# Best Pazz & Jop Critics Poll Album 1999

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 23, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037 "2014-12-23T17:00:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037/1 "2014-12-23T17:00:47Z")

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Not a great set of choices in my opinion - my choice was pretty easy; though I’d love to give a vote to Handsome Boy Modeling School, for me, this year belongs to the Magnetic Fields.

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**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037/2 "2014-12-23T18:31:30Z")

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I went with Wilco, but I certainly could’ve made a case for The Magnetic Fields. Both are pretty remarkable albums.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037/3 "2014-12-23T19:20:03Z")

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The Magnetic Fields triple-disk is unassailable, a gem of a songwriting masterpiece. It boggles my mind that one could put out essentially three albums’ worth of material and have so very little filler. The only one that’s competition to me is _The Soft Bulletin_. I’m not a big Flaming Lips fan (though I’ve been to one show, and it was a great time), but that album is also a masterpiece. Still, easy vote for Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields.

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**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037/4 "2014-12-24T00:36:12Z")

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Thinking either Moby, Fiona Apple and a few others. I’ll vote tonight.

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**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037/5 "2014-12-24T01:29:39Z")

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Quite a good list! I could have gone with Beck, Macy Gray, or others, but I chose Tom Waits. None if his albums are bad, and this one is fun and has varied styles. Love the line in “Come on Up To The House”: “Come down off your cross, we could use the wood.”

ETA: Never heard of Magnetic Fields. Guess I’ll have to check it out!

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**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\
**Post date:** [December 24, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-pazz-jop-critics-poll-album-1999/708037/6 "2014-12-24T03:41:23Z")

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Moby got my vote upon consideration.