Top 100 albums of the 2000s
Top 100 albums of the 2000s
At the turn of the decade an MP3 was, generally speaking, just two letters and a number arbitrarily put together. A blog, well that was surely blot misspelled or a typo when you really meant log. On January 1, 2000, the millennium bug didn't in fact ruin our computers and boy did we start using them over the next ten years. The music industry changed forever in that period but what remained the same, and proliferated at a greater speed and over a far greater distance, was great music.
There are at least 100 such albums that missed our list of the decade's finest, the compilation of which nearly claimed the sanity of a writer or two over the past few months. The result though is our favourite 100, a collection of truly brilliant records that should hopefully make you realise the noughties didn't treat your earphones half badly. So, in reverse order, we present the Ragged Words Writers' Top 100 albums of the 2000's.
100 - 91
100
David Kitt - The Big Romance
One man armed with an acoustic guitar and a minidsc player in a Dublin bedsit – hardly the most obvious place to kick things off but David Kitt emerged from the bedsit (and from behind the cloak of Irish music’s best kept secret) with something of classic first full LP in 2001. Kitt’s fragile vocals and the carefully constructed beats created a work of great intimacy. The simplicity of the sounds on the record is what catches the ear and there’s not a note wasted across the 10 heartfelt tracks. (Eamonn Halpin)
Artist: David Kitt Released: 18 Jun 2001 Label: Rough Trade
99
Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now
An embarrassment of guests – from mentor Lou Reed to kindred spirits Devendra Banhart and Rufus Wainwright – serves to reinforce the notion that I Am A Bird Now marked the emergence of a rare talent. It also marked one of the few occasions when a Mercury Prize winner caused little to no disagreement. Tragic, brave and featuring a truly awe-inspiring vocal display, this might just be the best album ever made by an overweight, half-Irish transvestite. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Antony and the Johnsons Released: 31 Jan 2005 Label: Secretly Canadian
98
Madvillain – Madvillainy
MF Doom and Madlib team up to produce a modern hip-hop masterpiece. Short, sharp, knowing, irreverent and sonically rich, Madvillainy is a deliciously stoned, loosely-structured mess that manages to combine the best of both artists while standing apart and above anything either has done, before or since. Doom brings his inimitable loose, druggy flow and comic book aesthetic, while Madlib brings the jazzy textures and dark, nervy production: the result is the high point of both their careers. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: Madvillain Released: 22 Mar 2004 Label: Stones Throw
97
Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
If Vaughan Williams' 'The Lark Ascending' is direct in its encapsulation of its listener, then Stars of the Lid are birds of a different sort. Where the Lark literally calls and climbs, appealing for your ear, 'And Their Refinement of the Decline' waits elsewhere. It might even be the sound of a meadowlark's slow decay, each disc and wing in itself. This music contains the quiet secret of modern life, like realising that above the horrid throb of streetlamps is a starry, starry expanse. These compositions never fail in removing the sense of impending future, with a sound that lingers and dissolves, as if it had never even touched upon the tender coil of your cochlea in the first place. (Daniel Greenwood)
Artist: Stars of the Lid Released: 2 Apr 2007 Label: Kranky
96
The Knife - Deep Cuts
The Sixties and Seventies had their revivals in the nineties so it was inevitable that the music of the Eighties would be plundered for inspiration this decade. Some artists simply took the music templates of the eighties and replicated them (The Killers, I'm looking at you) but some, like Sweden's brother/ sister duo The Knife, took the electropop template and brought it into the 21st Century. Driven by the lead single, Heartbeats, the songs on Deep Cuts are densely layered, both musically and lyrically. The dynamic of Karin Dreijer's soft childlike vocals and deceptively dark lyrics is perfectly offset by brother Olaf's fluid synths and processed beats. Like many fellow Swedes who broke through internationally, they aren't bringing anything new to the table, just taking something good and making it better. (Conor Graham)
Artist: The Knife Released: 13 Mar 2006 Label: Rabid
95
LCD Soundsystem - LCD Soundsystem
James Murphy's project has two crucial elements to it. First there's insightful, cutting, often hilarious and only slightly sneering look at the music scene as displayed on his first single 'Losing My Edge'. Second there's quite obviously the music as best displayed on, well, first single 'Losing My Edge'. Almost five years later it seems the obvious crossover, but its more Murphy’s songwriting and that has lasted. 'Daft Punk is Playing at My House' may almost be an indie-dance novelty record but 'Never as Tired As When I’m Waking Up' and 'The Tribulations' prove this is a classic. (Pete Hurst)
Artist: LCD Soundsystem Released: 14 Feb 2005 Label: DFA
94
Field Music- Tones Of Town
Filed under "genius albums that not nearly enough people know about", how Tones of Town didn’t at the very least make Field Music blog and website darlings is still a bit mystery. The Weirsiders’ second LP is pure songcraft, marrying intricate arrangements with intrinsic melody to an absolutely perfect degree, this is a record that is impossible not to listen to on repeat and repeat and... More daring that their debut, and trust us on this, has led to an even more daring 20-track, double LP due early next year. An instant classic from the most talented brothers in music that make Jedward look like... Oh wait. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Field Music Released: 22 Jan 2007 Label: Memphis Industries
93
Mf Doom - Mm.. Food!
Perhaps Doom's most successful solo work, and certainly his most accessible. This bizarre concept album about food sees Daniel Dumile giving free rein to his dark sense of humour, with the constant food metaphors serving as a jumping-off point for all manner of the oddball poetry he does better than anyone. There's something simple, enjoyable and – why not – nourishing about this album: the smooth grooves, great basslines, genuinely amusing skits and consistently excellent production make this a treat. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: DOOM Released: 15 Nov 2004 Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment
92
Super Furry Animals - Mwng
While the Super Furries' enduring second LP Radiator would no doubt feature in a corresponding Ragged Words words poll for the previous decade, the Welsh band's noughties entry may on the face of it come from the least likely source, an album sung completely in their native tongue. But Mwng, sat in the middle of one of the most consistently fine cannons of work in music, is the most infectious of the lot. Gruff Rhys would later release solo albums in Welsh, adding further proof that his voice perhaps sounds best when singing in to most what is a strange tongue. The thing with Mwng is, you'll be singing along too, making up your own thickly-vowelled words as you go on. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Super Furry Animals Released: 3 Jul 2000 Label: Placid Casual
91
Four Tet - Pause
When Kieran Hebden released Pause, his second solo LP, the Londoner's Four Tet moniker was but an indulgence away from his day job with post rockers Fridge. That all swiftly changed. The overarching organic feel to Pause breathed fresh life into the UK electronica landscape that was looking for the next turn following genre-defining work from Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin a few years earlier. Hebden's mix of wild sounds and live instrumentation is probably best demonstrated on his 2001 effort and while his next record Rounds is correctly regarded as his best, Pause gave a refreshing first introduction to one of the decade's finest musicians. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Four Tet Released: 1 Oct 2001 Label: Domino
90 - 81
90
Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala
Jens Lekman is a very funny guy. An inspired storyteller with a penchant for lush, baroque pop, he emerged with this superb record as a European, less affected Rufus Wainwright. Here he waxed lyrical about his first kiss, his awkward teenage years and his issues with his sister, wrote a gorgeous paean to his Iraqi hairdresser and told a hilarious story about Nina, his lesbian penfriend who forces Jens to pose as her boyfriend to placate her conservative parents when he goes to visit her. (Shane Murphy)
Artist: Jens Lekman Released: 8 Oct 2007 Label: Secretly Canadian
89
Cinematic Orchestra - Every Day
Perhaps the sexiest album on our list; moody, deep and designed for late-night listening. Primarily the work of arranger/conductor/producer Jason Swinscoe, this genre-crossing masterpiece mixes jazz improvisation and electronica (with guest spots by such diverse talents as soul legend Fontella Bass and rapper Roots Manuva) in ways so seamless as to make it difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. A beautifully sequenced and emotionally rewarding piece of work, the album flows so naturally it feels - like all the best albums - like a single piece of music. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: Cinematic Orchestra Released: 27 May 2002 Label: Ninja Tune
88
The Roots - Phrenology
It says it all about the music industry today that perhaps the finest alternative Hip Hip band of the late 1990's and early 2000's have to perform as a late night talkshow house band in order to make a half decent book. Between 1999's breakthrough album Things Fall Apart and its successor Phrenology three years later, The Roots were pretty much untouchable. Recorded over two years, Phrenology threw away the easy-flowing feel of their previous album - and perhaps a few new fans with it - for something a whole lot more ambitious. And it delivered in spades, most notably on lead-off single 'The Seed' which still sounds like the catchiest song of all time seven years later. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: The Roots Released: 25 Nov 2002 Label: Geffen
87
Sufjan Stevens - Greetings from Michigan
