#25 Only by the Night, Kings of Leon (2008)
"Someone Like You, and All You Know, and How You's Be (speak)"
I was not a fan of the Kings of Leon when I first heard them. They were not critic darlings, and their albums were not getting the best reviews by people I normally trusted. But just how long did this record stay on the charts? Like a year and a half? I'm not even sure, I just know everytime I checked Itunes's most downloaded albums.. sure enough, it was there. And it wasn't a fluke, that chart time. It's because every song on here is so undeniably catchy, and you can't help but sing a long and dance. Especially on the two biggest songs, "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody". Essential to any popular music fan, or otherwise. And by the end of the year, the critics warmed up, and it was included on many "end of decade" lists.
#24 Original Pirate Material, The Streets (2002)
"Has it Come to this?"
I had never ever heard a british rapper before I heard The Streets. I never really put that together in my mind, how a british rapper would sound. But what a surprise, when one of the best rap albums of the decade, was from, not only a british guy, but a guy who flaunted that fact. But he's not a simple rapper either, he takes influence from British house music, electronic, techno.. he grabs everything around him and rolls with it. And as he says, "Let's push things forward." He's pushing everything forward, everything in Rap. No artist since OutKast has done as much for the genre as he has.
#23 Toxicity, System of a Down (2001)
"We're rolling suicide"
The Greatest heavy metal band in years, and the best heavy metal album in years. Metalheads just screamed they're head out in despair, right? System of a down? Yes. They sound like no one else, and they don't just scream pointlessly. They scream with purpose. And they've sold more records then any thrashers save Metallica and Megadeth. That is saying something. And this album, they're magnum opus, is a flurry of guitars, vocals, and rhythm. There is no break, they're is only short breaths of air. You are banging your head all the way through.
#22 Conquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse, Of Montreal (2001)
"Good morning, Mr. Edminton!"
Of Montreal creates landscapes of whimsy unlike any others. They don't make you smile because of the words, (well, most of the time).. they make you smile because they're music somehow taps into the pleasure centers of your brain. It's like a neuron connection. Just like Rage Against the Machine makes you upset, whether you like it or not, Of Montreal makes you happy. And they never made anything quite as whimsical as Conquelicot. It's a collection of stories about people, even one of them is told simply as a story. It's a celebration of everyday life. And it even has moments of pure beauty, like "It's a Very Starry Night". And, it's finest hour, or 2:38, "Let's Do Everything for the First Time Forever", the perfect love song. :)
#21 Turn on the Bright Lights, Interpol (2002)
"Sleep Tight. Grim Right. We have two hundred couches where you can.."
Interpol started what everyone likes to call the "post punk revival". If you will excuse the ridiculousness of the notion of reviving something that's post something, what exactly does that mean? It means that they were one of the biggest innovators this decade knew. Always being compared, rightly, to Joy Division, Interpol brought back the sound of classic Alternative music. And the decade responded by shooing out a flurry of bands that sounded just like them.
#20 Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem (2007)
"That's how it starts. We Go back to your house"
When LCD Soundsystem's first single came out, "losing my edge", it was brought with a ton of critical attention and public approval. But I doubt anyone knew what genius James Murphy was going to conjure. No one knew that he would write such a touching song as "Someone Great". And no one could have possibly figured he could write such a genius song as "All My Friends". But he did. And he did it with such dance ability, that never leaves his records. It's hard to balance dance and art, but LCD Soundsystem do it perfectly.
#19 Kala, M.I.A. (2007)
"No one on the corner has swagger like us"
M.I.A. came out like she knew she was kind of a big deal. She was so creative, and political, challenging every third world country and otherwise. And not mention catchy, she proved she could take a beat from anywhere and turn into a dance song. She took beats from Sri Lankan temples, and turned even them into danceable songs. That takes an amazing musical talent, but M.I.A is more than that. She's a voice for people who don't have one.. Or she thinks she is. And we believe her.
