Album of the Year Bracketology
We're in the thick of March, which means brackets are all anybody wants to talk about. While March Madness rages on, college basketball fans and normies alike are desperately checking results of games vs. their predicted winners, and across pop culture outlets, Twitter, even the political world, brackets of different kinds are omnipresent this time of year. None, most sane people would argue, more important than this one.
I thought about doing my standard Sweet 16 breakdown. 're-seeding' piece that I tend to do at this point in the tournament. But frankly, between the stupor and delirium of a particularly wild tournament (and one that has, delightfully, already seen the dismissal of all my least favorite teams), and my own personal dejection at my beloved Tar Heels having no postseason. I don't really feel up for more basketball content currently. I also realized I hadn't written any sort of recap of or post-mortem for the Grammys nor the Oscars, despite the copious amounts of coverage we had at The Couch leading up to both awards shows.
I'm not going to do a full-on recap for either show, but I will help fill that music/movie/awards show void in the most March-appropriate manner possible: brackets! On the day the Sweet 16 kicks off, we'll begin with a 16-album bracket of every Album of the Year Grammy winner, starting with Harry Styles' Harry's House from this year, going all the way back to Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters in 2008. I'll walk you through my picks in each round, but feel free to download the bracket for yourselves and fill out your own picks...and let me hear about it when you do so. Let's get started!
The Bracket
First off, the seeding - it would obviously defeat the purpose of me filling out my bracket if I seeded the albums in order of what I liked the most, so I had to find some objective measure to set up the matchups. What I settled on was to seed by Metacritic score; Metacritic, the critic-aggregating website, is my go-to for both movie and music reviews, given its comprehensive methodology on assessing critical reaction. One note, though; two winners (Jon Batiste's WE ARE last year and Hancock's River: The Joni Letters) were so out of left-field that they didn't even have enough critic reviews to earn a Metacritic score. For those, I just took the average percentage based on the ratings they did receive, resulting in 82.5 for Batiste's album, and 76 for Hancock's.
The result? Here, in all its glory, is how the tournament between the last 16 Album of the Year winners would be framed:
The Sweet 16
(1) Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves vs. (16) Babel - Mumford and Sons
Easy win for the top seed here. The highest and lowest-reviewed albums of the field were both surprise winners in their year, given how little radio play and buzz they had in comparison to their fellow nominees. But one was a pleasant surprise win because it was a rare instance of the Grammys actually doing something right for once, and the other was an unpleasant surprise that the Academy felt the need to give top honors to a wholly mediocre record in the dying days of indie-folk's brief stay in the spotlight.
(8) Morning Phase - Beck vs. (9) When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish
The 8-v-9 matchups in March Madness often present an evenly-matched showdown that features a big clash in styles, and that is no different in this tournament, as the unexpected folk turn from late 90s/early aughts indie king Beck meets up with then-17 year old Billie Eilish's alternative pop breakout smash. It wouldn't surprise me if Eilish, noted fan of the 90s alternative scene and often uncomfortable with being the recipient of praise and stardom, would herself tell people Beck should be the winner here. I would disagree, though; Morning Phase is a fine album, consistently pleasant from start to finish, but When We All Fall Asleep was a sensation for a reason. It's unlike any other pop record to take the world by storm in recent years.
(5) Raising Sand - Robert Plant and Alison Krauss vs. (12) 25 - Adele
We finally have our first bona fide "critical fave vs. commercial fave" matchup in this bracket. The first collaboration between the Led Zeppelin frontman and the American country/folk veteran rode a wave of critical acclaim to beat out the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay, Li'l Wayne and Ne-Yo, the latter three in particular at the peak of their fame. Adele's 25, meanwhile, did not as universally wow the music critics, but wowed the masses, with smashes like "Hello," "When We Were Young," and "Water Under The Bridge" all helping her to yet another record-breaking chart performance. I'll admit, I haven't listened to Raising Sand in full-- same goes for The Joni Letters, coming up in the next matchup. But from what I have heard of both those albums, I feel the same about each: perfectly fine, likable albums from music legends. But no way did it deserve to win over some of the contemporary stars it beat out. Adele's album may not have been my favorite of the nominees the year she won, but 25 is front-to-back good from one of the best vocalists of our time.
(4) The Suburbs - Arcade Fire vs. (13) River: The Joni Letters - Herbie Hancock
Funnily enough, while the Grammys typically get a knock for being predictable, now five of the winners we've already highlighted in this bracket were relative-to-major surprises. This is another matchup of unexpected recipients, Arcade Fire's triumph eliciting a roar of approval from the indie world, as well as a rare endorsement from Kanye West, who tweeted an all-caps message of excitement after the upset. Hancock's win, for a series of Joni Mitchell covers, was much less inspired, a relic of the time when the Recording Academy more often opted for 'career achievement' Album of the Year awards over recognizing the zeitgeisty artists and records. Herbie's a legend, but The Suburbs takes this in a blowout.