We all believed Sufjan was going to at least give his 50 states project a pretty decent shot, right? And we all thought he missed a trick by not disguising The Avalanche's Illinois outtakes as Wyoming, yeah? While he may have since said he has no qualms about admitting it was a promotional gimmick, the first state to be put to record, his home of Michigan, didn't need any selling. Finding haunted beauty in Flint, the city which had previously been painted so bleakly by Michael Moore on film, was instantly remarkable as was the somehow unique songwriting style that followed over the next 14 tracks. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Sufjan Stevens Released: 30 Jun 2003 Label: Asthmatic Kitty
86
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
'Bitte Orca' sounds superb. But not just in itself, phonetically, the rolling 'e' and 'r', the purr of air passing between the lips, stopped by the sudden appearance of the letter 'b'. That's the sound of a Dave Longstreth snare shot, cutting through the glow of Amber Coffman, Haley Dekle and Angel Deradoorian's godly vocal harmony. 'Useful Chamber' is three songs in one, a classic that perhaps typifies this great generation of experimental American musicians. 'All I need/right here with me', and this from the home of materialism. A new voice in American music has emerged in this glittering, golden period in time. (Daniel Greenwood)
Artist: Dirty Projectors Released: 8 Jun 2009 Label: Domino
85
The National – Sad Songs For Dirty
This was the moment when it all fell into place, when the gentle building word of mouth surrounding an apparently incredible band from Brooklyn started to make sense. The moment when The National first started to become people's favourite band, the type to truly obsess over. Having the confidence to open your second album with a six-minute opus like ‘Cardinal Song’, a perfectly structured, written and delivered piece of goth-like-indie wonderment, was proof that this was a band stepping ever comfortably into their sound to explore the possibilities within. Though others may suggest Alligator and Boxer are the better albums from The National, Sad Songs’ eclectic mix of genre, structure and puffed-out confidence plead a very good case to make it The National's definitive release. (Paul Vickery)
Artist: The National Released: 1 Sep 2003 Label: Brassland Records
84
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
The fizzing sound that drags you into 'Leaf House', the opening number on Sung Tongs, is the noise that marks your descent into a primal state. And, by the end of this Animal Collective record, you might not return to your modern, odious self. If AC do anything, it's to remind you of your potential as a good human, that community need not be about making money from one another, nor positing yourself in a position of power. 'Kids on Holiday' is the hidden gem here, the childlike demeanour that marks this group of friends at their must supple and appealing. It's the kind of experimentation that lay the foundations for Noah Lennox's (Panda Bear's) debut record, and the refinement of popular experimental music that is Merriweather Post Pavilion. (Daniel Greenwood)
Artist: Animal Collective Released: 31 May 2004 Label: Fat Cat
83
Outkast - Stankonia
When Stankonia came out at the start of the decade it seemed as if it might herald in a new golden age of hip-hop, where lyrical dexterity and musical experimentation came to the fore. Looking back now it's clear it wasn't but to be fair, it's a big ask for anyone to come with anything even nearly as inventive yet polished as Stankonia. While the follow up double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below showcased their individual talents, Stankonia took the Big Boi and Andre 3000 playa/poet dynamic of their previous works to its artistic zenith. Taking elements of funk, soul, drum and bass while still sounding ultra modern, Stankonia stands as a stone cold classic which no hip-hop artist may ever surpass, including themselves. (Conor Graham)
Artist: Outkast Released: 30 Oct 2000 Label: La Face
82
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar
The New Mexico based collective led by Zach Condon looked to Eastern Europe for influences for its first album. Condon took Balkan folk music and brought it to a mass audience – not an easy task. The ukulele, mandolin and other traditional instruments are all employed with the ease of someone who has been surrounded by this music for decades – not a 19 year old from Albuquerque. Gulag Orkestar builds then eases throughout with Condon’s voice flowing comfotably over superb string and horn arrangements. (Eamonn Halpin)
Artist: Beirut Released: 8 May 2006 Label: Ba Da Bing
81
Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest
You could cynically put Veckatimest’s mid 2009 entry into the Billboard's top 10 down to falling album sales or the increasing influence of internet tastemakers but ultimately Grizzly Bear managed to reach a wide audience with an album that compromised none of their constantly-interesting orchestral pop principles. All this when it even leaked in record time. Slightly bigger and more polished than its equally-divine predecessor Yellow House, the Grizzly's third LP was the sound of a band continuing to comfortably hit their stride at a pace that certainly won't be letting up beyond the next decade at which point they may even number one record to their name. Who knows. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Grizzly Bear Released: 25 May 2009 Label: Warp
80-71
80
My Morning Jacket - It Still Moves
It's a toss-up for many fans between this and Z, but the combination of masterful songwriting and country-rock energy here takes some beating. On this, their major label debut, the Kentucky rockers finally nailed the sound they had been honing over their two previous albums; Jim James' reverb-soaked vocals are by turns epic and haunting, and the restrained production lends a timeless feel to an album so full of classic songs – 'Mahgeetah', 'One Big Holiday', 'Golden' - it stands up to endless listening. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: My Morning Jacket Released: 8 Sep 2003 Label: RCA
79
Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
Staggering on first listen, The Midnight Organ Fight still sends shivers through those initially flummoxed by it eighteen months later. Not many have captured the end of a relationship so brutally and candidly as Scott Hutchison has here, primarily because it’s told and played with triumphant underlying optimism. And the latter is vital too, for it has set Frightened Rabbit apart as a musical powerhouse. Expect the Glaswegians’ stock to rise sharply over the next decade. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Frightened Rabbit Released: 14 Apr 2008 Label: Fat Cat
78
Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
The noughties were all about the two C’s - collectives and Canada and none came quite so well armed and with so many Maple-leaved passports as the 15-strong Broken Social Scene. It is of little surprise that Kevin Drew has struggled to pull the gang together since but the sheer dynamics involved in the band’s self-titled third effort made sure the Torontonians remained top of the online buzz agenda in the intervening five years. Unsurprising, given that near ten-minute long closer ‘It’s All Gonna Break’ would leave anyone waiting patiently for more. (Paul Vickery)
Artist: Broken Social Scene Released: 3 Oct 2005 Label: Arts & Crafts
77
Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak
Before Kings Of Leon realised their aspirations to become bland, U2-impersonating, stadium rock sell-outs, there was Aha Shake Heartbreak: the album that alerted the world to Caleb Followill’s incoherent Southern drawl. Of course, newly turned-on fans soon went on to discover the band’s 2003 debut, the equally superb Youth and Young Manhood, but it was this album that really cemented their reputation as one of the decade’s most significant bands. Say what you like about them, one listen to ‘Milk’ is all it takes to transport you back to a blissful time when ‘Sex On Fire’ was but a bad reference to the side effects of venereal disease. (Sheena Madden)
Artist: Kings Of Leon Released: 1 Nov 2004 Label: RCA
76
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Abattoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus
Pedants among you will point to the fact that these are essentially two records bound together, but if you can distinguish between that and a double album without disappearing up that dark cavern three feet below your head, then you’re a better person than us at Ragged Words. What is beyond doubt is that these are two very fine records, showcasing the complimentary ying/yang that represents much of Cave’s canon. What elevates Cave above the rest is his ability to sound equally comfortable on the blistering ‘There She Goes My Beautiful World’ as on the luridly beautiful ‘Babe You Turn Me On.’ (Barry Glynn)
Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Released: 25 Oct 2004 Label: Mute
75
The Sleepy Jackson - Lovers
Effortlessly fluent and seemingly immune to the dead-ends typically inherent to the process of composition, Luke Steele has always flirted with a tendency towards frenetic over-expression. Though Lovers is unafraid to use its big guns—the choirs and murky atmospherics are always lying in reserve—it’s the studied pitch of their delivery, the discipline and honesty of its manoeuvrings around the twin themes of love and mortality, that really makes it worthwhile. (Conor Nagle)
Artist: The Sleepy Jackson Released: 28 Jul 2003 Label: EMI
74
Cat Power - You Are Free
A sad, elongated sigh of an album. Unstable and unpredictable, Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, should have had a hit on her hands here, but her inability to perform live (the Dublin show in Whelans at the time must surely rank among the worst gigs of the decade) ensured that would never happen. Still, You Are Free remains undeniably great, the best album of an impressive catalogue. Marshall’s smoky, dusky voice is one of the most emotive instruments around, while her ability to conjure up beautiful two-note melodies rivals that of her ex-partner Bill Callahan. (Shane Murphy)
Artist: Cat Power Released: 17 Feb 2003 Label: Matador
73
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