#18 Fever To Tell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003)
"Y Control, Y Control"
They are the most vicious of the Garage Rock bands. And they are fronted by a girl singer, who sounds like she ate Pat Benatar for breakfast while rocking out to Siouxie and the Banshees. If you can even define them as Garage rock, they are almost more swirling and majestic then that. Evidenced on the beautiful ballad 'Maps'. But they rock, they rock hard. Just listen to "Y Control" and you know that. They're riffs are noisy, and they're bass lines strike fear into the hearts of bass players. But Karen O runs the show, as the beer swilling front woman.
#17 Oracular Spectacular, MGMT (2008)
"She got the power in her hand, to shock you like you won't believe"
As I've said time and time again, MGMT are the most promising young artist. And this, their debut, is the reason why. You listen to this from beginning to end, and you can't help but think that MGMT are going to do great things. And they will, if they don't stray to far from this perfect formula. They are creative, they are charming, they are undeniably catchy. Mark my words, MGMT, unless they really mess up, will be the most popular and critically acclaimed artist of the 10's.
#16 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Arctic Monkeys (2006)
"Without a sound, yeah your calling me, and I don't think it's very fair"
Influenced as much by The Strokes and The Libertines as they were by Oasis and Blur, The Arctic Monkeys bridged the gap between Post-Punk and Garage Rock. With they're ability to write beautiful lyrics about boring things, and create rhyme after rhyme, Alex Turner and the boys churned out some of the best music on this, their debut album. They also caused a lot of buzz about the way music is promoted, with a rumor that the band started through myspace. Truly their fans just posted some of their music on the site, and it got so many plays that the record industry took note. But the band had nothing to do with it.
#15 A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay (2002)
"God give me style, and give me grace"
Playing the cuddly version of Radiohead. That's what most people thought of Coldplay, and those types of bands were a dime a dozen (Starsailor?). But this album proved that they were actual contenders with their big influence, not merely followers. With the beautiful ballad "The Scientist" and the Ok Computer worthy "God put a smile upon your face". Coldplay were the most popular band of the decade, and they brought a whole new audience to the likes of bands that would normally have gone without.
#14 Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, The Flaming Lips (2002)
"Her name is Yoshimi. She's a black belt in karate"
The Flaming Lips were childlike, creative, simple and complex. They brought a sense of childlike tales of love to rock music. Not to mention they were weird. Real weird. But that's okay, because they balance all these things in this beautiful album about.. well.. I'm not quite sure. But it's beautiful, make no mistake. It's got some of the best melodies I've ever heard. And one of it's songs, probably the best one "Do You Realize??", is actually the state rock song of Oklahoma now.
#13 Discovery, Daft Punk (2001)
"Music got got me feeling so free"
We're gonna do it right. Tonight. Daft punk did dance music and party music right. I can't think of an album that will get you to dance faster. Even people who don't like dancing, and think that it's much funner just to sit there and listen.. will dance to daft punk. (not that I'm hinting) :). From the moment he says "One More Time!".. your dancing. It's like an impluse from an unseen power you can't control. When people look back on the decade, and try and remember the music they liked to dance to.. Daft Punk will be at the top of the list. Who can't dance to "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" ?
#12 Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco (2002)
"I need a camera to my heart"
Wilco was good before Yankee Hotel. They've always been a great band. But they never had, nor will they ever, pass up this beautiful album. It's the album that broke it all open for them, and is so acclaimed that one critic put it up there with "In The Aeroplane Over the Sea" on a list of albums you mention just to sound cooler. And you will sound cooler. It's majestic, it's masterful, and it perfectly reflects the disaster of September 11. Wilco was good before Yankee Hotel. Now they're just unforgettable.
#11 Merriweather Post Pavilion, Animal Collective (2009)
"I don't mean, to seem like I care about material things, like my social status"
Man the cover of this album is cool. Am I right? I mean, it moves without moving! It's amazing! But, aside from that, this is a beautiful album. Animal Collective hit every right note possible to hit. After a decade of delivering psychedelic albums of genius without personality, (Sung Tongs) they finally brought everything together, and created this masterpiece. I'll never understand why it is this album did not top the charts. Is it weird? Yes, but no weirder than Lil' Wayne's seemingly 'won't shut up' annoying 'lollipop'. And this is one thousand times more meaningful then that. They talk about everything that we need to hear, from start to finish. And through beautiful melodies and swirling synths. Hats off, Animal Collective. You finally found yourselves, and help us do the same.
