tdoug's top 10 albums of the 2000s PDF Print E-mail
Written by tdouglas woomble   
Monday, 14 December 2009 15:37

 Here is my highly biased list of the best albums of the decade.  Leave your  picks in the comment section below!

 

10. Pocket Symphony – Air

Released in the midst of a full-on Air backlash, this 2007 album was unfairly dismissed by critics. It’s the lone “serious” work by this cheeky French chill-out duo, and I think it’s gorgeous from beginning to end. Bonus points for deadpan guest vocals by Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon.

 

9. Let It Die – Feist

My Canadian Content pick. (Sorry, Arcade Fire.) Nimble song writing, seductive vocals and a Bee Gees cover?  I’m in.

 

8. Aha Shake Heartbreak – Kings of Leon
You could definitely make a case for 2008’s Only By the Night being here, as it made arena rock credible again, but I still have a soft spot for their earlier, scruffier sound.  “Taper Jean Girl” may be my favourite KoL song to date.

 

7. Noble Beast – Andrew Bird

The only truly great album released this year, in my opinion.  Bird’s previous solo efforts have been spotty, but it all came together on this one: great hooks, wacky wordplay and shockingly tolerable whistling.

 

6. The Life Pursuit – Belle & Sebastian
As loose and fun as their ‘90s work was quiet and studied, this game-changer by my #1 fave band gave a much-needed energy boost to the B&S live show-- members morphed from wan wallflowers into endearingly goofy showmen.

 

5. Show Your Bones – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

You’ll see Fever To Tell show up more often on these best-of-the-decade lists, but that 2003 debut, while powerful, sounds unformed to me.  I much prefer this more sophisticated follow-up.

 

4. Aerial – Kate Bush
It’s pop music as high art, and the unifying concepts of “sea” and “sky” make an emphatic case for preserving the full-length album format in the iPod age.

 

3. Waltz For Koop – Koop.  A sentimental pick, as it’s a favourite of my spouse.  I’ve listened to it several times a year since it came out in 2001 and I’ve never tired of it.  A classic in the chill-out genre and the make-out album of the decade.

 

2. Kid A – Radiohead.

A conventional choice, but what can I say?  The genius of this album is undeniable.  Its experimentalism seeped into every album that followed, including 2007’s stellar In Rainbows. And that opening keyboard cascade still kills me. Though I do wish they’d go back to writing actual songs someday.

 

1. Illinois(e) – Sufjan Stevens

Just epic. The scope of the music is breathtaking, from the chilling rumination on John Wayne Gacy to the jubilant, childlike chorus of “Chicago,” which gets my vote for song of the decade.  And the best song title of the Aughts?  Why, that’d be "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!"  

 

Comments
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Zsus (SAdministrator) 2009-12-14 18:21:30
Love it. Kings of Leon is a MUST for any "end of the decade" lists.

I terms of shaking up the pop music landscape, I'd add Justin Timberlake's "Justified" to Top 10 lists.

But, wait a minute, TDoug - No Susan Boyle?? :D
tdoug (Manager) 2009-12-14 21:00:52
Susan'll be #2 on the Best of the Millennium list, right behind the erotically charged 2017 duet album by Adam Lambert and The Ghost of Dear Abby.
Liz Lemon (Manager) 2010-01-16 05:04:05
Some great picks there! 100 times yes on Sufjan's Illinois. Such a phenomenal album.

I'm just glad I didn't have to make that list. Where to even start?
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Last Updated on Monday, 14 December 2009 15:53