There was a theory doing the rounds in the late Nineties that Primal Scream always released one good album (Sonic Flower Groove, Screamadelica, Vanishing Point) followed by one shit album (all the ones in between). This theory was smashed with the release of XTRMNTR in 2000 as they followed Vanishing Point with another stormer. It may have been the influence of Kevin Shields’ guitar keeping Bobby Gillespie from his worst Rolling Stones fascinations but what was released was political, heavy and commercially successful. Some would argue they haven’t come close to matching it since. (Pete Hurst)
Artist: Primal Scream Released: 1 May 2000 Label: Creation
72
Girls - Album
A relatively late arrival (27) to the songwriting game, Girls frontman Christopher Owens more than made up for lost time with this stunningly accomplished debut. Never mind the back story – drugs, cults, girls and more drugs – this is an album brimming with songs of salvation and teary-eyed honesty that are as sonically diverse as they are compulsively listenable. Running the full gamut of classic American songcraft, from lonely Pet Sounds-era ballads to sub-three-minute power pop gems and even Sonic Youth-aping white noise, the only downside here is not being able to decide on a favourite track. By filtering their influences through a soft-focus, broken-down production aesthetic that brilliantly matches the slightly queasy, end-of-summer feel throughout, Owens and co. have delivered a record that already sounds like a bona fide classic. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Girls Released: 28 Sep 2009 Label: True Panther
71
M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
One of the noughties’ most consistent electronic artists, Antibes native Anthony Gonzalez has dropped at least three excellent long-players since forming M83 in 2001. And with 2003’s Dead Cities… – an album recorded with since-departed fellow founding member Nicolas Fromageau – he delivered what is rightly considered a landmark in digital shoegaze. Richly textured layers of processed sound brush up against crashing guitars and dream pop keyboard crescendos to create an absorbing, heady squall of beautiful noise. Further proof, if it were needed, that French producers undoubtedly have a certain je ne sais quoi when it comes to crafting ground-breaking electronic music. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: M83 Released: 14 Apr 2008 Label: Mute
70-61
70
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No.2
Has there ever been a finer author of the opening lyric than Ms. Mann, c.f. “As we were speaking of the Devil, you walked right in”? Her insight doesn’t end there – these are beautifully crafted tales of mature disappointment in herself and those she has trusted. As lyrically captivating on its umpteenth listen as it was immediate on first encounter, these are songs that ally a fierce talent for identifying a tune with an unrivalled eye for human interaction. If at times it paints a picture of a world that’s almost overwhelmingly bleak, only a fool could complain when it’s this engrossing to be a part of. (Barry Glynn)
Artist: Aimee Mann Released: 27 Mar 2000 Label: Super Ego
69
Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands
Rejoicing In The Hands saw Devendra embrace the idea of an album as a piece of work, using proper production and recording equipment for the first time without taking anything away form the real cultural quality behind the bearded Texan's work.Instead the hired help added depth to his music which, while initially could seem like a rehash of old 60s folk, in fact contained far more lyrical charm and depth. An album so good that the most ridiculous-sounding of scenes, “freak folk”, was necessarily coined. (Stephen Mooney)
Artist: Devendra Banhart Released: 3 May 2004 Label: Young God Records
68
Queens Of The Stone Age – Songs For The Deaf
Has there been a more appetite-whetting lead off single this decade than No One Knows? Or in any other decade for that matter? Josh Homme desert blues had broken beyond California with the band’s second LP, 2000’s Rater R (more on that later) and 'No One Knows' – complete with Dave Grohl returning to a drum stool – raised the bar some more. Songs For The Deaf hangs together like a concept album, fleshed out with weird radio broadcasts that excuses fast gear-changes and actually makes sense of the album's gothic fixation and madcap eclecticism. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Queens Of The Stone Age Released: 26 Aug 2002 Label: Interscope
67
Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me
This is arguably the greatest British hip hop album of all time, certainly if we’re talking about the genre in its purest form, without the garage and grime influences that have come to dominate the scene in more recent years. It heralded the emergence of Rodney Smith as a true original with a big personality, something that is noticeably absent from most contemporary hip hop, certainly on this side of the Atlantic. And what’s more, with ‘Witness (One Hope)’ Smith had penned a bone fide urban classic, a proper anthem for disenfranchised British youth that comes complete with cheese-on-toast reference. A big record, and one that Smith has since built a career on. (Pete Hurst)
Artist: Roots Manuva Released: 13 Aug 2001 Label: Big Dada
66
The National - Alligator
One of the most enduring bands of the decade, The National’s slow-burn rise to success was a pleasing antidote to the ‘firework careers’ of any number of inferior bands. Alligator established them as a sort of American Tindersticks. It’s a late-night, boozy delight to be played at 3am when the party is thinning out. Plenty of whiskey gets spilt along the way by a cast of Raymond Carver-esque characters: deluded Californians, lost souls and, most memorably, Karen’s father with his tendency to "ballerina on the coffee table, cock-in-hand". (Shane Murphy)
Artist: The National Released: 3 Apr 2006 Label: 4AD
65
The Streets - Original Pirate Material
Nobody else over their past decade managed to came so completely out of nowhere like Mike Skinner did in 2002. Sure there were some Hip Hop, garage and electronic reference points but little in the way of real preference. Original Pirate Material put the turn of the decade aggressiveness of UK garage on its head, bringing headphone listeners on board and ultimately far broader numbers along too. Skinner’s debut still sounds as just as smart and just as humorous four albums on to place him deservedly among the great unique voices of British music. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: The Streets Released: 25 Mar 2002 Label: Locked On
64
Burial - Untrue
One of those albums for the forlorn city dweller, the second LP from enigmatic London dubstepper Burial is a headphone masterpiece. Unrivalled for soundtracking both late walks home past the cranes and exposed foundations and early wanders through the deserted side streets, Untrue, and particularly its astoundingly powerful opening cut ‘Archangel’, is essential nocturnal listening. Not even a pesky cloak-revealing Mercury Prize nomination could strip William Bevan's second record of any of its intimacy. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Burial Released: 5 Nov 2007 Label: Hyperdub
63
Spoon - GaGaGaGaGa
So consistent has Spoon's output been over their second decade together that much of their 2000’s work, particularly perhaps 2002’s Kill The Moonlight, could have made it on here. However their decision in 2007 to team up with masterful producer Jon Brion had us wetting our collective pants. Ok so Brion only helped out one track, The Underdog (…but what a track etc), however he appeared to leave his chamberlain and horns section around the studio for Britt Daniel and co. to create a, relatively speaking, upbeat classic with. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Spoon Released: 9 Jul 2007 Label: Merge
62
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Master and Everyone
If I See A Darkness, Will Oldham's first album under the Bonnie Prince moniker, was relentlessly depressing, and Ease Down the Road, his second, was essentially Will shagging around a bit, then Master And Everyone is the sound of the bearded one in love. It’s Will throwing off his distant lo-fi sound, getting intimate and letting his heart sing out. Soppy perhaps, but it really touches a nerve. The whole album is summed up on 'Even If Love' when he sings “Even if love was not what I wanted / Love would make love the thing most desired.” Quite. (Pete Hurst)
Artist: Bonnie Prince Billy Released: 27 Jan 2003 Label: Domino
61
The xx - xx
‘Basic Space’ is not simply a track title on this hypnotic self-titled début from Londoners The xx; it also serves as a nice summation of the group’s songwiting philosophy. With as much emphasis on the space between notes as on the spectral sounds themselves, what comes across as deceptively simple on first listen soon turns out to be powerfully seductive mood music. Flaunting an unabashed love for ‘90s R&B and two-step beats, and yet sounding completely removed from any current scene, The xx’s stripped-down, ‘less is more’ approach has yielded an understated nocturnal masterpiece – not to mention one of the finest comedown albums of the last ten years. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: The xx Released: 17 Aug 2009 Label: Young Turks
60-51
60
At The Drive In - Relationship Of Command
“Sell out” was the fearful thought that hit At The Drive-In’s fiercely loyal fans upon hearing the announcement that nu-metal uber-producer Ross Robinson would be manning the decks for the third outing from post-hardcore’s best-kept secret. Yet Robinson helped craft one of the genres defining releases, and to a certain extent he and the band did too good a job. The success of Command… and the resulting explosion in popularity for the band ultimately resulted in their demise. And that can only be a testament to how good a parting statement they made. (Paul Vickery)
Artist: At The Drive In Released: 11 Sep 2000 Label: Fearless
59
Jens Lekman - Oh, You're So Silent
So good it merited two versions on this, an introductory mish-mash to the work of Jens Lekman, 'Maple Leaves' is the perfect place to start with the Swede's work. There's the of-another-era sound, the charming vocals and those lyrics - so smart they'd put any poet lauriate to shame - peaking here when Jens mistakes 'talk about a fall' for a conversation about Mark E. Smith. The rest isn't bad either, a remarkably succinct piece of work for a collection of EP's and singles. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Jens Lekman Released: 21 Nov 2005 Label: Secretly Canadian
58
Beach House - Devotion
