While sometimes I’m screaming at my phone telling these two sobs to shut up, for the most part I’m nodding to my head to their brilliance.

I loved the podcast for its first couple of seasons. But now? The quality has decreased. There is less audio quality, and the show is taking waaaay to many episodes to get through the designated year, not to mention now talking about “cannon” albums that we all know about. Wasn’t the whole point of the podcast to talk about the unsung favorites of Tim and Steven from each year? They helped me discover a lot of hidden gems. Now the show is just boring. Oh well. It was good while it was good.

I love this show and as soon as I see a new episode is up I check it out immediately. Congratulations on the upgrade to ads and what appears to be a new place to record. The thing I do not like is that the sound of the podcast has changed. There is now a lower mid boost and Steven and Tim‘s voices sound muffled. Hopefully, whoever engineers/mixes your podcast can correct this and make it much easier to listen to. Cheers!

Steven, you missed a gem. Kansas is a band.. that you must not overlook. This is American Prog at its finest.. I was so looking forward to The discussion of Point of Know Return, only to find you’re unfamiliar. Treat yourself to this and Leftoverture, then explore the catalog. So much phenomenal music by such excellent musicians.

Listening to these guys reviewing my favorite albums of the 70s, 80s and 90s, I’m apt to forget that Steven Wilson is an amazing artist in his own right (Porcupine Tree, Blackfield, solo). You get something very rare and precious: a top flight artist and a knowledgeable pal reviewing music from the best decades of pop/rock. They take you inside the artist’s mind and tell you what they think is going on at the moment of creation. Never cynical (and these are two Brits!!), always funny, whip smart and courageous to boot. (OK, they’re probably wrong on Rush’s Power Windows which I adore, but I digress.) Listen whenever, wherever.

I started listening about 2 years ago because I’m a huge fan of Steven Wilson. But his lame dismissal of a Roger Waters album a fee eps ago solidified a growing feeling that his snarky takes are actually harming my opinion of him as an artist. So I’ve stopped listening.

Half of the music they discuss I’ve never heard of and I still gladly take the ride. Great podcast.

I have been a fan of Steven Wilson’s music for awhile. Picked up on this pod a couple of years ago and haven’t regretted it. Steven and Tim are fantastic. It’s more than just music reviewing, it goes much, much further than that. They’re mad in their own lovely ways and provide invaluable insight into how these albums were composed and produced sonically as well as the history behind them all. Talented musicians offering up the best sort of recommendations for your next listen to - you can count on them beating those from that bloke at your job… And as a U2 fan - I cannot get over how much Tim sounds like Adam Clayton

If I had one gripe, and I know Steven and Tim are speaking from their specific points of view, so this is just mine; I wish they would mention more of the ‘80s hair bands. I can speculate as to why they don’t bring up some of my favorite bands from this genre. Lots of flashy, showy, nauseatingly gratuitous guitar solos and pretty boys with gorgeous hair just as flashy as their outfits. The outrageousness of their images.. You still cannot deny the fun of some of these bands, the atmosphere and lightheartedness! You can’t help but smile and remember good times when you hear albums like “Shout at the Devil”. Even if you weren’t born yet when they came out!!

Fun and entertaining nostalgia trip told through a British lens. As others have mentioned, some blind spots but the aim of the pod is quite broad.

I love this podcast. In regards to the lead up to grunge and other alternative music in the 90’s, along with the Pixies, Jane’s Addiction and the Replacements were hugely important and deserve lots of credit.

Finally I have come across a couple guys (who I hugely respect) that are even bigger music nerds than me, not to mention an extensive palette spanning every subgenre of music. I love listening to their opinions and coming out of each episode with a few albums to check out or revisit. They have great chemistry with each other and are also always good for providing a few laughs. Thanks, guys!

Best music podcast ever. Added hundreds of records to my collection.

A lovely informative and entertaining podcast. Look forward to each new episode. I have added so much more music to my collection thanks to this podcast.

Best podcast ever

If you love music you’ll love the Album Years. I could listen to SW and Tim chat all night!

I am addicted to your podcast. I have always shared much of your musical taste, but your insightful, engaging analyses of such a broad range of genres have invited me to explore and discover great music that I never even knew existed. Reading the reviews I saw somebody suggested if you could provide a written list of the albums you cover on each episode just for reference. I am going to second that, I would love to be able to look at a list as opposed to taking written notes as I listen to the podcast (I often listen to it during my long commutes to work). Anyway, thank you for a wonderful podcast, and rock on!

Really enjoying this so far. I just started listening, only Ep. 1, but I’m going to binge a few to be sure. I think I’m about a decade ahead of these guys, but I listened to a lot of the ’80’s stuff they discuss. I was a jazz snob until the ‘80s when I began playing keys in a cover band doing Elvis Costello, Police, Spandau Ballet, Roxy Music, Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds, Men at Work, Midnight Oil (we would also mix in some Chick Corea, Weather Report, and various funk jams), sorry I’m getting nostalgic. Anyway, I highly recommend this podcast. I only learned of it when Steven mentioned it in a YouTube interview.

