There are plenty of albums that might have made the cut on a different day. But good list-making requires hubris, constraint. A moment of wild and fearless conviction.
Earlier this year, my colleague and bud Kelefa Sanneh suggested that music critics, as a lot, have gone soft—becoming submissive, overly agreeable, and, in some cases, nearly servile. He’s right, of course: reviews sections, when they still exist, ar... [15178 chars]