Beach House's unique sound - dreamy, unhurried, minimal - has entranced everyone this year, and with good reason. Their sophomore effort is a step up from their self-titled debut in every department, displaying a more fleshed-out, fully-rounded development of their considerable songwriting craft: just listen to the impeccably-placed hooks and hypnotic grooves of 'Gila' and 'Astronaut' to hear why. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: Beach House Released: 25 Feb 2008 Label: Bella Union
57
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever To Tell
Karen O adorned the cover of NME back in 2003, eyes peering out from beneath her ‘60s bowl-cut, bright red lips painted haphazardly, her body covered in a blanket of sequins and glitter – and yet most people had no idea who she was at the time. Fever To Tell swiftly catapulted her among the great frontmen and -women around, delivering on the quality of the band’s earlier EPs and easily overcoming the hype that was building as a result. And while songs like ‘Rich’ and ‘Y Control’ satisfactorily ticked the more-of-the-same box, the divine ‘Maps’ pointed towards what was to come (see below) [Paul Vickery]
Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Released: 28 Apr 2003 Label: Interscope
56
My Morning Jacket - Z
When, after perfecting the art of southern alt-rock over three albums, My Morning Jacket announced they were going to “explore” their sound and “experiment” in the studio, it may have caused some panic among fans. While not quite as drenched in reverb as previous efforts, and arguably even more riff-heavy than 2003’s It Still Moves, Z careered from feverish stadium rock to tender new-age ballads worthy of Neil Young to emerge as a textural, aural explosion of soundscapes that in hindsight felt like a natural progression for this most gifted of bands. (Paul Vickery)
Artist: My Morning Jacket Released: 3 Oct 2005 Label: ATO
55
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
Nick Cave has been the discerning music fan’s equivalent of the boogeyman for quite some time now. Although the title track from Dig Lazarus Dig!!! saw the Bad Seeds move in an altogether more accessible direction, what follows on the album still holds fast to Cave’s deliciously sinister persona. From the nightmarish fairytale that is ‘Today’s Lesson’ to the characteristically glib ‘We Call Upon the Author’, Dig Lazarus Dig!!! may not reach quite as deep into the recesses of your soul as, say, Tender Prey or The Boatman’s Call, but it’s still sufficiently dark and wonderful to warrant it’s place on the list. (Sheena Madden)
Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Released: 7 Apr 2008 Label:
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The National - Boxer
From the opening piano chords of ‘Fake Empire’ that ushers in perhaps the first four opening songs of an album this decade, it’s abundantly apparent you’re in the presence of something a little special. More restraint and warmer-sounding than 2005’s equally fantastic Alligator, Boxer shows a band in utter unison and confidently hitting their prime. One of the most gratifying word of mouth stories of the past couple of years, The National’s fourth record deservedly edged into the big time. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: The National Released: 21 May 2007 Label: 4AD
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
Yeah Yeah Yeahs were not happy bunnies during the recording of their second LP, and that tension is immediately felt when Nick Zinner’s taught, punishing lead riff kicks in on opener 'Gold Lion'. It doesn't let up either, and the band-on-the-brink sensation throughout Show Your Bones makes for thrilling, edge-of-the-seat listening. Neither as spiky as their debut nor as synthy as its follow up, Show Your Bones nestles perfectly into one of the decade’s best catalogues from one of its most exciting bands. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Released: 27 Mar 2006 Label: Polydor
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Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
Cringed at in any other genre, the concept album is simply the norm in alternative Hip Hop. After teaming up with Prince Paul on the hilarious first Handsome Boy Modelling School album, Dan The Automator enjoyed undoubtedly his most accomplished hour (or hour and 18 seconds) with the futuristic, “interspectacular” Deltron 3030. Coaxing the finest rapping performance of Del Tha Funkee Homosapien career and introducing a pre-Gorillaz Damon Albarn to the possibilities of the genre, Deltron still sounds like an album from the distant, chilling future. More Bladerunner that Back To The Future... (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Deltron 3030 Released: 21 Jul 2008 Label: Ark 75
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Portishead - Third
After a ten-year recording hiatus, Portishead returned last year with their most challenging, and some might say unclassifiable work to date. Dense, claustrophobic and more than a little morbid, on first listen Third seems every bit as enigmatic and aloof as the band members themselves. Geoff Barrow constructs an infinitely detailed sonic canvass incorporating elements of free jazz, jarring field recordings and dissonant motorik rhythms. Beth Gibbons, meanwhile, has never sounded so fragile and alone – a haunting voice seemingly at the end of its rope. In truth, there’s something more than just music at work here, and this is an album that’s still revealing its many layers some eighteen months after its release. Terrifyingly great. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Portishead Released: 28 Apr 2008 Label: Universal/ Merge
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Radiohead - In Rainbows
Sure, Kid A will feature higher in this list, and call me a cloth-eared conformist if you will, but to these ears this is the warmest, loveliest, best Radiohead album of the decade. Somewhat relinquishing the frenzied need to push in multiple new directions, Radiohead finally sounded comfortable with their lot and concentrated on crafting great songs. The results are stunning: In Rainbows became the first Radiohead album in over a decade you can safely recommend to any of your friends! (Shane Murphy)
Artist: Released: 10 Oct 2007 Label: XL
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Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
You have the biggest selling UK debut album of all time. You’ve become ‘the band of the people’, a title previously reserved for the likes of Oasis; and the musical world's eyes are focused on what you’ll do next. Half expect you, like so many other young bands, to buckle under the weight of expectation, the other half hope you’ll come back brighter and louder than before. The latter were proved right when Favourite Worst Nightmare emerged the scarier, bigger brother to Whatever People Say I Am… Better riffs, stronger hooks and far heavier than anything they’d produced before, this was a huge “Up yours!” to those that said it couldn’t be done. (Paul Vickery)
Artist: Arctic Monkeys Released: 16 Apr 2007 Label: Domino
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Animal Collective - Feels
Feels is Animal Collective at their most transcendent: from ‘Flesh Canoe’’s swooping clatter of electric guitar strings and Eric Satie-esque piano burps to the quietly devastating revelations of 'Banshee Beat', a song that unravels amidst Avey Tare's heartbroken admissions and Panda Bear's scuttling sticks, this is the sound of a band proclaiming it wants to be something more. The sense of ambition reaches a climax on tumultuous album-closer ‘Turn Into Something’ – a song that in many ways feels like a precursor to 2009’s ‘Brother Sport’. Call it their crossover album if you will, but with Feels AC’s star grew into something altogether more life-affirming and vital than anything experimental music had given us before. (Daniel Greenwood)
Artist: Animal Collective Released: 17 Oct 2005 Label: Fat Cat
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Radiohead - Amnesiac
Thom Yorke described this album as “like getting into someone's attic, opening the chest and finding their notes from a journey that they'd been on”. Which isn't far off: the more experimental sounds, jazzy rhythms and elusive melodies here create a fragmented, intriguing mood. Unfairly maligned on its release as an inferior companion piece to Kid A, this is certainly a darker, dreamier and more downbeat affair than its predecessor. But, while obvious high points may be at a premium (that is, if you ignore the mighty 'Knives Out' and 'Pyramid Song'), as an album Amnesiac is arguably more interesting than its Kid brother. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: Released: 4 Jun 2001 Label: EMI
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The Moldy Peaches - The Moldy Peaches
For a lo-fi record, this album is incredibly rewarding. It just keeps on giving and giving. Behind the quirkiness and almost parodies are great lyrics, catchy melodies and some great duets between Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Coming out of nowhere in 2001, they heralded the arrival of the Strokes, supporting them on their breakthrough UK tour. Both bands released great but totally different albums. Though whereas the Strokes ruined their reputation with successive duds (Room On Fire - a dud? Really? - ed) the Peaches split to leave this glorious, fully realized testament to their genius. (Pete Hurst)
Artist: The Moldy Peaches Released: 7 May 2001 Label: Rough Trade
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Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Arcade Fire were faced with an awkward dilemma following the overwhelming success of their debut album, Funeral. Do they stick with the formula and risk a backlash for being too predictable, or experiment and risk alienating their devoted fanbase? In the end they walked the tricky tightrope to land somewhere in between. More grandiose than it's predecessor, yet brimming with genuine emotion and fragility, Neon Bible proved that Arcade Fire were not one-album wonders and cemented their position one of the most significant bands of the decade. (Conor Graham)
Artist: Arcade Fire Released: 5 Mar 2007 Label: Rough Trade
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Nick Cave - No More Shall We Part
