With very few new releases of note coming out these next few weeks...I'm jumping the gun and heading into the uber list that every blogger has been waiting for since blogging was invented. Yes...that's right. It's the best of the decade...and this will be the first decade where bloggers get to weigh in on the count. Even though there's "Nevermind" or "OK Computer" this decade...there was a much stronger middle. Even chipping the list down to 111...I've left well over a 100 albums of equal quality and importance sitting on the sidelines.
And even though we have a solid 4 months of releases coming, there's no telling whether these albums will truly be the best of the decade for at least another few years. I mean what's left Jay-Z? Detox? Strong contenders...but in all honestly...only time can tell.
Here are the 111 Best Albums of the 00s (100-111):100.
The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free (2004)
- Mike Skinner's concept rap album was clever, inventive and unlike anything we'd heard....and have yet to hear. (
It Was Supposed to Be So Easy)
101.
Madvillain - Madvillany (2004)
- One of MF Doom's many monikers found the hip-hop rapper/producer re-inventing what a song should or could be. (
Fancy Clown)
102.
TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008)
- Last year's newest offering from this dynamic group didn't have the impact of their previous release (spoiler) but it still pushed the boundaries of where music could go.
103.
Common - Be (2005)
- For years, Common was known as the rapper with a conscious. Content at being just underground. But on this release...he merged his smart style with bigger production and created genre-bending classic.
104.
Modest Mouse - Good News For People who Love Bad News (2004)
- Isaac Brock and crew dump their artistic side and shoot for commercial success. In doing so, they become the last of the Seattle greats. (
Bukowski)
105.
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009)
- Still a bit early to figure how mighty this album is...but its praise hasn't slowed yet.
106.
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of the Bewilderbeast (2000)
- Though Damon Gough's career has been uneven over this decade, his first offering is still a solid offering, paving the way to the freak folk bands to follow. (
The Shining)
107.
Radiohead - Hail To The Thief (2003)
- The Head's anti-Bush album did very little to stop him from being re-elected, or invading Iraq...but it did provide us with some great music. (
There There)
108.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2006)
- CYHSY is the first of the next generation in rock bands. Their success is laid at the feet of the bloggers who spread the praise of their debut album to their readers. They are the first true success story of the blogger-age...and it's a damn fine album to boot. (
Yellow Country Teeth)
109.
Sufjan Stevens - Illnoise (2005)
- Soulful folk backed by orchestras? Who could have thought that would sound good? One man made it work.
110.
Brian Wilson - Smile (2004)
- A hard album to list here. Not that it's not a fantastic album...but does it really belong in the 00s? It was a hard call...there's never a bad time for Beach Boys bliss...but it edges in for purely not getting it fair shot years ago.
111.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Last DJ (2002)
- Though it was panned by critics...had minimal sales...and barely any radio play, TP's inditement of the radio/music industry now sounds like an eerie premonition of the decade that would come. Bashing the DJ-less radio playlists, rock stars created from game shows, and soaring ticket prices that milk kids of their last dime, The Last DJ sounds less like a prediction and more like a warning. Too bad no one heeded it. (
The Last DJ)
Buy These albums now at
Best of the 00s.
