Which album have you played start to finish the most times this year

[Wardlow]

Not a playlist favourite, the full album, front to back, the way it was actually sequenced. Share it and roughly how many full listens you reckon you're at by now.

[NatureBoyJonathan88]

For full front-to-back listens, mine is probably The Cure's Disintegration. Around ten or eleven this year. It is definitely not the album I would put on if I needed to become more productive, but that is part of the appeal.

The atmosphere is so consistent that stopping halfway feels wrong. Plainsong, Pictures of You, Fascination Street, Lovesong... there is barely a weak point in that run. By the time Untitled arrives, I am usually just sitting there thinking, well, that was two hours of my life spent staring into the middle distance.

No regrets.

[Mark94]

For me it has been Radiohead's In Rainbows. Probably 15 or 20 full plays this year, which is a lot by my standards. It works particularly well as an album because the sequencing feels deliberate without making every track sound like it has to be part of some grand concept.

Weird Fishes into All I Need is probably the stretch that keeps pulling me back. I can put the whole thing on while working and suddenly realise the last track is playing.

[NeonSpectre72]

For me it is probably Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age. Somewhere around 20 full plays this year, mostly on longer journeys.

That album is almost cheating because the fake radio sections make the whole thing feel like a continuous trip rather than a collection of tracks. You can start it at the beginning and just let it run. No decisions required.

A Song for the Dead is still ridiculous at full volume, although my neighbours may have a different opinion. The album has also survived repeated listening better than I expected. There are records I loved initially that became tiring after five plays, whereas this one keeps revealing little details.

If anyone has a similarly good start-to-finish road album, recommendations are welcome. My car stereo has apparently decided my musical development ended in 2002.

[DataStream Luca]

The album I've hammered most this year is Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. Around 12 full listens, maybe more if I count the times I put it on during long drives.

It is one of those albums where I don't really want to skip anything. Even the songs I know ridiculously well still fit the mood of the record. Also, listening to the lyrics while knowing the band members were all having an extremely complicated time with each other adds a whole extra layer of entertainment.

[Nicola]

Probably Charli xcx's BRAT, and I have absolutely lost count. The whole album is short enough that starting it from the beginning never feels like a commitment, which is dangerous when you are supposed to be doing something else.

What surprised me is that the tracks I initially thought were just fun earworms ended up being the ones I kept returning to. The sequencing works too. It has enough variation that it does not feel like listening to the same song repeatedly with different hats on.

I know some people will nominate something much more serious, but sometimes you need an album that makes doing the washing-up feel like an event.

[BitSus83]

A newer one for me: Kendrick Lamar's GNX. I have probably done eight complete listens, which is quite high considering I normally cherry-pick individual tracks from modern albums.

The full-album experience made more sense to me after a few plays. Some songs hit immediately, while others grew on me because I started noticing how they fit around the tracks before and after them. That is usually the test for me of whether an album is actually working as an album rather than just being a folder of songs.

Also, there is something satisfying about putting a record on and not touching your phone for the next hour. I should probably do that more often.

[GatewayDrifter]

Mine is Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. About 14 full listens, mostly while driving. The funny part is that I keep telling myself I am going to listen to something different next time, then Giorgio by Moroder comes on and suddenly the plan has collapsed.

The production still sounds fantastic to me. Give Life Back to Music, Instant Crush, Lose Yourself to Dance and Contact all feel completely different, but the album somehow holds together.

It is also one of those records where the physical act of listening matters. I can put on a playlist and have music become background noise, but this one keeps making me pay attention to individual sounds.

[HulkHogan_Dev]

The big one for me has been Fleet Foxes' Helplessness Blues, probably 9 or 10 complete listens. I would actually disagree with the idea that the most-played album has to be something you listen to casually. This one usually gets a deliberate start-to-finish session.

The sequencing is a big part of it. Montezuma into Bedouin Dress sets the tone, and by the time Helplessness Blues itself arrives, the whole album feels like it has been building towards that question of what you actually want your life to amount to.

It is also an album I hear differently depending on where I am in the year. That sounds pretentious written down, but some records really do change with you. Or maybe I am just getting older and increasingly suspicious of my own life choices.

Either way, ten listens feels like a pretty good sign that it has earned its place rather than just being the album I happened to discover in January.

[Pirlo]

Helplessness Blues is a massive undertaking for a full listen, so respect for hitting double digits with it! That sequencing really demands your undivided attention, especially with how the title track and "The Shrine / An Argument" build up. For me, the one that accidentally got rinsed top to bottom this year was Little Simz's Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Every time "Intro" kicks in with that brass and spoken word, it just sets a cinematic mood that makes skipping tracks feel illegal. Plus, the transition straight into Woman is so buttery smooth that you are practically locked in for the next hour whether you planned it or not.