Is Nick Cave the artist of the decade? There are few enough that retain their passion beyond their first half-century, and frankly none that can match the prodigious Aussie in actually increasing it. But what arguably amounts to his greatest statement was also his most languid. Sure, there’s the odd bit of towering biblical incandescence (it’s still a Cave record after all), but the most arresting moments come when he reels it all in on 'God Is In The House' and the almost stupidly moving 'Love Letter'. A forgotten delight. (Barry Glynn)
Artist: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Released: 2 Apr 2001 Label: Mute
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Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
The Wisconsin wilderness, the tales of spurned love and heartbreak, the unkempt beard and lack of whorish publicity-seeking... Bon Iver quickly became the music press’s darling when he emerged from his log cabin in 2008. Unlike many flash-in-the-pan acts, however, Justin Vernon’s Bon Iver had the substance to justify all of the sycophantic fawning they were suddenly provoking. Fragile, primitive and candid,For Emma, Forever Ago is a moving collection of song-suites that more than lived up to the subsequent hype. (Sheena Madden)
Artist: Bon Iver Released: 10 Mar 2008 Label: 4AD
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The Hold Steady - Boys and Girls In America
For some fans, listening to the Hold Steady can become a bit of an obsession. They have recurring characters and themes across their albums. as well as a litany of references to other bands, movies and scenes you’ve never heard of. For this reason they are deservedly loved by critics. But it’s not for any of these reasons that Boys and Girls is a great album. It may be described as pub rock but there are great tunes here and some fantastic lines as well that go deep beneath the surface. And when the surface is this great, it takes you a while to get there. (Pete Hurst)
Artist: The Hold Steady Released: 12 Nov 2007 Label: Full Time Hobby
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Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
Back when he was cracking out an album a year and not leaving us waiting four long ones for some new material, Sufjan Stevens took a break from his 50 states project to delve into the most dangerous of territories - the Christian folk album. Despite its litany of gospel references, there's little here to put off the more fearful or cynical of listeners as Sufjan delivers his most delicate work, relying, for the most part, on just his banjo and heart-melting vocals. There really are few albums full of such wonder, joy and beauty that the mere thought turns the listener into a crumbling wreck and Seven Swans is among the minority. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Sufjan Stevens Released: 15 Mar 2004 Label: Asthmatic Kitty
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The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday
The biggest problem with finding yourselves labelled with the ostensibly complimentary tag of ‘Best Bar Band In The World’ is that everyone assumes this to be the limit of your abilities. Which would be a foolish assumption to make in the case of this Brooklyn five-piece. Separation Sunday is a work of true genius, every bit as poetic as it is primal. Like a drunk at the parties it so beautifully evokes, it approaches with a disarming, aggressive stagger, but then a slurred aside melts into an absorbing couplet and you realise you’ve been had: these guys aren’t a bar band at all – they just dropped in for a beer. (Barry Glynn)
Artist: The Hold Steady Released: 2 May 2005 Label: Frenchkiss
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Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
When rummaging through a decades-worth of long-lost albums, there are those you thought were great, but now plainly aren't, and those that completely floor you far more than the even did first time round. Troubling the top 40, Grandaddy's cleverly named second album Sophtware Slump easily falls into the latter category. Sounding like it arrived in beginning-of-the-decade California in a time capsule, the electronic flourishes littered through their lo-fi country rock haven't been bettered by anyone who combined the two since. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Grandaddy Released: 29 May 2000 Label: V2
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Deerhunter - Microcastle/ Weird Era Cont.
Microcastle is a record both worrying and heartening, an unbearably honest depiction of the human condition. It's what makes Deerhunter such an addiction for its core support: this band are painfully frank in their negativity, and yet the overriding sensation is curiously vivifying. On 'Little Kids' Bradford Cox muses, over and over, on the certainty of getting old against an oceanic spread of guitar delay that earmarks the Atlanta, GA group as the rightful heirs to My Bloody Valentine's throne. But what really sticks out about this album is a new-found directness, most apparent in 'Nothing Ever Happened'. Microcastle has an artillery of melodies that are simply pouring from it, but it's the band's ability to balance joy and disarray that makes this one of this generation’s great alternative records.
Artist: Deerhunter Released: 26 Oct 2009 Label: 4AD
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The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
Following up the career and indeed decade defining Soft Bulletin, The Flaming Lips pushed the kaleidoscopic envelope of ideas and sound further still with Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, remarkably their tenth LP. While Yoshimi is fundamentally about death and the finality of death, it's a joyful listen and contains hands down the greatest song about our mortality, 'Do You Realise'. It was the moment when experimental turned sentimental. Seven years on and approaching their fourth decade together, Wayne Coyne and co. are showing no signs of slowing down. (Stephen Mooney)
Artist: The Flaming Lips Released: 22 Jul 2002 Label: Warner
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Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
This album was a throwback to another era, with plenty of nods to the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young. An album which was so out of time and based on the life of a fictional character living in rural United States 100 years ago shouldn’t really work. But soaring vocals from Tim Smith, backed up by superb lyrics and some outstanding arrangements creates a vivid picture of life a century ago. It was a refreshing change at the time of its release, and one that would herald the arrival of Fleet Foxes two years later. (Eamonn Halpin)
Artist: Midlake Released: 6 Nov 2006 Label: Bella Union
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Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Ah, the curse of the uber-trendy. Franz Ferdinand feel very much like a product of their time, and just as one wouldn’t dare rock a Flock Of Seagulls cut into the office outside of Halloween, there’s a tendency to dismiss this record as the aural manifestation of skinny jeans and coffee jackets. That would be a mistake. While it never quite lives up to the pants-wetting promise of thumping single 'Take Me Out' (and in fairness, how could it), this is a smashing effort. Vibrant, driving and witty – this might be a record that shone for only the briefest of moments, but what a luminous moment it was. (Barry Glynn)
Artist: Franz Ferdinand Released: 9 Feb 2004 Label: Domino
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Outkast - Speakerboxx/The Love Below
Really two albums by two artists but packaged as a single release, this album followed up on one of the most intelligent hip-hop records in many years (2000’s Stankonia). Andre 3000 (The Love Below) and Big Boi (Speakerboxxx) managed to produce two contrasting but equally brilliant pieces of work. The Love Below provided a mash of jazz and funk while Speakerboxxx was more traditional Outkast full of gritty hip hop beats and grittier lyrics. Individually brilliant but together, greater than the sum of their parts.
Artist: Outkast Released: Label: La Face
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Doves - Lost Souls
Emerging from a post-Britpop hangover, Manchester’s music scene at the turn of the century was a rich breeding ground for indie rock, and there was no band hungrier for acclaim than this Wilmslow trio. Having seen their previous incarnation as dance act Sub Sub come to an abrupt end when a fire in their studio destroyed years of work, the band’s determination to forge ahead as Doves soon reaped dividends. Lost Souls’ strength lies in the melodic interplay between Jimi Goodwin and Jez Williams’ layered guitars, with Andy Williams’ drumbeats providing a solid backbone throughout. (Eamonn Halpin)
Artist: Doves Released: 3 Apr 2000 Label: EMI
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Queens Of The Stone Age - Rated R
Most at home in a loose, collaborative atmosphere, where his songs can evolve under the competing attention of several uninhibited musicians, for 2000’s Rated R Josh Homme assembled a group of refugees from California’s decaying desert rock scene. By turns ear-splittingly loud, whimsical, meditative and calculatedly disposable, the result made a virtue of its scattershot eclecticism, anchoring everything to a finely-tuned sense of social irony and an abiding pop sensibility. A revolutionary rock record, Rated R gave genuine form and depth to the frustrations of a suburban generation bereft of opportunity and idealism. (Conor Nagle)
Artist: Queens Of The Stone Age Released: 5 Jun 2000 Label: Interscope
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Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
There comes a point in a music snob's life, perhaps once or twice, where you think you've heard it all. The advent of my first 'know-it-all' moment was hearing You Forgot It in People. What sort of a name is Broken Social Scene. They can't be any good. But to hear 'Cause = Time' is a defining moment for what came to be modern alternative music. This is a perfect record. It has the breadth of material to entertain its listener for a lifetime. Stuck on that desert island? Bring this album and some water. For Kevin Drew & co. musicality itself is born in the bifurcating duo of 'Looks Just Like the Sun' ('After this, Kevin/Kevin, after this') and 'Pacific Theme'. For those of us who grew up a little bit with this record, it's lyrics like 'I swear I drank your piss last night to see if I could live' (as on 'Lover's Spit') that tell you life is demoralising and demeaning, but it can be the...
