Okay, lets talk about this list for a little while. This list is anything but pretentious, if anything it's a list filled with safe picks with just enough variance in the rankings to generate buzz worthy talk and page views for Pitchfork. This year it was Vampire Weekends turn to win, last year it was Kendrick and Frank Oceans turn to shine. With only a few exceptions these were all huge releases for the "Indie" realm this year (Haim's Days are Gone LP was released on Columbia Records for god sakes). Look at that top 10. There's something there to please everyone, and enough controversy to get some people going (I'm looking at you Yeezus and everyone who can't stand that album). This discussion on Reddit is a perfect analysis of the situation.

Pitchfork still has the power and presence to propel bands to new levels of popularity, or to justify why people dislike a certain band. But their top 50 albums of this year is...well, nothing significant really. Vampire Weekend at #1 is easily the safest pick they could have made, it's an "Indie" darling record that is inoffensive and universally acclaimed. I disagree with a lot of their rankings. I'll be putting together a list soon that I'm sure people will disagree with, but that's a digression.

Okay, so lets take a look at something interesting that was brought up in the previously linked to discussion. Out of their top 10, five (5) have been making music in their current incarnation for 10 years or longer (Arcade Fire, Daft Punk, Danny Brown, My Bloody Valentine, Kanye West). For a website that is supposedly the cutting edge of indie (perhaps this is just me perpetuating this view point onto them), that is not a good track record to have for this year. Here's why that is an issue: it's the slow transformation into a Rolling Stones-esque publication that is going to happen if they continue rankings and album reviews like this. I'm not saying these albums aren't great, but what I am saying is that to make picks that are from established artists and putting them that high is the safe pick. Sooner or later we're all going to be flocking to other places like Gorilla vs. Bear and calling the scene some other name.