My Top 20 Albums tweets

I had lots of fun today tweeting my personal favourite 20 albums, in the manner of one of those countdown shows that are on Channel 4 a lot.  It was great to find so many people shared my musical tastes, and opened up a whole new sphere of twitter - it's not just teaching, but lots of other things too!  I've always been a bit of a muso, obsessing over bands, records and gigs, and was even in my own band at one point (go here to listen to some of our tracks: http://uk.myspace.com/siresofnothing), but I've also always found it hard to find like-minded individuals.  It seems that Twitter is filled with them, and this is great news.  Talking about music is one of the real pleasures in life, and sharing your enjoyment and expertise of a certain band or performer is a vital part of being a music fan, as are the inevitable disagreements.  Is OK Computer really better than The Bends? Is early REM better than post-Green REM? Are Coldplay the spawn of the devil?  All of these are flashpoints, guaranteed to cause endless debate, but debate that is good-natured, witty and knowledgeable - the best kind.  I will be tweeting about music much more in future.

For posterity, here is my Top 20.  This is a product of my mood and feelings on 1st January 2013, and is very subject to change...

(Picking favourite albums, and especially ordering them, is a very unnatural process, but one that really gets you to appreciate the finer details of a record.  It forces you to consider sleeve, lyrics, track-order, length and atmosphere very closely, as you struggle to pit one against the other.  Thanks to this, I remembered the wonderful illustrations within the booklet of 'The Sophtware Slump' of the dirt-filled keyboards; this propelled it above 'Heroes' with ease!)

1. Murmur - REM (1983)
2. The Bends - Radiohead (1995)
3. The Soft Bulletin - The Flaming Lips (1999)
4. Trompe Le Monde - Pixies (1991)
5. Automatic for the People - REM (1992)
6. 100 Broken Windows - Idlewild (2000)
7. Up the Bracket - The Libertines (2002)
8. OK Computer - Radiohead (1997)
9. Siamese Dream - Smashing Pumpkins (1993)
10. Very - Pet Shop Boys (1993)
11. The Sophtware Slump - Grandaddy (2000)
12. Heroes - David Bowie (1977)
13. Parklife - Blur (1994)
14. In Utero - Nirvana (1993)
15. Different Class - Pulp (1995)
16. The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers (1994)
17. Electro-Shock Blues - Eels (1998)
18. We Shall All Be Healed - Mountain Goats (2004)
19. Songs for the Deaf - Queens of the Stone Age (2002)
20. Loss - Mull Historical Society (2001)