Best Albums of the Decade

[graphic by Copycat]

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[list by Chris DeLine]

#1) Queens of the Stone Age Songs For The Deaf (live performance review)
Prior to the album’s release I remember listening to a raw demo of “Song For The Dead,” which was essentially Dave Grohl’s drum-intro looped on repeat for six minutes. I had never heard anything like it before. Grohl’s hand is heavy on the album, as is bassist Nick Oliveri’s (who left the band before QOTSA’s next record), both of whom gave the album its unbelievably robust backbone. Looking back, Songs For The Deaf seems like a record that was a product of its elements which could never have never been created at any other time, or nearly as masterfully if any of its parts were missing.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#2) The White Stripes Elephant
The White Stripes were the best band of the Aughts, and any of the duo’s albums could have fallen into my top 10 favorites of the decade. Elephant just happens to be my favorite.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#3) Danger Mouse The Grey Album (album review)
This album completely changed the way I approach listening to music. Girl Talk’s Feed The Animals, a direct descendant of The Grey Album, would also be on this list had it been best 11 or 12 of the decade.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | Wikipedia

#4) LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver (album review)
“All My Friends” might have received the most acclaim from the record (and deservedly so), but I continue to fail to find a fault in any of Sound of Silver‘s other tracks.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) Justice Cross (live performance review)
Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay were the icons who led a casually nihilistic club movement that helped reintroduce electronic music into the mainstream’s conscious (which consequently led to the the gross overuse of a term which has come to mean nothing: “hipster”). Cross was their soundtrack.
Purchase | MySpace | Wikipedia

#6) Sufjan Stevens Illinois (live performance review)
There remains no better example than Illinois as to why Sufjan Stevens was heralded as one of the best songwriters of the decade. The album is chilling, delicate and achingly beautiful from start to end.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) Kanye West The College Dropout
No other musical artist has had as much of an impact on pop culture this decade as Kanye West. The College Dropout was the record that essentially started it all, and still remains his most complete album.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#8) Hank Williams III Straight To Hell (live performance review)
A musician that singlehandedly made country music less shitty to me. The broad genre is still pretty bunk on the whole, but rebel country has an edge that makes it as punk as any other type of modern music; the face of rebel country is Hank III.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#9) Andrew W.K. I Get Wet
I was introduced to Andrew W.K. with a description that likened his music to a cross between ABBA and Slayer. The man’s enthusiastic approach to everything he does has made him easy to love, but his music is what has left me coming back after nearly 10 years.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#10) Danger Doom The Mouse and the Mask
Is it the best hip hop album of the decade? Nope. But The Mouse and the Mask gave MF Doom a medium to further explore the comedic element to his lyrics, trade verses with Talib Kweli and Ghostface Killah, and interact with some of Danger Mouse’s most enjoyable beats to date. While its ties to the Cartoon Network might have negatively affected its credibility (at least on tha streets), it remains one of the best surprises of the decade.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

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[list by Erik Thompson]

#1) Beck Sea Change
Never has having your heart broken sounded so good. Beck threw us all a despondent sonic curve ball with Sea Change that we are still trying to fully process. The songs are gorgeous, the arrangements are lush, and the lyrics are poignant and timeless. It’s a masterpiece.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#2) Arcade Fire Funeral
Arcade Fire seemed to come out of nowhere, riding a wave of hype that was entirely justified, and released an album so packed with emotion and awareness that at first it was tough to get through the entire thing in one sitting. Funeral is a flawless record from a talented bunch of musicians that couldn’t wait to finally express how they feel to the world, and the world took notice.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

Arcade Fire “Wake Up” [MP3]

#3) The Strokes Is This It (album review)
This album, and the band for that matter, epitomized cool, detached confidence during the start of the decade. The simple, indelible songs were drenched in effortless hooks and attitude galore. Is This It is a great record from a young band that was just starting to find their way, and in the process ended up leading a New York new-wave revival.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#4) PJ Harvey Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (album review)
A perfect realization of the sound and the fury that Polly Jean hinted at earlier in her career, this record reflects her growing maturity as a songwriter, but is no less bombastic than her previous work. Stories is full of the sounds of city living from a country girl at heart.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) Radiohead In Rainbows
In Rainbows turned the music industry on its ear with its pay what you want pricing scheme, but the music found on the album ultimately proved to be even more groundbreaking, blending Radiohead’s experimental tendencies with Thom Yorke’s angelic vocals in a soulful, spirited fashion, proving why the band is continually a step ahead of all the rest.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#6) TV on the Radio Return To Cookie Mountain (album review)
A full realization of the band’s thoroughly modern sound and myriad influences and styles, Cookie Mountain is a wild, unruly ride through the paranoia and unquenched desire seemingly found everywhere at the end of the century. TVotR simply conveyed those feelings better, and more originally than nearly all of their contemporaries, and clued us in to what the future sounds like.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) The National Boxer (album review)
Late night drinking found its perfect soundtrack with the National’s poignant, stirring Boxer. It’s a record filled with incredibly subtle and soulful melodies augmented by the astute, vivid lyrics delivered by Matt Berninger’s mournful baritone. If the ship is indeed sinking, I want this mournful, moving album to play us all out.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

The National “Fake Empire” [MP3]

