Hard to believe it’s been ten long years since Sufjan Stevens dropped what is now arguably the single great nu-folk record of the period. It speaks volumes to the strength of his catalogue that the only contenders I could think of to rival Michigan were also by

Sufjan. Sure, there was Bon Iver’s debut but while heavy on the conceptual side it was light on musicianship. Weight, beautiful but just not quite as impressive as much of Sufjan’s oeuvre.  

Greetings From Michigan, The Great Lake State was the first of Sufjan’s 50 State Project that would ultimately prove more difficult to complete than he first thought (probably could have told him that from the outset) but it was also the record that first gained him recognition. The two prior records, A Sun Came and Enjoy Your Rabbit, didn’t see Sufjan break to the masses and it wasn’t until Michigan dropped that his name was spoken in wider circles.

If you’ve listened to anything remotely folksy from the past 10 years than you can probably thank this record for how it sounds, at least in part. Listen to it through, listen to it now.