As it's obviously THAT time of the year where people say what their favourite records are, and there's a thread going on about favourite records of all-time, praps it's worth stepping back and question - WHAT MAKES A GREAT RECORD?

For me, it's about the personality that seaps from the record, the thoughts, the twists on reality, the sounds that make my ears glow, the noises that make me wanna leap around, the beats that make me wanna dance. But above and beyond that, there's a lot more to it, like...

QUALITY THROUGHOUT - weezer for instance make albums that hit "all killer no filler" styleee from start to finish. records of old used to do that. everything ebbs and flows and makes sense, every track a potential favourite or potential hit single.

WHOLE PACKAGE - records which have amazing artwork and interesting extras always get extra points from me too. superficial, true, but so many records feel like they've been put together at random...

what other factors are important for you?