 001/002
Gina Birch - Trouble
Gwenno - Utopia
Juana Molina - DOGA
Nation of Language - Dance Called Memory
Paul St. Hilaire - w/The Producers

Thank you poll runners and voters! First time voter, unfortunately not able to follow the rollout in realtime.
Expected the Natural Information Society and Paul St. Hilaire albums to place.

crüt, if you're still about on this thread - although I didn't vote for it, that Golem Mecanique went straight on my bandcamp wishlist, it looks very much like my kind of thing. I also think you might like the Lucy Railton on my list, maybe?

the Lucy Railton was on my long list for my ballot - gorgeous deep cello drones

I did like the Lucy Railton! Just barely missed my ballot

I completely missed that the Sofia Kourtesis record happened (well, I remember an advance track coming out but then never followed up)

Do those who nommed the Shuford/Murano record follow Murano's stuff on the regular? I have a few of his collabs with Tom Carter on vinyl and they are incredible.

(Decidedly, the Shuford/Murano nommed is cool but I can't justify purchasing given i know i wouldn't listen to it much)

All you have to do to hook me into something is say "former NNCK member" tbh

Table, that would be me

wait, yr a former nnck member or you nommed the shuford/murano? i think it got more than one ballot listing!!

Weighted, bold placed:

The Necks - Disquiet
Ancient Death - Ego Dissolution
Voices From The Lake - II
james K - Friend
SUMAC & Moor Mother - The Film
FKA Twigs - Eusexua
Mark Ernestus’ Ndagga Rhythm Force - Khadim
Cousin - Wake The Town
In Transit - In Transit
Paul St. Hilaire - w/The Producers
Tortoise - Touch
Stereolab - Instant Holograms On Metal Film
FACS - Wish Defense
Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
Darkside - Nothing
Purelink - Faith
Vacuous - In His Blood
Ex Libris - 001/002
Decius - Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience)
Deftones - Private Music
Oren Ambarchi Feat. Johan Berthling & Andreas Werliin - Ghosted III
Strategy - A Cooler World
Big Hands - Thauma
Coroner - Dissonance Theory
Light-Space Modulator - The Rising Wave

nice, I should check out that Sumac/MM one

I only managed 8 this year (need to spend more time listening to new music):

Horsegirl - Phonetics On and On
Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
Cory Hanson - I Love People
Enji - Sonor
Franco Rossino - Franco Rossino #1
gwenifer raymond - last night i heard the dog star bark
Species - Changelings
Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power

(weighted)

damn we were all pretty close to getting cory hanson on the 77. maybe next time

yeah, honestly was surprised he wasn't in the 77. love that record!

Followup from yesternight, re Raisa K's Affectionately. Then I said

– I was not at all sure about my #1; every time I put it on I was a bit oh huh interesting, and then hmm is this actually nothingburger, and then it totally sucked me in every time in ways I don't quite get.

Relistening now, I have a concrete suspicion of why this resonated with me so much: The stabs and patterns of sound and noise mentally remind me of the Bruce Gilbert axis of the Wire universe, or maybe rather the Bruce Gilbert axis slightly outside of the Wire universe. And I love that a lot. The Raisa K would stand up well in a diptych with A.C. Marias' astonishing "One of Our Girls" from 1989.

Oh I absolutely need to hear that given my listening to the rest of the Micaverse

good comparison anatol! never really thought about it that way but i can def hear it. i voted for that album too and regret not campaigning for it more vigorously

This is fuckin class

As It Seems into Both Still is some incredible work

Welp your my top neighbor Anatol so I definitely need to listen to that one. Sounds like something I’ll love.

You’re*

'Micaverse' :) One can indeed sense within about 500ms that it's the work of one or more of those peeps. Seems I was the third and final voter. A voting-period addition -- so thanks nominator!

...that nominator being donna rouge! Thanks!

While I'm looking these things up, thanks also to those wot nominated these, where I ended being the sole vote!!!

- octobeard (James Krivchenia - Performing Belief) - funner than the collaborators' other 2025 projects IMHO
- map (Karizma - Can't Call !t) - pretty/hypnotic sample manipulation = secret Achilles heel
- Jordan (Johnny Richards & Dave King - The New Awkward) - funky prepared piano ftw
- chewy (The Bug/Ghost Dubs - Implosion) - far too much reverb ftw lol

That James Krivchenia album is excellent yeah

Addison Rae - Addison
Wednesday - Bleeds
Chase Icon - Icon Baby
d.silvestre - O Que as Mulheres Querem
Cmat - Euro-Country
The New Eves - The New Eve Is Rising
Anna von Hausswolff - ICONOCLASTS
Ethel Cain - Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You
Die Spitz - Something To Consume
Debby Friday - The Starr Of The Queen Of Life
Ragana & Drowse - Ash Souvenir
Isabella Lovestory - Vanity
Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer
Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka
ROSALÍA - LUX
MC BF & DJ YUZAK - Bebeto e Romário
Safe Mind - Cutting The Stone
Kelly Moran - Don't Trust Mirrors
Avalon Emerson - Perpetual Emotion Machine
Joanne Robertson - Blurrr
Poor Creature - All Smiles Tonight
Bad Bunny - Debi Tirar Mas Photos
Flock of Dimes - The Life You Save
Clipse - Let God Sort Em Out
claire rousay - a little death

weighter

Cocojoey - Stars
Water From Your Eyes - It's a Beautiful Place
Mörda - Asante III
MK Velsorf & Aase Nielsen - Opening Night
Debbie Sings - Debbie's Songs
No Joy - Bugland
Los Thuthanaka - Los Thuthanaka
Køs - Worldsorrow
Jim Legxacy - Black British Music
Bitchin Bajas - Totality
Geologist & D.S. - A Shaw Deal
Agriculture - The Spiritual Sound
billy woods - Golliwog
Klein - Thirteen Sense
YHWH Nailgun - 45 Pounds
100%WET - 100%WET
Ruger - BlownBoy RU
Lyra Pramuk - Hymnal
Erika de Casier - Lifetime
Alex G - Headlights
Hotline TNT - Raspberry Moon
Heathe - Control Your Soul's Desire For Freedom
Manslaughter 777 - God's World
DjRUM - Under Tangled Silence
Ale Bop & Titi Bakorta - Mapambazuko

I think my 26-30 all ended up in the top 77, so I could have been a lot more hivemindy, even with all the Danish stuff on there.