Artist: Broken Social Scene Released: 14 Oct 2002 Label: Arts & Crafts
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Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
Ok, so Ragged Words love this band, and this is a record that about 95% of us placed in our favourites of the 2000s. There's something so reassuring about Ira Kaplin's voice, lent to the angelic backing of Georgia Hubley at
the sticks. But don't forget James McNew on bass, and the sumptuous, curving loop that sees And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out slip away into sublime oblivion, as on 'Night Falls Over Hoboken'. Maybe Yo La Tengo haven't matched such a 17-minute-marvel since. The real pull of Then Nothing is a quiet tug. It's the softly harrowing confession of McNew on opener 'Everyday', with that bassline inching around the song, looking for a way out; or else the faint warble of Ira Kaplin's guitar on 'The Last Days of Disco', and his sweet confession: 'I don't really dance much/but I'm glad I did this time'. You're not sure whether to sob or celebrate. (Daniel Greenwood)
Artist: Yo La Tengo Released: 21 Feb 2000 Label: Matador
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PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea
PJ Harvey said that after experimenting with "some dreadful and unsettling, nauseous-making sounds" on her previous two albums, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea was the reaction. It was when Polly Jean let us in a little. She gave up none of her intrigue but her fifth album was her most complete to date. She wanted the album to be her "beautiful, sumptuous, lovely piece of work" and through its lush layered melody, she utterly succeeded. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: PJ Harvey Released: 23 Oct 2000 Label: Island
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Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid
Proof to all the Chris Martin's and Gary Lightbody's that mainstream success isn't determined on dampening ambition, Elbow's cross move into the big time was immensely gratifying for both band and fan. That little bit lovelier than anything before it yet still retaining enough of their Northern gruff, The Seldom Seen Kid saw the band running the gauntlet of sounding echoing Tom Waits ('Grounds For Divorce') and a [good] Coldplay ('One Day Like This'). Elbow have never come close to making an average album and it was really just a matter of time before everyone copped onto to that fact.
Artist: Elbow Released: 17 Mar 2008 Label: Polydor
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Interpol - Antics
2004 was the year of the great follow up album, when the biggest buzz bands of the previous three years - The Strokes, Kings Of Leon and Interpol - dismissed the idea that second albums were for some reason difficult to make. It was more of the same from all three but none repeated the same formula as successfully as Interpol. They retained the gloom, the superbly structured songs and the nonsense lyrics to do what seemed impossible, create an album that could stand up to Turn On The Bright Lights. It was just a shame that, like their fellow school of the early noughties classmates, they missed the next time round. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Interpol Released: 27 Sep 2004 Label: Matador
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Joanna Newsom - Ys
Joanna Newsom followed up her little masterpiece of a debut with a great big second album. Made up of five epic suites, and boasting string arrangements from a certain Mr. Van Dyke Parks, this is no ordinary record; it’s both musically spellbinding and lyrically sublime, as Parks’ flowing orchestration meshes wonderfully with Newsom’s harp. ‘Only Skin’ contains a stunningly beautiful passage about a seemingly dead bird that suddenly takes flight, while the tender image of Joanna’s sister Emily teaching her about meteorites in the sky is unforgettable. (Shane Murphy)
Artist: Joanna Newsom Released: 13 Nov 2006 Label: Drag City
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Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast
Before we had blog buzz, there was word of mouth and Damon Gough was perhaps its last great beneficiaries. Building on some soon to be seriously sought after EPs, The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast inserted some ambition into lo-fi slacker music. Yet it's the more understated moments - the 'Fall In A River's' and 'Bewilderbeast's' rather than the 'Once Around The Block's' that win the day. The record of course went onto win the Mercury Prize and, one fantastic soundtrack aside, Gough never really recovered. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Badly Drawn Boy Released: 26 Jun 2000 Label: XL
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Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
The second album from the Canadian post rockers was not one of individual songs but more of a symphony. Four tracks spread over two discs and split into multiple parts, each of singular brilliance. Each track is divided and constructed in such a way that it utterly lulls the listener in, calming and soothing before raising the tempo and crescendo to deliver one of the most powerful instrumental albums of the noughties. What Godspeed demonstrated was that instrumental music could be apocalyptic but also beautiful. Who needs words when music alone can be this wonderful. (Stephen Mooney)
Artist: Godspeed You Black Emperor Released: 16 Oct 2000 Label: Constellation
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Panda Bear - Person Pitch
The list of influences appearing in Person Pitch's liner notes are as much a thank you from Noah Lennox as the regards to friends and family. It's a record of literal influence, though it's unclear, there are (supposedly) numerous samples lifted from other songs to make the basis of the album up. But who cares. This is a paean, a record of deep humility that underlines Lennox as one of the most optimist artists in work today. 'Bros' is a behemoth, dripping with Lennox's now trademark reverb vocals, a call that seems to resound down the ages. There are inflections of Reggae and Afro-Beat in 'Good Girl/Carrots', with words of some wisdom: 'Take a look between your notes/there's something good happening'. Person Pitch appeals to the good in its listener, but its most direct course is from the heart of Lennox, a man of a strangely steely exterior. Whatever this divine work of art can teach you, it's that things aren't what...