#10 White Blood Cells, The White Stripes (2001)
"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground"
The Best hard rock band of the decade finally realized. That's what White Blood Cells was, and it's still fresh to hear Jack and Meg finally coming out of their little critic circle and rocking the world. And they did everything with such simplicity, one guitar, one drum, one voice. It was never much more than that. And they reflected that simplicity in their songs, "We're Going to Be Friends" the most perfect example. "Fell in Love with a Girl" changed rock music, for the decade, because many people had thought rock music was dead. Oh No, Jack insisted. It was just sleeping, and it's come back hard.
#9 In Rainbows, Radiohead (2007)
"I've no idea what I am talking about"
Forget all the hype about the "pick your own price" phenomenon that Radiohead started with this album, forget all of that.. and what do you have? Still one of the best albums and innovations of the decade. Radiohead is always forward thinking, always atmospheric. But in this album, it's also emotional. Almost as emotional as The Bends, and Radiohead actually sing a few love songs on here. That's right. In Rainbows is as essential as everything else Radiohead puts out, but it's special in its own right. This album might just convert newcomers to the band, better than any other release. I hope it's remembered as their best collection of accessible songs, rather then the first pick your price download.
#8 The Moon and Antarctica, Modest Mouse (2000)
"And your heart, if felt good, it was drippin' pitch and made of wood"
Modest Mouse will probably, among most people, be remembered for two things. Float On, and this beautiful masterpiece. Or just float on, depending on how into music you are. But this album, talks about humanity in a different way. It makes you look at things differently, science, philosophy, everything. And it's told through such abstract lyrics most of the time, it's hard to even tell what they're talking about. But a few lines, a few lines really catch your attention and make you notice, or ignore, things you didn't before. Modest Mouse are weird dudes. Or geniuses. With the truth probably falling somewhere in between.
#7 Dear Science, TV on the Radio (2008)
"And stop your crying"
TV on the Radio got soul. They got funk. And they got David Bowie praising them. Not a whole lot more of a combo you need to come out with a perfect album. And they did. From "Halfway Home" to "Golden Age". From the beautiful ballad of "Family Tree" to the funky freshness of "Crying". TV on the Radio did it right. So right, in fact, that TIME magazine even called them the most forward thinking band of the year. And every publication listed it the best album of 2008. Of course it was. Not a whole lot of other reasonable choices. TV on the Radio will keep going, I hope. They have so much more boundaries they need to push, so much more sonic waves of sound they need to create.
#6 Kill the Moonlight, Spoon (2002)
"Small Stakes tell you that there's nothing can do"
Spoon sound like a classic rock band that ate Nirvana and then barfed up Blur. Or something like that. It's really hard to define what Spoon sounds like, because they sound like.. well.. Spoon. And they sound like Spoon better than most people sound like Spoon. And Spoon sounding is good. Great. Wonderful. And you know that from the moment "Way we Get By" hit's your ear drums, or "Paper Tiger". They are perfect, but not perfect like everyone else. They're perfect like Spoon, and that's enough for me.
#5 Stankonia, OutKast (2000)
"I'm just so fresh, so clean"
OutKast has done more for hip hop, save Public Enemy, then any rap group that has ever walked the earth. Okay, that could be a lie. (Run DMC, Beastie Boys, N.W.A.) BUT, they are the best rap group of this decade, and probably the best rap group in a very long time. They are fresh and clean. Or fresh at least. They are a breath of fresh air, for sure. They come out with creative, musical, innovative hip hop. And that's hard to find, in a decade full of rap that sounds something like "I got the rollie on my arm, and I'm pouring Chandon, and I roll the best weed, cause I got it goin on". They came out with songs like Ms. Jackson, talking about a guy who broke a girls heart, and is apologizing to her mother. Or B.O.B., which, as stated, is the most creative hip hop song, possibly ever. OutKast is special. Very Special. Eminem, what? No. OutKast is the best hip hop artist of the decade. And this is their masterpiece.
