The Top 20 Albums We’ve Been Waiting For Forever

The Top 20 Albums We’ve Been Waiting For Forever

In the June 2, 2012 issue of the NME, Kevin Shields said the long-awaited third album from My Bloody Valentine –- the first since 1991's classic Loveless –- is imminent. The UK mag quotes Shields as saying the album will be released "sooner rather than later," perhaps even this year. For more than two decades My Bloody Valentine has been ...
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19. Queens Of The Stone Age: With trainwreck Nick Oliveri a distant memory and Kyuss Lives touring regularly, we know the new QOTSA has to be near. Josh Homme has said the band's sixth record would be finished this year, but the clock is still ticking. Maybe he's trying to get Mark Lanegan and Dave Grohl back on board?

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18. The Jesus And Mary Chain: Every group that soaks their '60s-ish pop songs in a bath of distortion and echo (I'm looking at you Crocodiles, Dum Dum Girls, and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart) owe everything to the Jesus And Mary Chain's early albums. It's time for the kings to return and show these kids how it's done.

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17. The Sundays: The 1997 single "Summertime" from the wonderful Static & Silence has been on our summer playlist for 15 years now. It's time for more of Harriet Wheeler's dreamy, gossamer vocals and David Gavurin's jangly work on the Rickenbacker.

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16. The Jesus Lizard: It's been 15 years since the Jesus Lizard's last record, and if there were any doubts that David Yow could still simultaneously repulse and endear an audience with his vulgar, over-the-top stage antics, they were dispelled during the band's 2009 reunion tour. The man still has his lunatic energy. We want it back in the studio.

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15. David Bowie: At 65, David Bowie may be finished reinventing himself as an artist. Since 2003's Reality, he's remained out of the spotlight. If he does find it in his heart to record new material before announcing an official retirement, we'll be waiting.

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14. Sebadoh: Who would have thought J Mascis and Lou Barlow would have patched things up to reform and record with the original Dinosaur Jr. lineup? All the newfound love has got to be affecting Sebadoh, Lou's self-loathing-fueled solo project. That bitter angst has to translate into some new songs.

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13. Mazzy Star: The hazy songs and sultry voice of Mazzy Star singer Hope Sandoval provided the perfect soundtrack for teenage make-out sessions. It would be nice to have another album to rekindle the romance (with new songs that don't carry with them awkward memories of dry humping and braces like "Fade Into You" does). Here's hoping the band delivers on the promised 2012 release.

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12. Justin Timberlake: Justin brought sexy back in 2006 and then promptly took it away with his indefinite recording hiatus. Reportedly, he wants to focus on less sexy activities, such as acting and marriage. But his acting career is hot-or-miss (sure, The Social Network was great; Friends With Benefits...not so much) and Timblaland needs him back even more than we do.

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11. Pavement: In 2010 the Internet was abuzz with talk of a new album that would follow the band's recent compilation and world tour. As it stands, the Internet was wrong. The newly reunited band insists there will be no new Pavement material. But didn't they say the same thing about a reunion tour?

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10. The Avalanches Back in December, The Avalanches publicly chided Bon Iver for pulling a Fiona Apple (circa 1997 MTV Awards) against his own Grammy nomination. The beef left us thinking less about Justin Vernon's ill-advised comments and more about why The Avalanches haven't released a record in nearly 11 years.

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9. The Wrens: It's fitting that the headline on The Wrens' website reads "Keeping Folks Waiting … Since 1989." The Wrens went seven years between Secaucus and The Meadowlands, and now it's been NINE years of near-silence as we wait for their long-overdue fourth album. Heck, the last post on their website came in November 2011, and that was just to announce that the band was trying to sell their tour van! (No word on whether they found a buyer.)

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8. Stone Roses: It always seems to start with the reunion tour, then the new album is promised, delayed and then delayed again. The Stone Roses may be the exception, but … well, this is not the most reliable band in the world here. The Roses signed a two-record deal ahead of this year's massive tour and reportedly started recording new music during rehearsal. Baby steps.

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7. Dr. Dre: Dr. Dre has been detoxing for decades. Most recent reports have suggested the mastermind behind The Chronic would release his long-awaited comeback album on April 20, 2011. That day, and the string of previously announced and rumored release dates for the album, have come and gone, during which time Chinese Democracy was released. Still waiting for this one.

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6. Blur: Blur never officially broke up -- they've stayed busy, made music, stayed in contact, jammed here and there, and now they're doing reunion shows in the UK and releasing two new songs next week. Why just yesterday Alex James hinted at the possibility this could be "the beginning of the next chapter" for Blur. And frankly, Damon Albarn has made music with just about every other artist on three or four continents, so why not Graham, Alex, and Dave?

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5. D'Angelo: It's been a weird, sad road for D'Angelo. The Grammy winner hasn't been able to bounce back after the huge success of his debut and sophomore releases. He's had run-ins with the law, as well as drug and alcohol problems, to go with label issues. The recent appearance at Bonnaroo bodes well, but performing old material to an audience of devoted fans is far from the new album we've been anticipating now for 12 years. His third album, reportedly titled James River, was initially set for release in 2009.

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4. The Pixies: At one point, the Pixies made it abundantly clear that a new record was absolutely not going to happen, but last year drummer David Lovering changed the story. Lovering told Rolling Stone a new Pixies album is "definitely a stronger possibility than it was a few years ago," but that the band would not release anything that could possibly "break the legacy."

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3. Outkast: If you've been near a television recently, you'll know that Andre 3000 is too busy shaving his moustache to record a new Outkast album. The hype started when Big Boi mentioned an Outkast record to follow his upcoming solo release. Dre shot that down in GQ earlier this year, saying "I really don't know if or when that will happen."

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2. Neutral Milk Hotel: Ever since Jeff Mangum decided to come out of hiding back in 2008, performing stripped-down, acoustic versions of NMH songs, we've been cautiously letting ourselves get excited about a possible new album. Eventually he has to get sick of everyone shout-singing over him while he plays "Holland, 1945," right?

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1. My Bloody Valentine We said it all at the beginning, but when it comes to My Bloody Valentine, we can always say more. It's not just that we've been waiting now for more than two decades for a follow-up to Loveless, it's that we have so much faith: When Kevin Shields has emerged, here and there -- playing alongside Primal Scream, working on the soundtrack for Lost In Translation, touring with a reunited MBV -- the results have ranged from impressive to mind-blowing. So we can't give up hope. How could we? We truly, honestly believe the album will one day arrive, and when it does, it will be spectacular.

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