Love the show. Grew up listening to a lot of the music from the years covered but have discovered so much more great music that I simply wasn’t aware of. Many thanks. Keep the album years coming.

Each episode of this great podcast is a deep dive into a year’s worth of records, and the result is an eclectic, often overwhelming selection of capsule reviews of great music. Steven and Tim have obviously spent a lot of time listening to and thinking about these records, and their conversations manage to capture the essence of what makes the music worth talking about. I always end up scrambling to catch up with all the records they discuss that I’ve somehow never encountered. However. I know that Steven and Tim are refined English gentlemen, tastes are subjective, etc. (and I apologize if they *did* mention it and I missed it) but to put together no less than three episodes devoted to 1978 and to not mention Van Halen’s debut (even if just to say “what can we possibly add about this one?” or “well, this one surely gave birth to a lot of awful imitators, didn’t it?”) is quite an oversight.

I find their discussions of music to be both deeply insightful and entertaining. Please keep it going! For a personal request - I would greatly enjoy leaning about your personal audio systems. What speakers, turntables, etc. you use to enjoy listening to music with.

So great to hear accomplished people speak authoritatively about things they love. Deep and rich.

I can’t even begin to stress how much I love this podcast (in addition to be being a huge fan of Steven and Tim respectively). This podcast portrays, almost verbatim, what the conversations are like among record collecting music fanatics like myself and my friends as well as some friends of mine who own local record shops. This is just an absolute pleasure and a treat every single episode. Just brilliant!! Thank You Steven! Thank You Tim! Cheers, Danny Stamford, CT USA

Love your show! A fantastic look into new old music! Godley and Creme are so forgotten and need the push for people to hear them. Consequences is a masterful recording! Three albums, and Peter Cook, I mean cmon, that’s an hours conversation for sure! Keep up the great musical conversations! Peace

Thank you for your podcast. I only recently discovered them and am enjoying them thoroughly. I am from Carmel, California, a small coastal town about 2 hours south of San Francisco. I was in High School in 1979, and our group of friends were like minded in that we loved and listened to music of all genres. But while we sit between the music scenes of SF and LA, our tastes often leapt to England. We adored prog rock (we still do), and our album of the year was UK Danger Money. We loved Bill Nelson’s sound on sound (like Tim, we also loved BBD Drastic Plastic), and apart from the cannon albums, our tastes went to ECM records like Terje Rypdal Descendre, Jean Luc Ponty, Glenn Gould, The Clash, The Specials, the B-52’s, off shoot albums like Tony Banks solo work, Fela Kuti, and so many more. Please keep these up. They are meaningful to me and my friends who appreciate Musicologists such as yourselves. My best regards. Jim L (now in Denver).

Great podcast for us music geeks. Love listening to new stuff that’s mentioned on the show. How the feck did I never know about Can before!?! Also made me go back and listen to stuff I lived at the time but fell off my radar such as I’m Mandy Fly Me.

For anyone who thinks they’ve heard it all or complains that “there’s no good music anymore” - this is the solution. Wilson and Bowness know what they’re talking about and listening makes you feel like you’re geeking out along with them. The Spotify playlists that accompany each episode are as compelling as they are fascinating. Personally, I’m discovering all sorts of wonderful auditory rabbit holes worth exploring.

I love the breadth and variety of knowledge of music they bring. I may not “like” everything they recommend but, I am glad I learned about it and tried it out. My only suggestion would be a list or something that has all the albums and artists mentioned in each episode. Even if it is fan made. I listen at work and can hardly keep up with all of the references to albums to make note of them. I would love to have something I can reference later when I have time. Keep up the good work!

Amazing talk about album

What I love about this podcast is the sheer number of albums the guys know about and recommend. Many of the LPs are already in my physical record collection, but often there are wildcard titles that make me perk up and make note of them. The banter between Steven and Tim is often serious, but it’s nice when there’s a little slap and tickle injected into the conversation. It keeps things light! I just wish they would post new episodes more frequently.

A great way to discover music from before my time! Thank you Steven and Tim for sharing your knowledge and passion about popular music!

Steven and Tim share my musical tastes and they are so knowledgeable about music they have turned me on to teriffic music I never would have heard before. A truly wonderful podcast, and I hope they start making some new episodes in 2021.

This podcast succeeds on so many levels, but primarily I’d describe it as the smartest discussion of music you can find in podcast land. People coming in hoping to have their own opinions validated will miss the point. Steven and Tim are both talented artists themselves and their perspective on music is super interesting and will make you think. This very much feels like a hang with two extremely smart musicians who are giving their opinions with no filters. Disclaimer - I am a massive Steven Wilson fan. I am biased. But this is still a very good podcast.

You guys are just the greatest, what a perfect combo of music experts. Love the passion from SW!

