The Absolute Best Albums for Each Week of the Year According to Science

Music fans know that songs have a season. This is obviously true for Christmas music, Halloween music, and even Fourth of July music, but also for songs and albums that don’t have such clear seasonal affiliation. Some music is just made for summer, for instance, or for spring, or fall. And, to enjoy it most, you have to listen to the music during the season it’s made for.

By the same token, there is music for all times of the year. You might have headed out for a road trip or had a cookout and wondered what music would best fit the situation. It just so happens that there is an answer to that question—and it’s based on the music’s season. For every week of the year, there is one album that best fits the time, the temperature, the level of the sun in the sky, and all of the activities that go on that time of year. 

For these albums, it just makes sense to play the music during their season, and, similarly, it is anachronistic to play it at other times—it feels wrong, and might even sound a bit out of tune.

Release Date, Themes, Timbre

So, what are the albums? To identify a given week’s best album, it’s necessary to consider three aspects: (1) the album’s release date, (2) the lyrical themes, and (3) the music’s timbre.

First, albums are typically released on a certain date, and so most listeners will absorb the new tunes over and over on or soon after that release date. For this reason, the music gets embedded in the consciousness of that time of year. Release date is especially impactful for big, popular albums that everyone goes out and buys right away. Think of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and how it became the soundtrack for all the hippies during the 1967 Summer of Love. 

Second, the best songs have a theme—the stories that the singer relays, the titles of the songs and of the album itself, all often reference times of the year or at least activities that occur at a specific time of year. Take Guns ‘N’ Roses’ ‘November Rain’ for example—it’s a great song, but you’d be a jerk to rock out to it in August. And Earth, Wind and Fire’s ‘September’ is an awesome wedding song, but you’d better not be getting married in April.

Third, perhaps the most powerful aspect of music and certainly the aspect that creates the strongest memories is its timbre, the quality of the sound, the instrumentation, the feel of the music. All good albums are produced with the cohesive timbre in mind, and all timbres evoke a particular season. Consider the Beach Boys’ vibrant, sandy instrumentation, suitable particularly for the summer, or Simon and Garfunkel’s haunting acoustics, perfect for the chill of winter.

The Science of Musical Seasonality

Combining the three measures gives us the absolute best time of year to listen to a given album. There are instances when the release date, themes, and timbre don’t match. In these cases, timber trumps themes, and themes trump release. When all three match, there is a kind of magical aligning of the musical stars, and listening to the album during that week becomes obligatory.

Why full albums and not just songs? To be sure, there are songs that should be played during particular times of the year. But albums are more significant and more impactful in that each song should build upon the others. Certainly, a song will evoke memories of a particular season, but an album has the power of allowing the listener to relive that season. As such, studio albums are featured and I only defer to compilations when the collection of songs are more cohesive in the compilation.

Week 1: January 1 – 7 Revolver The Beatles August 5, 1966 For a new year, it only makes sense to start out with a sonic experience that never gets old. Timbre really dominates this album and all of the Beatles’ albums, really, and makes this a wintery album despite the summer release and themes all over the place. Reverbs, chilly sitars, and echo-y vocals, as well as the English cold all have a profound effect on the feel of this pivotal Beatles classic. Also listen: X by INXS

Week 2: January 8 – 14 Blonde on Blonde Bob Dylan June 20, 1966 It was released in the summer, but the cover portrait of Dylan with the scarf betrays the album’s true season. Multiple references to the cold and rain and the cozy accoustics of the album place the listener nicely next to a fire during a winter storm. Also listen: Us and Only Us by Charlatans UK

Week 3: January 14 – 21 Vs. Pearl Jam October 19, 1993 This is absolutely a winter album to be played in cold cars, driving around frozen at 2 a.m. bouncing from house party to Waffle House.

Week 4: January 22 – 28 The Graduate Simon and Garfunkel January 21, 1968 Most of the movie takes place in the summer and autumn, but the music is quintessential winter. The cool accoustic guitars, the hollow harmonies—everything in this soundtrack says ‘Winter’. Also listen: The Raw and the Cooked by Fine Young Cannibals

Week 5: January 29 – February 4 Rumours Fleetwood Mac February 4, 1977 This album’s timbre is all over the place and could fit well anywhere, but ‘Never Going Back Again’, ‘Songbird’, and ‘The Chain’ fit well the winter release date. Also listen: The Beatles by The Beatles

Week 6: February 5 – 11 Tearing at the Seams Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats March 9, 2018 It’s cold outside, but it’s cooking inside with these hot neosoul jams. Grab a cocktail and a partner and go cut a rug. Also listen: Faith by George Michael

Week 7: February 12 – 18 Tunnel of Love Bruce Springsteen October 9, 1987 Most of the Boss’ 80s stuff is fairly wintery, but in this one you just feel the broken furnace and car not starting. That and the perfect Valentine’s Day road song.