#4 Elephant, The White Stripes (2003)
"A Seven Nation Army couldn't hold me back"
If your a Hard Rock Fan, and you don't love this album, your not one. And people who claim The White Stripes aren't hard rock? Listen. Listen to Ball and Biscuit, and tell me that that's not the most bluesy song you've heard since Dazed and Confused. Jack White is a guitar wizard, Meg's simple drumming perfectly compliments him. It's the perfect duo. The perfect rock band of the decade. When, in twenty or so years, our decade's music is considered 'oldies', The White Stripes will be the people, man. They will be the classic rock of our decade. And Seven Nation Army will be our Black Dog. If you'll excuse the redundancy of my explanation, that's The White Stripes.
#3 Is This It? The Strokes (2001)
"Up on a hill, is where we begin. This little story, long time ago"
What The Strokes did, will probably never, or can be, realized. For a moment, rock music sounded like the coolest thing ever again. For a moment, the city that never sleeps was it's forefront, it's stomping ground again. For a moment, nothing else mattered but Is This It?. But of course, that went away. But you still listen to this record, and you can still hear that revolution. That killing of the boy band craze, that ending of pop and rap's reign. You can still hear it, and you can still feel it. Every time you listen the record, you can feel rock going through your veins like adrenaline. The Strokes did something that can't be explained. You can only feel it if you listen. And you'll never stop listening, after one time. Is This It? will be in your heart and mind. And constantly in your CD Player, record player, or Mp3 player.
#2 Funeral, Arcade Fire (2004)
"Purify the colors. Purify my mind"
What a strange name 'Arcade Fire' is. When you first saw this at the record store, or on your flickering computer screen, that's probably what you first thought. And what a strange name it is. But when you first put the CD in the player, or when you first clicked on "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)", that was the last thing in your mind. You are immediately swept away in the piano, at first, and then the strings come in, and the guitar. And your thinking "Wow, this is different". And as soon as that singer says "And, if the snow, buries my, my neighborhood." your in a new world. A new world where children don't grow up, love has a crown, and every time you close your eyes, you hear lies. No one can forget the first time they heard it, and no one can forget this album. 'Arcade Fire' is a strange name. And this is a strange album. But it is also a masterpiece. A beautiful, spiritual, masterful representation of the horrors of death, and the joy of life.
And I'm sure you know what number one is going to be.
#1 Kid A, Radiohead (2000)
"I think your crazy, maybe"
First I go back to the old reasons why. Why this is the best record of the 2000's, the defining moment. I go back to why. Because of it's computer representation, a fear of online music take over, and it's perfect represntation through unrepresentation. First I go back to when people said it was the first album to be sold only as an album since the online era started. First I mention how everyone said it was avant garde, so far ahead of it's time. First I mention how it was political without mentioning politics, how it ended suffering without comfort, how it changed people without philosophy. First I mention how it's the most musical album I've ever heard, how it's like a classical compositon turned inside out. First I mention how it's flawless in it's scope.
But you know what? When I put the CD in the player, or the headphones in my ears, I forget about all those reasons, and I'm transported to another world. A world of music beyond your wildest dreams. A place where I can examine my own emotions head on, like a dream. Where the landscapes I see are scary and loving, are staring and looking away. I realize I'm looking inside my heart. Kid A is a gateway to that, and it defines what music is. You know what? That's why Kid A is the best album of the decade. Because everyone needed an escape. And Kid A was the escape from the horrible world it was becoming. And not only that, it encapsulated our fears, our emotions, and let us face them. In a world all our own, we faced them. Music is the only thing man creates that they cannot turn around and destroy. Music goes farther then anything else man creates in changing lifes, perhaps even farther then the spoken world. And Kid A defines the very soul of music. And defines the very soul of the listener.
First I go back to the old reasons. And then I forget. And then I remember. And then I'm in that world again. Kid A.
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