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Features
MF's Best Pop Songs of 2021
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2022
Any relationship between these parody capsules and real world songs is strictly intentional.

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Album ReviewsFeatures
Mark Dawes's Top Five LPs 2021
Mark Dawes  |  Dec 31, 2021
These five excellent vinyl releases from 2021 include a five LP box set and a double LP, so you really get TEN albums for the price of five! If that doesn’t make you want to read on, I give up—come on, I’m killing myself here! You’re driving me out of business! But seriously folks, on the topic of money—I buy all my own records, so please be assured that none of these are promo copies and these recommendations are my personal choices from the crop of 2021.

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FeaturesShort Cuts
2021 Catch-Up Explosion, Part 2
Malachi Lui  |  Dec 28, 2021
Unfortunately, we didn’t review in real time every important 2021 release; thankfully, there’s still time to catch up on essential missed albums, EPs, and singles. This is the second of two 2021 Catch-Up Explosions (read the first one here), featuring in alphabetical order 12 more releases.

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Book ReviewsFeatures
PS Audio CEO Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide Enlightens Junior Audiophiles
Nathan Zeller  |  Dec 22, 2021
“Imagine building or improving your home stereo system in a way that makes your music come alive—like the performers are right in front of you—even on a budget. It’s easier than you think.” - PS Audio

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FeaturesShort Cuts
2021 Catch-Up Explosion, Part 1
Malachi Lui  |  Dec 22, 2021
Despite our best efforts, we unfortunately didn’t review in real time every consequential 2021 release; thankfully, there’s still time to catch up on important missed albums, EPs, and singles. Our two 2021 Catch-Up Explosions (of which this is the first) differ somewhat from typical Review Explosions: some of these reviews are shorter than usual, and this time we won’t include sound quality scores (though rest assured, those will remain a site fixture). We won’t be able to cover every worthwhile 2021 release, though it’s possible to provide a reasonably comprehensive roundup of the year in music. The reviews are listed alphabetically, not by merit. Let’s begin!

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FeaturesVinyl Reports
Vinyl Reports: Susumu Hirasawa & Fishmans
Malachi Lui  |  Dec 19, 2021
(Vinyl Reports is an AnalogPlanet feature aiming to create a definitive guide to vinyl LPs. Here, we talk about sound quality, LP packaging, music, and the overarching vinyl experience, this time in a shorter format than usual.)

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Features
Horace Tapscott, Tom Albach and the Story of Nimbus West Records
Joseph W. Washek  |  Dec 18, 2021
If you’re a musician making albums and you’re not a major pop/rock star or you don’t own your own label, the money you make comes with strings attached. To some, they may be invisible—"Hey, that’s what you do to sell records. Right?” To Horace Tapscott, the strings were all too visible and entangling. He wasn’t going to be a puppet dancing for the record companies and the whole system of which they were part.

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Features
AnalogPlanet’s 2021 Holiday Gift Guide!
Malachi Lui, Michael Fremer  |  Dec 12, 2021
Finding gifts for record lovers can prove difficult: the hobby is uniquely personal, often expensive, and comes with the fear of what your gift recipient does and doesn’t already own. As the holidays rapidly approach, we’ve compiled a list of recommended budget turntables, phono preamps, record accessories, LPs, and books. These products are independently selected, and we’ve personally experienced every listed item (or a very similar previous iteration) listed.
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FeaturesShort Cuts
Vinyl Review Explosion: Clairo, Mariya Takeuchi, Sault, & Dean Blunt
Malachi Lui  |  Nov 30, 2021
(Review Explosion, curated by contributing editor Malachi Lui, is AnalogPlanet’s guide to notable recent releases and reissues. It focuses on the previous few months’ new releases for which we don’t have time or energy to cover more extensively.)

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FeaturesShort Cuts
Review Explosion: Adele, Silk Sonic, Damon Albarn, Eric Clapton, & More
Malachi Lui  |  Nov 30, 2021
(Review Explosion, curated by contributing editor Malachi Lui, is AnalogPlanet’s guide to notable recent releases and reissues. It focuses on the previous few months’ new releases for which we don’t have time or energy to cover more extensively.)

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AAA VinylFeaturesVinyl Reports
Vinyl Reports: Tales From The Used Bin!
Malachi Lui  |  Nov 28, 2021
(Vinyl Reports is an AnalogPlanet feature aiming to create a definitive guide to vinyl LPs. Here, we talk about sound quality, LP packaging, music, and the overarching vinyl experience.)

Real-life used record shopping is as joyful as it is potentially frustrating. These days, I mostly find used record bins of previous decades’ detritus; however, a recent browse through Asheville’s Harvest Records yielded luck. Following are reviews of three of those finds, plus one used LP ordered on Discogs.

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Features
How Long Do Lacquers Really Last?
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 26, 2021
How long do lacquers really last? The recent Supersense announcement that it would be releasing lacquers cut sourced from 1:1 master tape copies (the original announcement made it seem as if the company was claiming to be using actual master tapes, which made zero sense and was obviously not the case), produced a torrent of objections and outrage on this website under the original post and on the YouTube channel of record dealer The In Groove.

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FeaturesShort Cuts
Review Explosion: JPEGMAFIA, Jarvis Cocker, Young Thug, Richard Ashcroft, & Yukihiro Takahashi
Malachi Lui  |  Nov 23, 2021
(Review Explosion, curated by contributing editor Malachi Lui, is AnalogPlanet’s guide to notable recent releases and reissues. It focuses on the previous couple months’ new releases for which we don’t have time or energy to more extensively cover.)

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Features
ELAC’s $700/pr. Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 Bookshelf Loudspeaker Tells The Truth
Nathan Zeller  |  Nov 23, 2021
High performance loudspeakers are a trekking pole in an audiophile’s lifelong, arduous journey to “audio nirvana”; without them, one won’t reach the destination. And while controversy surrounds the discussion of whether one should first stride into high-fidelity audio via spectacular loudspeakers or an exceptional source, one undeniably cannot ignore loudspeakers. If this is news, don’t fret. Designed by the renowned Andrew Jones (Jones announced last July 18th that he was leaving ELAC but he's yet to divulge his next move_ed), the ELAC Uni-Fi 2.0 UB52 bookshelf loudspeaker meets a growing audiophile’s needs. It’s a high performance reasonably priced loudspeaker.

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DiscographiesFeatures
The Peaceful Glitch Pop of Sketch Show
Malachi Lui  |  Nov 09, 2021
Earlier this year, I wrote a four-part series about Yellow Magic Orchestra, the seminal synthpop trio of Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Of course, that’s only the tip of the proverbial iceberg; between solo records, collaborations, other bands, productions for others, and session credits, hundreds of wildly varying releases encompass the YMO-centered extended discography.

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