MAGNET’s Brian Howard Picks His 30 Favorite LPs Of The Past 30 Years

To celebrate our 30th anniversary and all the great music that made the past three decades special, MAGNET contributors past and present chose their 30 favorite albums released between 1993 and 2022. The only rules were that each record has to be a full-length and that no artist could be represented more than once in the same incarnation. We’re posting these lists throughout the rest of the year.

Brian Howard, contributing writer
1) Lilys Better Can’t Make Your Life Better (Ché/Primary), 1996
2) The Mountain Goats All Hail West Texas (Emperor Jones), 2002
3) Titus Andronicus The Monitor (XL), 2010
4) Yo La Tengo I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One (Matador), 1997
5) Mos Def Black On Both Sides (Rawkus), 1999
6) PJ Harvey Rid Of Me (Island), 1993
7) The Hold Steady Separation Sunday (Frenchkiss), 2005
8) The Roots Things Fall Apart (MCA), 1999
9) The New Pornographers Electric Version (Matador), 2003
10) Robyn Body Talk (Konichiwa/Cherrytree/Interscope), 2010
11) De La Soul Buhloone Mindstate (Tommy Boy), 1993
12) Wolf Parade Apologies To The Queen Mary (Sub Pop), 2005
13) Ellen Allien Berlinette (BPitch Control), 2003
14) D’Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah (RCA), 2014
15) Silver Jews Bright Flight (Drag City), 2001
16) Stereolab Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements (Duophonic/Elektra), 1993
17) tUnE-yArDs w h o k i l l (4AD), 2011
18) The Shins Chutes Too Narrow (Sub Pop), 2003
19) Bardo Pond Amanita (Drunken Fish/Matador), 1996
20) Fucked Up David Comes To Life (Matador), 2011
21) The Dead C Tusk (Siltbreeze), 1997
22) Dead Prez Lets Get Free (Loud), 2000
23) Destroyer Ken (Merge/Dead Oceans), 2017
24) Cornershop England Is A Garden (Ample Play), 2020
25) Quasi Featuring “Birds” (Up), 1998
26) Thao & The Get Down Stay Down We The Common (Ribbon), 2013
27) Superchunk On The Mouth (Matador), 1993
28) Mazarin Watch It Happen (Victoria/Rocket Girl), 1999
29) The Bats Free All The Monsters (Flying Nun), 2011
30) Dan Deacon Spiderman Of The Rings (Wildfire Wildfire/Carpark), 2007