I make no claims the following are the best albums of the 2000s, but I will say they are my favorites, the one's I've listened to the most if I don't lie to myself. This list is extremely subjective, and subject to change, as there's so many gaps in my listening that I plan to fill. Regardless, it is an interesting thing to think about music in the now, and so without further ado, I present my top ten for the '00s:
10.
Cadence Weapon - Breaking Kayfabe (2008): Cadence Weapon's debut sound was refreshing, and remains one of my favorite hip-hop albums of the decade.
9.
Ratatat - Classics (2006):
Today they have a bit of a bad rap due to their popularity. And due to overplaying, today I find myself tired of their sound. But if I remind myself how much I used to listen to "Classics", when there was still an air of being underground and fresh to their sound, I have to include this on the list.
8.
Listener [Project] - Return to Struggleville (2007): Poetic and beautiful, Listener's album is one of my favorite underground works. His "talk music", is honest, simplistic, and inspiring.
7.
Yndi Haldi - Enjoy Eternal Bliss (2007) - My favorite album from my instrumental post-rock days, and one of the few I still listen to. Beautiful and epic.
6.
Lightning Bolt - Hypermagic Mountain (2005): Lightning Bolt is endlessly intense. I remember listening to this for weeks after I first got it in the mail, and I couldn't bear staying still in my chair listening to it's frantic attacks. My favorite noise work of the last decade.
5.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (2007): Today, the Kings of Leon are huge. Everyone has heard of them. But this was not always so. Pre-2008, and basically selling their sound out with indie pop fusion (which isn't entirely awful, but certainly is frustrating) very few knew this garage band from Nashville. Aggressively gruff and with a punk aesthetic, I fell in love with their first album. It may have been the first album I ever loved. And so I bought their second and their third. And I was delighted with this album. Suddenly mature, aggressive and often dark but still preserving their older garage sound I listened to it hundreds of times. Thinking about it only makes me sadder about the direction they have chose with their music.
4.
Fugazi - The Argument (2001): Fugazi finally culminates their sound into perfection on this album. After years of making amazing music, this album is quite possibly their best. A post-hardcore masterpiece.
3.
Converge - Jane Doe (2001): I haven't had this album very long. But I've listened to it many times already. I've been informed about it's importance and immediate influence on Metalcore and the current underground scene, and upon the first listen I could see why. This album is lyrically and musically perfect.
2.
Q-Tip - The Renaissance (2008): I've said many times it was my favorite album of 2008. And upon further inspection it's my favorite rap album of the decade. Mind blowing production and flow shows what a veteran hip-hop artist like Q-tip can do. You can check out the review I've posted up about it for more information.
1.
Buju Banton - Unchained Spirit (2000): With this album, Buju Banton perfected his spiritual sound. The opening 3 tracks are musical perfect. The middle features some of his best feel-good dancehall. Although it's taken a lot of listening, I believe this album has finally emerged as my favorite of Banton's work... and since Buju is my favorite artist of all time, that puts it on a pretty high pedestal. I don't just enjoy this album's entertainment value, it literally has influenced me spiritually and philosophically, and shivers go down my spine for its opening 15 minutes or so.
Runner Ups:Andrew WK - I Get Wet (2001)
Beck - Sea Change (2002)
Roots - Phrenology (2002)
Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
Vybz Kartel - Up 2 Di Time (2003)
Busdriver -Cosmic Cleavage (2004)
Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
Sizzla - Jah Knows Best (2004)
Thievery Corporation - Cosmic Game (2005)
Avishai Cohen - Continuo (2006)
This Will Destroy You - Young Mountain (2006)
Andy D - Choose Your Perversion (2007)
Busman's Holiday - Old Friends (2008)
Buraka Som Sistema - Black Diamond (2008)
Mr. Oizo - Lamb's Anger (2008)
Album Continually on These Lists that I Just Don't Get:
Radiohead - Kid A (2000): Seriously this isn't nearly as good as Ok, Computer (1997) and sometimes I even feel like arguing that In Rainbows (2000) is better. A far from perfect album, it's actually rather boring at parts.