(3) Random Access Memories - Daft Punk vs. (14) Fearless - Taylor Swift
Before Billie Eilish broke her record a decade later, Taylor Swift became the youngest winner of this award with her inaugural victory, for her second album Fearless. It's a solid country album from the then-starlet, an early peek at the vulnerable, prodigious songwriting that would earn her millions of admirers later on. But...it's no Random Access Memories. The production value and musical ingenuity of Daft Punk's 2013 album blows Taylor's (and truthfully, most others') work out of the water.
(6) Harry's House - Harry Styles vs. (11) 1989 - Taylor Swift
Ooooo!! OOOOOO!!! The drama!! The intrigue!! If this were a real tournament, and a real matchup, 'stan Twitter' would be absolutely exploding. Not only are Harry and Taylor two of the biggest popstars on the planet, both with avid, adoring fanbases, they dated each other for about a year from 2013-2014. These two winning albums, Styles' first and Swift's second, occupied a pretty similar place in their Grammy race. They were easily the biggest of the nominees, featuring multiple #1 hits from their tracklist, but both victories were also near-criminal for who they beat out: 1989 over the Pulitzer Prize-winning To Pimp A Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar, and Harry's House also over the oft-snubbed Kendrick, but also over Beyoncé's culturally-resetting RENAISSANCE. The difference from an objective perspective is pretty minimal. Subjectively, for me, it's night and day. 1989 is all over the place, possessing as many, if not more, annoying songs as it does bangers, whereas Harry's House is an addicting, catchy, smooth listen from start to finish.
(7) WE ARE - Jon Batiste vs. (10) 21 - Adele
Just like Adele's other matchup, she comes up here against a shock winner. Jon Batiste's victory last year, over the likes of Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Kanye West, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, might just be the biggest Album of the Year stunner in my lifetime. The talented R&B artist is incredibly well-liked and well-respected, but WE ARE made little to no impact on the cultural scene; again, as mentioned at the outset, it didn't even receive enough reviews to register on Metacritic. At the total opposite end of the spectrum sits Adele's 21, which had such mega-smashes as "Rolling In The Deep," "Someone Like You," "Set Fire to The Rain," and "Rumour Has It." Fairly predictably, Adele cleaned up at the 2012 Grammys, adding Record and Song of the Year wins along with this AOTY victory, and certifying Adele as a global icon. I like Jon Batiste a lot, and I liked WE ARE as a whole, but yeah, this isn't much of a contest. 21 rolls...in the deep.
(2) folklore - Taylor Swift vs. (15) 24K Magic - Bruno Mars
Here's a name you haven't heard before: Taylor Swift! Yes, all three of Swift's groundbreaking three wins (she's the first female artist to achieve the feat) came in the last 16 years, and folklore was not only the most recent of the three, it was easily her most acclaimed and best-reviewed work to date. Bruno Mars' 24K Magic is, true to form for the artist, a fun and energetic listen from start to finish. It's more of a collection of loose singles than it is a cohesive album, though, and frankly, it was pretty laughable that it won the award over the likes of Kendrick, Jay-Z, Lorde, and Childish Gambino. folklore, which has a legacy of being the first time I ever enjoyed listening to Taylor Swift, wins this one going away.
So, after the first round of games, here's what my bracket looks like:
The Elite 8
(1) Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves vs. (9) When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish
This is a tough matchup for me. Despite being stylistically very different from each other, the back-to-back winners hold a similar place in my heart and mind. They were my full-on introduction to the music of both talented women, and both albums also not only were my favorites of the nominees in their respective years, but ended up at the top of my year-end album rankings. But I can only pick one winner, and as much as I like most of When We All Fall Asleep, there are a couple tracks on there that I skip each time I listen to it. I can't say the same about Golden Hour, which is close to perfection from start to finish.
(4) The Suburbs - Arcade Fire vs. (12) 25 - Adele
The first of Adele's two entries in the Elite Eight comes up against an unexpected foe: Arcade Fire, who has earned a grand total of one major Grammy nomination in their long, celebrated, illustrious career and marked the occasion by winning the biggest award of them all. I often say this when discussing or reviewing Adele: she's somewhat of a one-trick pony, but she performs that one trick so, so well. That dichotomy speaks to why it's hard for anyone not to love Adele the person and the artist, yet most everyone (including Adele herself) expressed disappointment when her 2015 release beat out Beyoncé's groundbreaking, genre-surfing Lemonade for Album of the Year. The Suburbs, meanwhile, might be unmistakably Arcade Fire, but took place in a window of the band's trajectory where you can hear them honing their raw, chamber-rock style into a more packagable, accessible sound. 25 may be the more consistent or pleasant listen, but when it comes to musicianship and diversity of sound, The Suburbs takes this pretty easily.
(3) Random Access Memories - Daft Punk vs. (6) Harry's House - Harry Styles
The 2014 and 2023 Album of the Year winners have one noteworthy similarity: their lead singles were both one of the biggest songs the year prior, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” being THE song of the summer in 2013, while Harry Styles’ “As It Was” ruled airwaves in 2022. The similarities…pretty much stop there. “Get Lucky” notwithstanding, Daft Punk as a nominee were maaaaaybe second only to the young Kendrick Lamar in terms of lack of mainstream name recognition among its fellow nominees, and were also easily the grizzled veterans of the bunch. Harry, meanwhile, had the biggest year of any nominee in 2023, and won top honors in the early upswing of his solo career. I really enjoyed Harry’s House, and Styles even ended up being my top artist in my Spotify Wrapped last year, but yeah, this is another fairly easy win for Random Access Memories.