Week 8: February 19 – 25 Alix Generationals September 12, 2014 Get ready for the upbeat melancholy of a glimpse of spring in the middle of winter starting with ‘Black Lemon’ and through to the last track. Also listen: Watergate by United States Three

Week 9: February 26 – March 4 Hold Time M. Ward February 17, 2009 If you can listen to Hold Time and not get transported to a ’49 Ford rumbling down S.R. 149 with the A.M. radio cranked up, then you’re not living. Also Listen: Give ‘Em All a Big Fat Lip by The Whigs

Week 10: March 5 – 11 Volume One She & Him March 18, 2008 Spring is certainly around the corner with this cheerful, nostalgic duet and beautiful if hokey melodies. Also listen: Abbey Road by The Beatles

Week 11: March 12 – 18 Summerteeth Wilco March 9, 1999 The title speaks of summer, but this album really has the feel of southern warmth before the break of northern cold, i.e., put it on for a spring break road trip from Chicago to Florida. Also listen: Morrison Hotel by The Doors

Week 12: March 19 – 25 Discover America Van Dyke Parks March 1, 1972 What is a better time to take a trip to the tropics with this lively jaunt through Calypso classics? The cover features tour buses, but this is yacht rock through and through. Also Listen: Desire by Bob Dylan

Week 13: March 26 – April 1 Foursider Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66 May 27, 1988 Now that we’re in the tropics for spring break, do it right with the best tropical music ever made in Sergio Mendes’ best of album, full of colorful covers and mystical original jams. Also listen: Modern Guilt by Beck

Week 14: April 2 – 8 Attack & Release The Black Keys April 1, 2008 The Black Keys’ best album is perfect for a time of year that is alive with the excitement of spring but retains the grit of winter. Also listen: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco

Week 15: April 9 – 15 One Part Lullaby The Folk Implosion September 7, 1999 Bright, airy synth and guitar chords with lyrics of baseball and freedom make this a perfect spring album. Also listen: Let It Be by the Beatles

Week 16: April 16 – 22 God Shuffled His Feet Crash Test Dummies October 26, 1993 The garden style and birth of the cosmos atmosphere of the instruments and jaunty precussion make this a perfect album to listen to when flowers are blooming and green things are everywhere. Also listen: Fleetwood Mac by Fleetwood Mac

Week 17: April 23 – 29 Chicago Transit Authority Chicago Transit Authority April 28, 1969 The best horn section in all of rock music makes this the perfect album for a Saturday in the park, especially if it’s a late April or early May Saturday after a long, cold Chicago winter. Also listen: Como te Llamo? by Albert Hammond Jr.

Week 18: April 30 – May 6 Bye Bye 17 Har Mar Superstar April 23, 2013 Keep the horns and jazzy soul going with this, one of the best albums from one of the most bizarre performers ever. Also listen: Brothers by The Black Keys

Week 19: May 7 – 13 Sky Blue Sky Wilco May 15, 2007 Airy guitars and piano chimes are paired with vocal harmonies and grity electrics for some of Wilco’s warmest music. Also listen: Infinite Arms by Band of Horses

Week 20: May 14 – 20 Manners Passion Pit May 15, 2009 It is impossible not to be lifted up to a summer breeze with Passion Pit’s bright synths and cheery vocals. Also listen: Under the Table and Dreaming by The Dave Matthews Band

Week 21: May 21 – 27 Modern Vampires of the City Vampire Weekend May 14, 2013 Vampire Weekend complements their Afro-influenced dance rhythms with well-crafted melodies and anthemic themes for a perfect summer party album. Also listen: The Future by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

Week 22: May 28 – June 3 Leave No Trace Fool’s Gold August 16, 2011 Summer doesn’t officially start until late June, but put this album on, with its shimmering African guitar licks and airy vocals, and you might as well be on a rocky beach sipping pomada cocktails. Also listen: Sunny Side Up by Paolo Nutini

