A thing to do.
List your favorite record from every year you’ve been alive.
You can do it based purely on hindsight, or you can do it by listing the answer you would’ve given in that year (assuming you were aware of pop music at the time). My list below is based on hindsight, but would have some awesomely hilarious and embarassing choices if you’d asked me at the time. When I remember what those are, I’ve indicated them in brackets.
So: nerd ahoy!
1982: Prince - 1999
1983: R.E.M. - MURMUR
1984: Prince - PURPLE RAIN
1985: The Replacements - TIM
1986: Pet Shop Boys - PLEASE
1987: Prince - SIGN O’ THE TIMES
1988: R.E.M. - GREEN
1989: Pixies - DOOLITTLE
1990: Pet Shop Boys - BEHAVIOUR
1991: U2 - ACHTUNG BABY
1992: Morrissey - YOUR ARSENAL
1993: U2 - ZOOROPA
1994: R.E.M. - MONSTER
1995: Smashing Pumpkins - MELLON COLLIE & THE INFINITE SADNESS
1996: R.E.M. - NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI
1997: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - THE BOATMAN’S CALL [U2 - POP]
1998: Afghan Whigs - 1965 [Garbage - VERSION 2.0]
1999: Magnetic Fields - 69 LOVE SONGS [Moby - PLAY]
2000: Radiohead - KID A [U2 - ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND]
2001: Jay-Z - THE BLUEPRINT [Depeche Mode - EXCITER]
2002: Andrew W.K. - I GET WET
2003: Twilight Singers - BLACKBERRY BELLE [Blur - THINK TANK]
2004: Scissor Sisters - SCISSOR SISTERS
2005: M.I.A. - ARULAR
2006: The Knife - SILENT SHOUT
2007: LCD Soundsystem - SOUND OF SILVER
2008: Robyn - ROBYN (US EDITION)
I am including the Robyn album for this year, even though it’s really a 2005 record, because frankly 2008 has disappointed me so far and this (very different) version of the Robyn album is leagues better than anything else I’ve heard.
If you choose to do this silly thing you may find it useful to consult the Pazz & Jop archive to remember what even came out in each year.