(2) folklore - Taylor Swift vs. (10) 21 - Adele
The Elite Eight is bookended with, frankly, brutal matchups between female artists. Where Kacey and Billie represented a head-to-head for the more indie pop appreciators, Taylor Swift and Adele is a showdown of two of the biggest pop stars in the 21st century. And this particular matchup pits both women’s best albums (in both mine and most music critics’ estimations) against each other. I talked above about how Adele is a bit of a one-trick pony, and 21 was her best performance of that trick. Swift, meanwhile, has a discography that exemplifies wildly different eras of her music, and folklore was a radical departure from her three preceding albums, a reversion to her more folk-inspired, acoustic roots (while not bona fide Country) rather than an arena pop sound. I went back and forth on this one a lot; it feels wrong to have a semifinal round without Adele, one of the Grammy’s most beloved and arguably THE artist of the last decade. But in truth, I think her appeal has always been more about her singles than her albums, the opposite of which is true for Taylor Swift. Fittingly, I think the “highs” of 21 trump the highs of foklore, but as a whole body of work, the edge has to go to Taylor in this one.
Given how often I rant about the Grammy winners, I didn't really expect to agree with the 'top seeds' of this bracket, but here we are, with a Final 4 consisting completely of the top 4 best-reviewed albums of the bunch:
The Final Four
(1) Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves vs. (4) The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
We’re at the point in the tournament, I think, that any album remaining could win in someone’s bracket and I would find it hard to criticize them. There’s no truly bad album in the last 16 winners, but there are definitely tiers of quality, and in my opinion, there’s a noticeable upgrade in this Final Four from the others behind them. Take this 1-v-4 matchup, which I agonized over for a while. Kacey Musgraves and Arcade Fire are very different artists, but both are so good, and these albums their best, and their victories the two delightful surprises the Grammys gifted us in the 2010s. I found this one so difficult that at one point I literally pulled up the tracklist for each album, and started comparing each track individually. This didn’t completely do the trick, as The Suburbs has more songs than Golden Hour, but it did help lay bare a dynamic similar to Kacey’s last matchup against Billie Eilish: I don’t want to skip any songs on her album, and there are a few on Arcade Fire’s that I can do without.
(2) folklore - Taylor Swift vs. (3) Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
Another star-studded, top-billing, knockdown/drag-out, blockbuster, whatever hyperbole you want to choose, matchup in the second semifinal. Two phenomenal albums, both of which marked my first time listening to an entire album by each artist (and made me a big fan upon first listen). But in the end, I actually had an easier time with this semifinal than I did the first one. There’s no question folklore is the lyrically superior of the two, and the cohesive theme throughout is some of the best storytelling we’ve ever seen from the artist many describe as the best songwriter in today’s music. But Random Access Memories also has an impressive, synergistic theme, and its musicality and production value is head and neck above Taylor Swift’s record. The robot duo of Daft Punk pulls the minor upset and prevents an all-“Country Pop” Championship.
Heading into the final showdown, here’s how my bracket stands:
The Championship
(1) Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves vs. (3) Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
We arrive at a final that pits two wildly different artists, with two wildly different albums, against each other in a head-to-head. The gap between Country and Electronic Funk is so vast, that this would already be a tough comparison to make between the two, but making the job more difficult is the fact that both albums are *reeeeally freaking good.* It was, fittingly, the hardest call I had to make in the whole bracket, but I finally made the call. My champion is…
I did not expect coming into this bracket that Random Access Memories would take the title. I didn’t even really know coming into this matchup that it would take the title. Of all the albums in this bracket, Golden Hour was certainly my favorite upon first listen, and I think if forced to say which of the 16 I would rank highest, I still would have opted for Kacey’s album. But I have grown to appreciate Daft Punk’s record so much in recent years, and to be fair to both, I knew I had to listen to them back-to-back. Perhaps this made me a prisoner of the moment, but upon doing exactly that, I realized that while Golden Hour is every bit as great and ‘unskippable’ as I remembered, Random Access Memories is even more great and unskippable than I remembered. Two incredibly different, near-perfect albums from two incredibly different, terrific artists, but I think what finally made my decision is the fact that, like folkore, when I’m in a particular mood, Golden Hour is going to really hit. But the variety of sounds on Random Access Memories and the uptempo funk means it’s going to meet me wherever I’m at; if I’m down, it will pick me up. If I’m up, it will continue the vibe. That’s a rare gift anyway, and when you throw in the musicianship and production level involved, that’s a timeless album.
Once more, in all its glory, my completed bracket:
Again, multiple albums in this bracket could be considered a deserving winner. So sound off and let me know if and where you think I got it wrong!
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