Artist: Pagan Wanderer Lu Released: 9 Apr 2007 Label:
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Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi
While Boards of Canada may never top 1998’s genre-defining Music Has The Right To Children, the reclusive Scottish brothers came pretty close with this unsettling, cerebral effort. 23 tracks clocking in quite deliberately at 66 minutes and 6 seconds, Geogaddi mines similar sources as before – kids-at-play samples, stoned synths and brooding hip-hop beats – but to much more sinister effect. Indeed, some of these cuts are downright creepy (‘The Devil Is In The Details’, for instance, sees the duo chopping up snippets from an exorcism tape), and Geogaddi is far from an easy listen. But it’s hard to think of a better, more disorientating headphones album released over the last ten years. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Boards Of Canada Released: 18 Feb 2002 Label: Warp
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Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs
A ludicrous, over-ambitious concept, and not without its flaws, 69 Love Songs is nonetheless an incredible record, a true one-of-a-kind. Never one to shy away from pastiche, oddball genius Stephen Merritt has a go at everything from Jesus And Mary Chain drone to Nick Cave ballads, Pet Shop Boys electronica and Cole Porter croonery. Wry, poignant and often hysterically funny, he tries to touch every base of his chosen topic, and mostly succeeds. At 69 songs it’s not short, but it repays the effort in spades. [Disclaimer - yes this originally came out in the pre-MP3 downloading year of 1999 and didn't make it to this side of the pond til 2000, so with a little reservation, we let it in] (Shane Murphy)
Artist: The Magnetic Fields Released: 29 May 2000 Label: Merge
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Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
Released waaaay back at the start of 2001 when Low were still a straight-up guitars ‘n’ harmonies slowcore band (god, I hate that term) – and not the edgy digital paranoiacs found on ‘07’s Drums And Guns – Things We Lost… is about as hushed and intimate as they come. With Steve Albini providing the sparsest of production, bruised, pensive, under-the-covers songs like ‘July’ and ‘In Metal’ are so fragile you almost don’t want to breathe too loudly while listening to them. It’s a curious fact that it took a bunch of Mormons from Minnesota to pen the quintessential ‘couples record’ of the last ten years. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Low Released: 12 Feb 2001 Label: Kranky
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Grizzly Bear - Yellow House
An album that seems to grow in stature with each passing year. Veckatimest may be a step forward for the band in many ways, but there's a magic about Yellow House that's all its own. There's something about the otherwordly, folky textures and eerie soundscapes of this album – made before GB had become a fully-fledged rock band and arguably before they figured out exactly what they were doing – that remains utterly compelling. (Tim Groenland)
Artist: Grizzly Bear Released: 4 Sep 2006 Label: Warp
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Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
‘Catchy’ is a particularly hideous word to describe pop music, but it’s unavoidable when describing this deliriously brilliant debut from Vampire Weekend. 'Oxford Comma', 'A-Punk', 'Walcott' and 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' had melodies so catchy as to be unshakeable. It arrived so fully formed it seemed to be the product of some lab experiment, where Talking Heads’ DNA were split two ways, with the Dirty Projectors getting all the weird bits and Vampire Weekend getting all the pop bits. (Shane Murphy)
Artist: Vampire Weekend Released: 28 Jan 2008 Label: XL
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Daft Punk - Discovery
Great expectations have stifled the careers of more than a few great acts in the past. So when it came time to record the follow-up to Homework – an album that effectively still serves as a blueprint for sample-based dance music – Thomas Bangalter & Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo must have been feeling the pressure. But rather than stutter and fail, the Parisian duo decided to go off and throw an interstellar party. Discovery is the robotic disco soundtrack to New Year’s Eve on a space station, owing as much to the soft-focus schmaltz of Supertramp and ELO as it does to DJ Hell. Still guranteed to detonate any dancefloor or house party, it also gave this decade some of its biggest singles. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Daft Punk Released: 12 Mar 2001 Label: Virgin
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Joanna Newsom - The Milk Eyed Mender
It’s all about that voice really. Impossible to get past for some, an acquired taste for most, but once you’re on board few would have it any other way. This listener, for once, was utterly besotted. What wasn’t in question was that Joanna Newsom’s harp-playing was hypnotic and beautiful or that her compositions were stunning. ‘Sadie’, ‘Inflammatory Writ’, ‘Bridges and Ballons’ – all gorgeous, but the highlight was the heartbreaking final track ‘Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie’. This was one huge little album. (Shane Murphy)
Artist: Joanna Newsom Released: 3 May 2004 Label: Drag City
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Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Ryan Adams’ current status as a caricature of romantic precociousness and self-regard is so thoroughly frustrating to many because this album, his debut, exists as the proof that he is not only capable of crafting a rounded and cohesive album of songs, but of doing so free from the posturing and affection that has, over the years, become something of a default position for him. Inspired by a genuine sense of uncertainty and impermanence, Heartbreaker is, for all its acoustic modesty, a charismatic epic of American myth and metropolitan anxiety. (Conor Nagle)
Artist: Ryan Adams Released: 4 Sep 2000 Label: Lost Highway
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LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
What a surprise Sound of Silver was. Anyone previously indebting late,
late nights to James Murphy's 'Yeah' duo (Crass Version/Pretentious Version)
must have been taken aback by the emotional intensity of LCD's sophomore
record. 'Someone Great' is standalone brilliance, which appears on LCD's
jogging ode '45:33' minus the weight of THOSE words: “To tell the truth I
saw it coming/the way you were breathing/but nothing can prepare you for
it/the voice on the other end”. All this above an orchestra of synths and
sticks, the throbbing of some mourning, it has to be! For anyone who
suffered a bereavement at the time of this record's release, it serves to
medicate some of the baffling, unnerving hurt. (Daniel Greenwood)
Artist: LCD Soundsystem Released: 12 Mar 2007 Label: EMI
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Avalanches - Since I Left You
"People think you buy a sampler and away you go, you turn into DJ Shadow or something,” said The Avalanches Robbie Charter of those who thought the Aussies were just mixing a few records together. If DJ Shadow arguably delivered the album of the last decade by perfecting the art of sampling, then The Avalanches pushed it to the limit near the beginning of this one. Conservatively estimating the number of samples they used at 3,500, they could never be accused of cutting corners. The ultimate labour of love – although we have been waiting almost 10 years for its rumoured follow up – Since I Left You soars because it’s not as gimmicky as it really should be. Instead it’s as heartfelt and intimate as anything released since. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Avalanches Released: 27 Nov 2000 Label: Modular
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Four Tet - Rounds
The last ten years have seen Londoner Kieran Hebden steadily emerge from the Fridge to produce some of the warmest, most intricate electronica of the new century. And Rounds is undisputedly his enduring masterpiece: a cocoon of folk samples, jazz flourishes and fluttering IDM beats that set the template for legions of laptop imitators. It’s also arguably the most beautifully sequenced album of the decade, flowing organically from the opening heartbeats on ‘Hands’ right the way through to ‘Slow Jam’’s sleepy finale. Anyone who still thinks that electronic music is the preserve of cold, emotionless boffinery must hear this tender, joyous and profoundly human album. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Four Tet Released: 5 May 2003 Label: Domino
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Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Born of the fragile alliance struck between songwriter Jeff Tweedy, multi-instrumentalist Jay Bennett, and sound engineer Jim O’Rourke, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is an album blissfully unharmed by the conflict, artistic and commercial, that marred its recording and production. Tweedy’s cryptic ballads emerge from a meticulously crafted haze of tape loops and subtly dissonant echoes, only to sink again beneath waves of static or crash jarringly into the next track. An instant classic, it’s a hypnotic cry in the dark born of and tailored to the communicative discord of 21st-century America. (Conor Nagle)
Artist: Wilco Released: 22 Apr 2002 Label: Nonesuch
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10
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
As one of the few musicians of our time who really has the staying power to transcend into future generations’ musical landscape, White Blood Cells represents the pinnacle of Jack White’s back catalogue. Long before The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and the commercial appeal of ‘Seven Nation Army’, Jack and Meg thundered and snarled their way through 16 songs of perfectly fused punk, garage rock and blues, resulting in the most simplistically brilliant album of the decade. Return to it time and time again; it never loses the raw, sleazy, unpretentious appeal that has made icons of its inventors. (Sheena Madden)
Artist: The White Stripes Released: 2 Jul 2001 Label: V2
9
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Behind Animal Collective’s too-cool-for-school stage persona lies an almost unrivalled ability to move people through music. Adored by critics from the word go, for this fan there’s always been something academic about much of the band’s music, no matter how close to greatness they’ve frequently come in the past. All this changed, however, with the arrival this year of Merriweather…, an album that’s positively overflowing with a sense of joy and naive euphoria. The childlike playfulness is apparent in everything from Panda Bear and Avey Tare’s vocal sparring to the trippy magic-eye cover art. Bookended by two of the most gorgeously uplifting songs you’re ever likely to hear (‘My Girls’ and ‘Brother Sport’), this is AC at their most accessible and best. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Animal Collective Released: 12 Jan 2009 Label: Domino
8
Arctic Monkeys- Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
