RSSThe 1998 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
| 1. | Lucinda Williams: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (Mercury) | 2129 | (167) | |
| 2. | Lauryn Hill: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia) | 1985 | (176) | |
| 3. | Bob Dylan: Live 1966 (Columbia/Legacy) | 1333 | (111) | |
| 4. | Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue (Elektra) | 1243 | (113) | |
| 5. | Elliott Smith: XO (DreamWorks) | 940 | (91) | |
| 6. | OutKast: Aquemini (LaFace) | 890 | (71) | |
| 7. | PJ Harvey: Is This Desire? (Island) | 788 | (76) | |
| 8. | Air: Moon Safari (Carolinie) | 665 | (66) | |
| 9. | Beastie Boys: Hello Nasty (Grand Royal) | 645 | (64) | |
| 10. | Rufus Wainwright: Rufus Wainwright (DreamWorks) | 626 | (61) | |
| 11. | Beck: Mutations (DGC) | 624 | (66) | |
| 12. | R.E.M.: Up (Warner Bros.) | 580 | (58) | |
| 13. | Belle and Sebastian: The Boy with the Arab Strap (Matador) | 547 | (56) | |
| 14. | Hole: Celebrity Skin (DGC) | 531 | (52) | |
| 15. | Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Merge) | 520 | (44) | |
| 16. | Massive Attack: Mezzanine (Virgin) | 508 | (52) | |
| 17. | Liz Phair: Whitechocolatespaceegg (Matador/Capitol) | 491 | (49) | |
| 18. | Elvis Costello with Burt Bachrach: Painted from Memory (Mercury) | 462 | (44) | |
| 19. | Garbage: Version 2.0 (Almo Sounds) | 439 | (44) | |
| 20. | Mercury Rev: Deserter's Songs (V2) | 418 | (42) | |
| 21. | Madonna: Ray of Light (Maverick/Warner Bros.) | 408 | (43) | |
| 22. | Pulp: This Is Hardcore (Island) | 391 | (44) | |
| 23. | Cat Power: Moon Pix (Matador) | 336 | (31) | |
| 24. | Black Star: Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Black Star (Rawkus) | 329 | (31) | |
| 25. | Quasi: Featuring "Birds" (Up) | 319 | (33) | |
| 26. | Jay-Z: Vol. 2 . . . Hard Knock Life (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam) | 306 | (26) | |
| 27. | Vic Chesnutt: The Salesman and Bernadette (Capricorn) | 299 | (27) | |
| 28. | Bruce Springsteen: Tracks (Columbia) | 263 | (24) | |
| 29. | Gang Starr: Moment of Truth (Noo Trybe) | 255 | (26) | |
| 30. | Eels: Electro-Shock Blues (DreamWorks) | 246 | (23) | |
| 31. | Ozomatli: Ozomatli (Almo Sounds) | 245 | (26) | |
| 32. | Robert Wyatt: Shleep (Thirsty Ear) | 232 | (23) | * |
| 33. | Gillian Welch: Hell Among the Yearlings (Almo Sounds) | 229 | (22) | |
| 34. | Monster Magnet: Powertrip (A&M) | 224 | (20) | |
| 35. | Sheryl Crow: The Globe Sessions (A&M) | 224 | (20) | |
| 36. | Rancid: Life Won't Wait (Epitaph) | 201 | (22) | |
| 37. | Cornelius: Fantasma (Matador) | 199 | (20) | |
| 38. | Pernice Brothers: Overcome by Happiness (Sub Pop) | 196 | (17) | |
| 39. | Olu Dara: In the World: From Natchez to New York (Atlantic) | 191 | (18) | |
| 40. | Marilyn Manson: Mechanical Animals (Nothing/Interscope) | 190 | (19) |
This poll combines ballots from 496 critics, who divided 100 points among 10 1998 albums. Maximum per album: 30. Minimum: 5. Points determined placement, with total mentions (indicated in parentheses) used for tie breaking.
*Includes 1997 import votes: 57 (5).
Singles
| 1. | Fatboy Slim: "The Rockafeller Skank" (Skint/Astralwerks) | 110 | |
| 2. | Lauryn Hill: "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (Ruffhouse/Columbia) | 102 | |
| 3. | Beastie Boys: "Intergalactic" (Grand Royal) | 84 | |
| 4. | Madonna: "Ray of Light" (Maverick/Warner Bros.) | 76 | |
| 5. | Aaliyah: "Are You That Somebody" (Atlantic) | 70 | |
| 6. | OutKast: "Rosa Parks" (LaFace) | 50 | |
| 7. | Hole: "Celebrity Skin" (Geffen) | 48 | |
| 8. | Fastball: "The Way" (Hollywood) | 40 | |
| 9. | Jay-Z: "Hard Knock Life" (Rock-a-Fella/Def Jam) | 39 | |
| 10. | Natalie Imbruglia: "Torn" (RCA) | 35 | |
| 11. | Pras: "Ghetto Supastar" (Interscope) | 34 | |
| 12. | Big Punisher Featuring Joe: "Still Not a Player" (Loud/RCA) | 32 | |
| 13. | New Radicals: "You Get What You Give" (MCA) | 40 | |
| 14. | Brandy and Monica: "The Boy Is Mine" (Arista) | 29 | |
| Semisonic: "Closing Time" (MCA) | 29 | ||
| 16. | Stardust: "Music Sounds Better with You" (Roule/Virgin) | 28 | |
| 17. | Sheryl Crow: "My Favorite Mistake" (A&M) | 27 | |
| 18. | Marilyn Manson: "The Dope Show" (Nothing) | 25 | |
| 19. | Alanis Morissette: "Thank U" (Maverick/Reprise) | 24 | |
| 20. | Jay-Z: "Can I Get a . . ." (Roc-a-Fella/Def Jam) | 22 | |
| 21. | Harvey Danger: "Flagpole Sitta" (Slash) | 21 | |
| 22. | Shania Twain: "You're Still the One" (Mercury) | 20 | |
| 23. | Propellerheads Featuring Shirley Bassey: "History Repeating" (Wall of Sound import) | 19 | * |
| 24. | Barenaked Ladies: "One Week" (Reprise) | 18 | |
| Hole: "Malibu" (DGC) | 18 |
*Includes one 1997 vote.
Reissues
| 1. | Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-68 (Rhino) | 111 |
| 2. | Hank Williams: The Complete Hank Williams (Polygram) | 50 |
| 3. | Charlie Feathers: Get With It: Essential Recordings 1954-69 (Revenant) | 42 |
| 4. | Randy Newman: Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman (Rhino/Warner-Reprise Archives) | 40 |
| Miles Davis: The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions (Sony/Legacy) | 37 | |
| 6. | The Perfect Beats: New York Electro Hip-Hop + Underground Classics, 1980-1985 (Timber!/Tommy Boy) | 33 |
| 7. | Burt Bacharach: The Look of Love: The Burt Bacharach Collection (Rhino) | 30 |
| 8. | Eric B. & Rakim: Paid in Full: The Platinum Edition (Island) | 22 |
| 9. | Ray Charles: The Complete Country & Western Recordings (Rhino) | 21 |
| John Coltrane: The Classic Quartet: Complete Impulse Studio Recordings (Impulse!) | 21 |
Village Voice, Mar. 2, 1999
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1997 | Essay | Dean's List | 1999 |  |