I’ve found so many incredible new things to listen to thanks to this pod. I haven’t loved everything (Scott Walker), but “I Pity Inanimate Objects” is such an astounding track and I can’t get over that I never heard of it before. An educational listen for sure.

This is a wonderful podcast. A fun look into a wide variety of genres. It’s a great way to go down many rabbit holes. Thank you Steven and Tim!

Love this podcast. The hosts' music knowledge (schoolboy errors aside) is encyclopedic !! And their easy banter can only be the by product of good friends.

Ok discovered this podcast just this year well after your 1974 episode- but have been anxiously waiting and wondering whether you guys would pick this back up. Thrilled with the new episode. Always great to hear your selections that you think are worth more than a mention —-especially when I feel the same way - Face Value - right down to the very best deep track on it - If leaving me is Easy. But I equally love all the new stuff you’re bringing to my attention or may have previously overlooked. Can’t wait for the next one.

Discovered your podcast via your interview with Bob Lefsetz, which I quite enjoyed. That said, I have seen Porcupine and solo tours in SF. Listening to the both of you, I’m amused at the obscurity of the music as you talk about stuff I’ve bought over the years. While I often find the scrutiny hilarious, especially in this day and age it’s refreshing to hear analysis of art as opposed to opinions and tweets and trolling. Both of you have certainly earned your stripes as analysts. I spent some years in the biz and as an author (wrote a couple classic music tomes). Keep it coming. Some of us appreciate in-depth nerdy commentary. You both should be congratulated.

and for the music nerds. thanks for the streaming age, I can locate the songs mentioned here which I haven’t heard in real time. much love to Steven and Tim from China...

This is such a fun podcast. Just love it!

Steven and Tim give amazing and excellent reviews of the year and a wide spread of music that we all love and hate. They are both witty and funny and to the point and very helpful in understanding more about this music genre. I will keep listening and beside the fact that I love both their music they are making me more aware of different music out there that I have not heard yet. Guys it would be cool if you spent five minutes about picking some of your least favorite from that year that you were either disappointed in or absolutely did not like and the reason why. Just something fun. Anyway keep up the great work. Me and our friends over here in Utah enjoy your show. Thanks so much. Forever a fan of both of you. Thanks. Nate.

Steven Wilson and Tim Bowness are excellent podcast partners! The Album Years isn’t just a collection of great albums from the past, but a fantastic history of the music of the times. Wilson and Bowness give a lot of insights into the context of the times and where the music was inspired. Incredible podcast for anyone searching for new music as well. I found The Blue Nile and others thanks to this podcast. 5/5

Even though I lived throughout all the years covered in these excellent episodes, I find myself learning about multiple new artists and discs every time. And I consider myself a pretty well educated music fan. But the new insights here are very compelling. Both Steven and Tim are not only very accomplished artists themselves but come across as both articulate and as real fans themselves of multiple music genres. Highly recommended.

Great podcast for music fans who want to explore great music that one has not heard of. Because of this podcast, I have discovered so much music. Recommended

My tastes are not nearly as broad as those discussed in this podcast, but I love the openness they have for genres I cannot endure. Intelligent talk about a wide variety of music. I learn even where my tastes do not allow me to appreciate. Highly recommended.

Great podcast. Love every episode. But…. How can you talk about 1979 and not mention Dire Straits 1st album?

Thank you for another brilliant episode, I was thrilled that you spoke of Gene Clark’s “ No Other”, I would have loved to hear your take on Gram Parsons “Grievous Angel”, another great singer with that yearning quality Steven talked about. It’s interesting that Tim would reference Poco’s “Crazy Eyes” from the previous year, this was actually Richie Furay’s homage to Gram who passed away a couple of weeks prior to the album’s release. Please don’t feel you have to edit the show, it flies by.

I’m much expanding my taste in music from this podcast.

Despite being a big PT/SW fan, I was for some reason pretty uninterested in this podcast. However I finally gave it a try and boy, it's pretty wonderful! I have to confess, I'm a white guy a year older than Steven and grew up very close to him (In High Wycombe) and it turns out listened and loved a large amount of the same things (I was a teen age Numanoid but don't hold that against me). So in that respect, it feels tailor made for me. But it's very enjoyable hearing Tim and Steven's banter and infectious enthusiasm and so a great discovery in a dismal year. I have a couple of suggestions(which may have been already mentioned, I didn't read any other reviews). For one, I'm already getting worried about them running out of years (I know, silly right?) but thought it might be fun to have them focus on a particular artist in some episodes and discuss their body of work. The other idea was to do with the playlists. I have to say, the huge playlists with every track of every mentioned album is a bit too impenetrable for me. Even though I realise it is the album years, and not best songs from that year, I would have liked a more curated list that included the one or two standout tracks that they think would illustrate what made the album special. After the podcast, I find myself scrolling through an endless list of tracks and wondering what was that cool Godley and Creeme track they raved about? Anyway, it's an amazing podcast, excited to hear much more from them.