Week 23: June 4 – 10 OK Computer Radiohead May 21, 1997 Gritty hard rock riffs spliced with light-as-air Thom York vocals and synth chimes make for the definitive sound of the late ’90s and a lively if angsty summer romp. Also listen: (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis

Week 24: June 11 – 17 Pet Sounds The Beach Boys May 16, 1966 The patron saints of summer in America are, naturally, the Beach Boys, and their masterpiece Pet Sounds is unquestionably the official soundtrack of the season. Listen and define summer. Also listen: Achtung Baby by U2

Week 25: June 18 – 24 Astral Weeks Van Morrison November 29, 1968 The earthy guitars, the hypnotic, circling rhythms, the soulful vocals. If you want to fall in love, go on a mid-summer hike along coastal cliffs to a winery where you sample rosés over good conversation while ‘Sweet Thing’ is playing in the background. Also listen: Only By the Night by Kings of Leon

Week 26: June 25 – July 1 Chronicle Creedence Clearwater Revival January 5, 1976 The lead up to Independence Day should consist entirely of America’s best band and the best compilation of their best songs. Crank it up and sing along. Also listen: Cracked Rear View by Hootie and the Blowfish

Week 27: July 2 – 8 Gold Ryan Adams September 25, 2001 The best singer-songwriter of this generation showcased his chameleonic talents fully in this magnificent ode to America, which also happens to be the best Independence Day album. Also listen: Greetings from Asbury Park by Bruce Springsteen

Week 28: July 9 – 15 Oracular Spectacular MGMT October 2, 2007 Combining retro synth with trippy reverbs and psychadelic lyrics, this is some of the best dance music in a while. Also listen: Pneumonia by Whiskeytown

Week 29: July 16 – 22 Currents Tame Impala July 17, 2015 Psychadelic revival meets glam in this spacy rocker with one of the great heady jams of all time, ‘Let It Happen’. Also listen: McCartney by Paul McCartney

Week 30: July 23 – 29 Zooropa U2 July 5, 1993 U2’s largely neglected hodgepodge of tracks features some of the band’s most adventurous and satisfying music. Also listen: Graceland by Paul Simon

Week 31: July 30 – August 5 Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots The Flaming Lips July 16, 2002 Not only do you get one of the best songs of this century in ‘Do You Realize??’, but you also get some slick techno beats and quirky airy vocals. One of the bestselling albums on Venus. Also listen: Ashes and Fire by Ryan Adams

Week 32: August 6 – 12 Superunknown Soundgarden March 8, 1994 Seattle bands should make rainy music, but this grunge epic is filled with groovy bass riffs and psychadelic arpeggio, making it a perfect late summer soundtrack. It’s a black hole sun, but it is a sun after all. Also listen: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 by Eagles

Week 33: August 13 – 19 Coming Home Leon Bridges June 23, 2015 Dog days of summer feels with this nostalgic masterpiece of sensuous chords and soulful melodies. Also listen: Odelay by Beck

Week 34: August 20 – 26 Born to Run Bruce Springsteen August 25, 1975 Warm nights are lingering, but the leaves are starting to turn and there is a universal urge to hold onto summer before autumn falls. And there is no one who captures that melancholic dream better than the Boss. Also listen: Musicforthemorningafter by Pete Yorn

Week 35: August 27 – September 2 August and Everything After Counting Crows September 14, 1993 As the title suggests, this album is intended to be heard August through December. This is the ultimate back-to-school album. Also listen: Soup by Blind Melon

Week 36: September 3 – 9 The Joshua Tree U2 March 9, 1987 Hold onto summer with a road trip to the desert and play this masterpiece on repeat. Bonus mention of the seasonal Labor Day in ‘Red Hill Mining Town’. Also listen: It’s Never Been Like That by Phoenix

Week 37: September 10 – 16 The Bends Radiohead March 13, 1995 Highly underrated album after Radiohead blew the top off rock music with their followup, but definitely an autumnal album with its leaf-falling guitar licks and earthy strumming. Also listen: A Decade of Steely Dan by Steely Dan

Week 38: September 17 – 23 The Best of Earth Wind and Fire, Vol. 1 Earth, Wind and Fire November 23, 1978 No fall wedding worth its rice would go without EW&F’s dance anthem ‘September’. Keep the party going with their other horn-rich, vocal-centric jams. Also listen: Stillwater by Brazos