The hype which surrounded the release of this debut record is well documented, as is the subsequent success of the Sheffield quartet. But simply put, this is one of the best debut albums ever released – full stop, end of story. With unnerving confidence, a bunch of teenagers stood way out from the crowd thanks to cutting and evocative social commentary and a raw sound. They’ve proven to be consistent in their (prolific) output since but it’s hard to overstate the impact Whatever People Say I Am had on the last decade. (Eamonn Halpin)
Artist: Arctic Monkeys Released: 16 Jan 2006 Label: Domino
7
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
How does one describe a record like Agaetis Byrjun? It’s become commonplace to reference geysers and glaciers, as if this was some sort of national statement. Presumably if the Icelanders had hailed from Munich we’d be told instead that it was reminiscent of pigtails, weissbier and Gerd Muller. The truth is that this is a nightmare record to adequately convey a sense of. If at times it sounds like the birth of Spring, it also sounds like the end of the world – all subtle majesty and crashing chord intros. That might not sound like it should make sense but then, on this record, nothing seems like it should work and yet it operates with perfect balance, and stunning success. (Barry Glynn)
Artist: Sigur Ros Released: 14 Aug 2000 Label: Fat Cat
6
Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
Stevens played everything bar the kitchen sink on this, the second (and possibly last) instalment in his proposed fifty-state musical odyssey. Illinois is by turns moving, joyous, mystical and inspiring, the Michigan native’s gift as a chronicler of the American condition matched only by the symphonic breadth of his musical vision. Where ‘Casimir Pulaski Day’ is heartbreaking, ‘Chicago’ is heart-warming. The magnitude of Stevens’ fifth album was perhaps most starkly expressed by his sixth – a series of outtakes from the Illinois project that would be a stand-out among anyone else’s back catalogue. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Sufjan Stevens Released: 4 Jul 2005 Label: Asthmatic Kitty
5
Radiohead - Kid A
The album that sparked a million late-night muso debates, it’s easy to forget just how bold a statement Kid A made upon its release. Taking its cue from contemporary jazz, krautrock and obscure electro, and yet somehow still sounding like it was being beamed at us from another planet, it remains the definitive statement of turn-of-the-century ennui. At times unremittingly bleak, Thom Yorke and co. knew they’d be alienating vast swathes of their fanbase who are still to this day wondering where the guitars have gone. But the band’s reward has been to change the musical landscape with an album that even now sounds ahead of its time. Almost a genre unto itself, not only did Kid A mark the reinvention of Radiohead, it also represented a giant leap forward for the world of leftfield music. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: Released: 2 Oct 2000 Label: EMI
4
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Emerging when it did, from what had fast become the most sentimentalised of cities, Turn On the Bright Lights struck an uncomfortable note of disaffection. An improbable collision of desperately earnest lyrics, uncertain rhythms, and polished, mechanical fretwork, it set oblique narratives of inchoate middle-class disaffection against a cool, reverb-laden backdrop. Both deeply affecting and eminently danceable, it was then, and remains now, the most unlikely of successes. (Conor Nagle)
Artist: Interpol Released: 19 Aug 2002 Label: Matador
3
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
There are those of us who would forgive a band almost anything if they succeed in pulling off a decent approximation of vocal harmonies allied to pop sensibilities (in my spare time, I still defend The Thrills at parties). What elevates this Seattle quintet above the rest is just how successfully they transcend those criteria. This is a record born in the Pacific Northwest but with its parentage stretching across from California to the Appalachians. Just when things start getting maybe a touch derivative, another vocal combination seems to tip-toe down from heaven itself, and the record becomes not so much an homage to those who’ve trodden this ground before, but instead feels like a natural conclusion. (Barry Glynn)
Artist: Fleet Foxes Released: 16 Jun 2008 Label: Bella Union
2
The Strokes - Is This It
The chasing pack has had almost a full decade to surpass the giddy heights of Is This It – a title that now almost feels like a sneering retort to the hordes of leather-clad copyists that have tried and failed to do so since its release. And while it might not be the most original of debuts, the fact of the matter is that any band (The Strokes themselves included) would be hard-pressed to match the style and swagger of modern classics like ‘Someday’ and ‘Hard To Explain’, songs that make Is This It the brashest, coolest rock album of the noughties. (Paul Harrington)
Artist: The Strokes Released: 27 Aug 2001 Label: Rough Trade
1
Arcade Fire - Funeral
What's most remarkable about Funeral - an album not exactly short on remarkable aspects - is that these songs are all on the one record. ‘Tunnels’, ‘Power Out’, ‘Wake Up’, ‘Rebellion (Lies)’ (we could go on…): every one an invigorating noughties anthem, and yet here they are all together. So whatever about heralding the power of the 'Pitchfork effect', marking Canada out as a musical powerhouse, immediately influencing countless bands, and proving you can do all of the above with modest independent backing - Funeral is just a ridiculously strong record. Indeed, it’s the strongest in ten years according to the majority of our writers, who overwhelmingly deemed it to be our album of the decade. (Padraic Halpin)
Artist: Arcade Fire Released: 28 Feb 2005 Label: Merge
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Your words on our list...
Shane
I'm soooooooooo glad KID A isn't at number one. Thank fuck!
LONG LIVE ARCADE FIRE!
N
"Is This It," being so high up is a joke (albeit not a very funny one)...severe lack of quality albums in the top 20 but it gets better after that...The Knife, Cut Copy, and Phoenix clearly should be in the top 20. Come on!
S
no, no and no!
best list so far
...this is defently the best list i have seen(even if the strokes are again in the top 5 lol), arcade fire's funeral is BY FAR the best of the decade IMO and interpol is very strong record and hasnt been on many lists. well done lads, well done.
AHEM...
NO JUSTICE??? what an inJUSTICE!!! surely one of the most influencial albums in the pop-electro movement in the last 3 years, and a highly anticipated follow up album...and where's the "as heard on radio soulwax vol 2"...one of the early noughties mash up pioneers...would've liked to have seen Jay-Z's Black Album get a look in too, songs produced by Kanye, Dj Flip, Eminem & the godfather: Rick Rubin...jeez!
My favourite best-of-decade list
Whilst some of the top 20 might not be my personal favourites, they are understandable choices. After all, I really don't want my favourites to be at the top! There are the pleasant surprises, Milk-Eyed Mender and Yellow House getting some deserved top 20 love.
Omissions? Of course there are! Rufus Wainwright's extravagant Want One, Gillian Welch's sublime Time The Revelator.
All in all, great job, guys!
so yeah
i like the list but not the strokes at the number 2 spot!! and what about florence and the machine??
ALSO
Yeah definitely wolf parade should be included on the list.
And pheonix. and Tv on the radio.
WHAT ABOUT
Cathy Davey?
are the avalanches there yeah?
A few observations / glaring omissions
bit surprised by the absence of anything by lyrical maestros kevin barnes, dave berman, john darnielle, spencer krug, phil elvrum, jason molina, and andrew bird.
one album by the national (boxer) and interpol (turn on the bright lights) would have been plenty for me.
i like kimya dawson's voice and everything, but the idea of an album as amateurish and puerile as the moldy peaches higher than, say, VECKATIMEST, makes me sick to my stomach.
lastly, would have liked to see the following up there:
of montreal - hissing fauna, are you the destroyer?
andrew bird and the mysterious production of eggs
songs: ohia - magnolia electric company
the microphones - the glow, pt. 2
clap your hands say yeah! - self-titled
the decemberists - castaways and cut outs
modest mouse - the moon and antarctica
mclusky - mclusky do dallas
peter bjorn and john - writer's block
phoenix - wolfgang amadeus phoenix
the walkmen - bows + arrows
the unicorns - who will cut our hair when we're gone?
wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary
Is This It?
Despite the laughable lapse in taste in placing this at #2 (The Milk-Eyed Mender at 16, Portishead's Third at 51, Lift You Skinny Fists at 22, Xtmntr at 73 - did you actually listen to these records?) I think you should probably reread your review. The phrase 'leather-clad copyists' is followed by 'And while it might not be the most original of debuts' (understatement). An unfortunate conjunction.
great list...
... but no Phoenix? No Justice? No Bright Eyes? No Youth and Young Manhood? No Bright Eyes!?!?!?
JOE PUBLIC
Where's Justice? And Phoenix for that matter? It's almost as if the French have done something to piss us all off this week or something!
CHRIS FINCH
Portishead should be much higher up. Other than that, great list!
The Bees
Sunshine Hit Me should be there, i bloody love that album
I'd add the following to the list...
Band Of Horses - Cease To Begin
The Bees - Sunshine Hit Me
Dan Deacon - Spiderman of the Rings
Fat Freddys Drop - Based on a True Story
Fionn Regan - Be Good or Be Gone
Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Jape - Ritual
Kings of Leon - Youth & Young Manhood
Mic Christopher - Skylarkin
Of Montreal - Hissing Faune, Are You The Destroyer?
RJD2 - Deadringer
Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
Thom Yorke - The Eraser
TV and the Radio - Dear Science
F*ck it anyway, I should've ignored work, sat down and done a bloody list...
Mark E
The Earlies - These Were The Earlies
Probably the most under-rated album of the decade!
The Earlies - These Were The Earlies
Probably the most under-rated album of the decade!
albums
Radiohead - Kid A
Gorillaz - Demon Days
Acorn - Glory Hope Mountain
Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raising Sand
Re No 46
Room on Fire doesn't even hold a candle to The Moldy Peaches and Is This It. If we're talking about the greatest disappointments of the decade The Strokes inability to deliver on their potential is a sure fire number 1.
ggrrrr
i know where this is all leading.....
if bloody KID A is number one, i swear....
shane
Bark Psychosis
...Code Name: Dust Sucker (Fire Records [at a guess]). Could be turfed in with all that yawn inducing imaginary movie s/t bollocks but much, much better than that. Real presence, sense of menace, highly processed sound. Dank nights around Fieldgate St.
Shellac
...1000 Hurts. Surely Battlestar Albini's finest moment. Songs with uh real vim, like uncut. Great gtrs. Short. none of this 40 min plus malarkey. In a box with the cd chucked in as an after thought.
Tetuzi Akiyama
...'Don't Forget To Boogie' Idea Records...this is a gtr plugged in making a noise.Loud, thuddy vaguely uh conceptual (something about a Texas highway blah blah. Also on th fantastic Idea label. What happened to them?
What have we missed?