Okay then. Are we comfortable? (Standing, sitting, any other position, your preference.)

Then begin!

How I put together this thing on a yearly basis from January to December…

JANUARY: I usually close the book on the previous year by revealing that year’s 20, countdown style. This is something that I’ve done on Facebook most years since 2017, but going forward the pieces that I normally produce will appear here. The countdown dates usually range between December 31 and January 8.

JANUARY-DECEMBER: Well, to put together a top twenty, I’ve actually got to listen to some fucking music, right? You’ve probably figured out by now through my music related posts and shares that my well runs deep when it comes to listening to the material.
Tracks that are eligible for my twenty are subject to a strict selection criteria known only by myself in full. (I’ll never tell, so don’t ask!) Basically it’s a case of:

Point Number 1: My chart, my rules!
Point Number 2: Fully learn and understand Point Number 1!

All you need to know is that every track that qualifies for any given 20 is released during the year in question, and nobody can appear as the main artist on any given track twice.

Any songs that I consider to be Top 20 material are gathered into my Contenders List. (Referred to hereinafter as the CL.) A glorified short/longlist (depending upon how picky I’m being) if you will. This is the lone list from which I will choose the final 20.

It should be pointed out that I will still continue to listen to as much new-to-me music as deep into the year as possible, even at a time when others start to release their own end-of-year lists. Perhaps there was something deserving that I missed at the time of release? If so, it deserves to be heard and recognised.

So point is, I’m always listening. If I’m out in public and not with friends, you will seldom see me without earphones and something playing out of them. Or, of course, stood in front of a stage.

LATE SPRING/EARLY SUMMER: I will, at around this point in the year, have a list of twenty qualifying tracks on the CL. And I will often share a screenshot of what they are. If and when you do see it, you’ll get an early insight into what I’m thinking, and you could predict which of the early entries will make the final cut if you wanted to.

LATE AUTUMN/EARLY WINTER: For songs that are virtual locks to make the final 20, I’ll start writing pieces in skeletal form, pieces that I’ll flesh out once I know where they’ll end up in the final rankings. It’s both a time saving and quality assured measure which will ensure that I can deliver a high quality piece whilst being able to continue with my other work commitments.

ALSO DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD as the one directly above: If I know any of the artists that are confirmed to make my final cut, I will tell them. I’ll tell them the track, but not the final position (they’ll find out along with everyone else once I reveal the countdown). I will also swear them to secrecy. No leaks!

And if any of them can provide me with info/quotes as part of an interview, general conversation or some written words of their own that I can insert into the resultant piece, such actions would be encouraged and welcomed.

A reminder that anyone who qualifies for my Top 20 is eligible, whether I know them or not. No matter the status, the quality of the music in my opinion is the only thing that matters.

EARLY DECEMBER: Time to start making cuts. Always tough decisions to make at this point, but 32 (or >21-32 depending on circumstances) into 20 does not go, and eliminations will happen. It’s usually a case of separating the A+’s from the A’s. I’m still listening to new-to-me music at this point, remember, but it would have to take something truly outstanding to change my thinking and make the 20.

This has happened before though. In one given year, I thought that I had my twenty tracks ready to go on Christmas Eve. But then on Christmas Day, not only did I hear a track that qualified, it made the final cut and made it all the way to number two! And many years after the event, I have no regrets about it.

One thing I should mention is that it is around this time of year that many other people will produce their own end of year lists. I tend to avoid reading any others until I have finished compiling my own, as I do not wish to be unduly influenced by anyone else’s opinions. My ears and my ears alone have to be the sole judge.

LATE DECEMBER: Once I’m satisfied with my final twenty, ranking begins. Ranking, ranking…FUCKING RANKING!!!!! If I tell anyone that I’m ranking my 20 at this point, please be nice as I’ll be pretty intense at this point. This takes ages to do, and I promise you that I will never get an order that I’m happy with on the first attempt. I’m not going to get into the specifics of the ins and outs of it all as it varies from year to year, but my absolute deadline to get it all done by is December 29. Any pieces that need to be finished or written in full will usually be done around this time too.

DECEMBER 30: I’ve not gone into full specifics here in this piece, but if I hear at least ten albums in a given year that I believe to be of a high quality, I’ll traditionally reveal my album Top 10 on this date. This isn’t guaranteed to happen every year tough, because I am strict-as-all-hell when it comes to the LPs.
No countdown for this, just a straight list with commentary if it happens. If not, I’ll just name my album of the year and write lots of nice things about it.

DECEMBER 31: Top 20 order completed, and individual pieces written. And after the inevitable internal second guessing is over, the Top 20 countdown begins! On here going forward, with links to on my Facebook companion page. I’ll usually reveal positions 20, 19 and 18 on this date. And well before the usual New Year celebration shenanigans begin, so no excuses for not reading!

JANUARY 1-8 (date range, actual dates per year set closer to the time): I’ll reveal the rest of the entries. And as a part of this date range, it’s traditional for me to have a New Year’s Day blitz where I have reveal as many as five entries on the list.

In the past on Facebook I’ve done a ‘Predict the Top 5’ feature at the appropriate point over on Facebook, but I’m sure that I could find a way to adapt it here. It’s done mainly as a vehicle for longtime friend and supporter Andy Smith to see if he can correctly read my mind (he’ll get them all right…some day…), but it was free for anybody to join in had they desired to do so. Leave it with me, I’ll keep it going.

I deliberately ensure that the penultimate day of the countdown sees me get down to number 3, in order to fully ratchet up the tension ahead of the final day and the final reveal. And then on that final day I’ll usually reveal what’s at 2 one hour before confirming the winner.

You should definitely get involved when I do it. If only to discover new music you hadn’t yet heard of, if you’re someone I know waiting to see your final position in the 20 if I told you ahead of time that you’d made it in, or maybe if I listed something that you also like, and you can let out a great big “SNAP!!!!” at the time of reveal. Just come with an open mind.

And then after a brief rest, we go again for the following calendar year. I put a LOT of work and effort into doing this, but it doesn’t get any less enjoyable, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. (Well maybe apart from 2013, but that’s another story! A story that I might tell in full in the future here in my own space)

See, I TOLD you that it was long. If you read the whole thing without skips, thank you. We’ll definitely get along.

Now please make your way over to the page here where you can see the constantly updating Contenders List for the year in question. Thank you.