Week 39: September 24 – 30 Talking Book Stevie Wonder October 28, 1972 Welcome to the fall with melifluous Fender Rhodes, funky Hohner Clavinet, and soulful ensemble vocals in this classic. Also listen: Every Picture Tells a Story by Rod Stewart

Week 40: October 1 – 7 Evil Urges My Morning Jacket June 10, 2008 Cheery pop rock pervades the album, but the haunting echoes of ‘Librarian’ anchor this album firmly amid the falling leaves of a university fall semester. Also listen: No Code by Pearl Jam

Week 41: October 8 – 14 Led Zeppelin II Led Zeppelin October 22, 1969 All of Zeppelin magically has an autumnal vibe, but ‘Ramble On’s overt references to falling leaves and autumn moons, not to mention Gollum and the One Ring, make this a quintessential fall album. Also listen: Free the Bees by The Bees

Week 42: October 15 – 21 Moondance Van Morrison January 27, 1970 The lyrics of ‘Moondance’ speak for themselves, but the earthy tembre and folksy themes make this a perfect mid-October soundtrack. Also listen: Shakedown Street by The Grateful Dead

Week 43: October 22 – 28 Dedication Thin Lizzy February 4, 1991 Robbo’s crisp licks are like the crisp autumn air and adventurous themes of bandits and cowboys, maidens and vixens make for a magnificent seasonal romp. Also listen: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins

Week 44: October 29 – November 4 Thriller Michael Jackson November 30, 1982 With peak Quincy Jones instrumentation, jittery stuccato rhythm, and MJ’s spooky lyrics of alienation, fame, and deindividuation, there is really no other album that can can compete this time of year. Also listen: His Best by Bo Diddley

Week 45: November 5 – 11 Sea Change Beck September 24, 2002 Second only to his ‘Mutations’ in distant, echo-y chords, but far superior in songwriting, this album confronts head-on the emptiness of late fall. Also listen: Lonesome Dreams by Lord Huron

Week 46: November 12 – 18 1989 Ryan Adams September 21, 2015 It takes Ryan Adam’s chilling guitar strumming and vocals to realize how cold and haunting T-Swift’s and Max Martin’s songs actually are. Also listen: The Colour and the Shape by Foo Fighters

Week 47: November 19 – 25 A Deeper Understanding The War on Drugs August 25, 2017 The War on Drugs has always been about buzzing Dylanesque melancholy, and here they add an element of poppy melodies for irony. Also listen: Gimme Fiction by Spoon

Week 48: November 26 – December 2 Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd March 1, 1973 One of the greatest accomplishments in rock music was released on the opposite side of the year that it should have. It could be listened to all year, but truly suitable when the leaves have all died and the sun is low in the sky. Also listen: Rubber Soul by The Beatles

Week 49: December 3 – 9 So Tonight that I May See Mazzy Star October 5, 1993 Everything is cold and numb, but Hope Sandoval’s raspy sensuous lilt reverberates through your mind and all is fine.

Week 50: December 10 – 16 Negotiations The Helio Sequence September 11, 2012 Theoretically, the songs take you from October to December, but throughout Brandon Summers’ echo-y vocals and shimmering chords make for a quintessential winter album. You don’t open the record with sleighbells unless you’re evoking Christmastime. Also listen: Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. I by George Michael

Week 51: December 17 – 23 Dino: The Essential Dean Martin Dean Martin September 6, 2004 Whether you’re gathering with the family for the holidays at an Italian restaurant and listening to ‘That’s Amore’, or you’re lamenting lost love over a martini listening to ‘I Will’, Dino is perfect for the holidays.

Week 52: December 24 – 30 Merry Christmas Johnny Mathis October 6, 1958 People are going to @ me because I didn’t pick Nat King Cole or Bing Crosby, but Johnny’s classic compilation has all the essential Christmas songs and in a style that is just as velvety and smooth as those other greats. And, let’s be honest, people are going to @ me for not picking Mariah Carey and putting this pick in November. Judge me by the enemies I’ve made.

Week 53: December 31 – January 6 Midnite Vultures Beck November 23, 1999 With a mix of disco, techno, funk, non sequitur, and robot mating sounds, this Beck-at-his-Beckiest album makes for a hot New Years party album. Also listen: Cross by Justice