#8) The White Stripes Elephant
From the moment I heard “Seven Nation Army” (and found out the title of the record) I knew this album was going to be a beast. Jack White displayed a more mature songwriting style on this record than he had in the past, but lost none of the fire or the inventiveness that caught our attention in the first place. Elephant simply blazed from start to finish, leaving the musical world quaking in its wake.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#9) Spoon Gimme Fiction (artist interview)
Another rough diamond from Britt Daniel in a decade filled with them, Gimme Fiction is a soulful, loose affair filled with stellar songs with plenty of panache. From its magnetic, inscrutable cover art straight though to the attitude and atmosphere created by the tracks themselves, this record is another rare jewel from one of the decade’s strongest, most consistent songwriters.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

Spoon “I Turn My Camera On” [MP3]

#10) Interpol Turn On The Bright Lights (live performance review)
Bringing just as much mood as music, with Bright Lights Interpol crafted a stunning, isolated record that seemed to be the perfect album to play when everyone else had finally left me alone. Sounding strikingly familiar but at the same time unlike anything coming out of New York (or the U.S. for that matter) at the time, this record has a tenor and a tone to it that continues to resonate strongly.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

Interpol “NYC” [MP3]

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[list by Jon Behm]

#1) Beirut Gulag Orkestar (album review)
This album sounds as fresh to me today as it did upon its first release (where it absolutely blew me away). In the past decade no other album has had as profound an effect on me as this one.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Beirut “Postcards From Italy” [MP3]

#2) DeVotchKa How it Ends
DeVotchKa got me through some tough times over the years, and I still think that they are one of the nation’s most underrated bands.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#3) The White Stripes White Blood Cells (album review)
This is probably the best down and dirty rock n’ roll record produced during my lifetime.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#4) Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca (album review)
I have pretty much not shut up about this album all year so I will refrain here.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) Fanfare Ciocarlia Queens and Kings
Tragically underrated album from a really fantastic Eastern European band. It’s like a drunken Gypsy wake in your head.
Purchase | MySpace | Wikipedia

#6) Edan Beauty and the Beat (album review)
The opus work from one of hip hop’s greatest lyricists. Edan’s dissappearance from music since has only made the man more of an enigma.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus (album review)
One of the finest works from one of rock’s most prolific geniuses. It’s like being force-fed poetry with a guitar.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#8) Sufjan Stevens Illinois (live performance review)
Rarely does a record inspire such emotions; I go from wanting to sing to wanting to cry to wanting to dance, all in the span of listening to this record.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#9) Jens Lekman Night Falls Over Kortedala (album review)
Lekman is one of the cleverest lyricists that I have heard and this tragically sweet record is him at his best.
Purchase | Official | Wikipedia

Jens Lekman “Opposite of Hallelujah” [MP3]

#10) Junior Senior D-D-Don’t Stop the Beat (album review)
One of the happiest, most fun records I have ever heard. Guaranteed to get people dancing.
Purchase | MySpace | Wikipedia

Honorable mention: Jurassic Five Quality Control – Most of my favorite hip hop records weren’t produced in this decade, but this is one of the exceptions.

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[list by Adam Bubolz]

#1) Lightning Bolt Ride The Skies
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Lightning Bolt “13 Monsters” [MP3]

#2) Lifter Puller Fiestas + Fiascos
Purchase | Official | Wikipedia

Lifter Puller “Space Humping $19.99″ [MP3]
Lifter Puller “Manpark” [MP3]

#3) Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Hearts Of Oak
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists “Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone?” [MP3]

#4) Jay-Z The Blueprint
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) Fugazi The Argument
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#6) Oxbow An Evil Heat
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) Cannibal Ox The Cold Vein
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#8) Dälek From Filthy Tongue of Gods and Griots
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#9) Guided By Voices Isolation Drills
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#10) Jay Reatard Blood Visions
Purchase | Offcial | MySpace | Wikipedia

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[list by Josh Keller]

#1) Panda Bear Person Pitch
Best song: “Comfy in Nautica”
Purchase | MySpace | Wikipedia

Panda Bear “Comfy In Nautica” [MP3]

#2) Arcade Fire Funeral
Best song: “Rebellion (Lies)”
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#3) The National Alligator (album review)
Best song: “Mr. November”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#4) Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (album review)
Best song “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) Animal Collective Feels (album review)
Best song: “Grass”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#6) The Strokes Is This It (album review)
Best song: “Soma”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) Sigur Rós Ágætis Byrjun
Best song: “Sven-G-Englar.”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Sigur Rós “Fludufrelsarinn” [MP3]
Sigur Rós “Agaetis Byrjun” [MP3]
Sigur Rós “Nyja Lagif” [MP3]

#8) Immortal Technique Revolutionary Vol. 2
Best song: “Point of No Return”
Purchase | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#9) Lifter Puller Fiestas + Fiascos
Best song: “Nice Nice”
Purchase | Official | Wikipedia

#10) Radiohead Kid A
Best song: “Idioteque”
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Honorable mentions: Bright Eyes I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, J Dilla Donuts, Beach House Devotion, Spoon Kill the Moonlight, Ghostface Killah Fishscale, LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver, Beirut Gulag Orkestar, Kayne West Graduation, Plants and Animals Parc Avenue, Sufjan Steven Illinois)

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[list by Tim Althaus]

#1) J Dilla Donuts (album review)
As I mentioned in our best of the decade series, Donuts is an album that will never get old to me. Dilla is an absolute genius and this album is just one testament that proves it. Each cut on this 31 track masterpiece consumes every part of me during every listen. There really isn’t a whole lot more I can say about this opus; just think of any adjective that’s a synonym for greatness and it will most definitely describe Donuts.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#2) Evidence The Weatherman LP
This is one of my all-time personal favorite albums. With the record Evidence stepped out of Dilated Peoples’ spotlight and delivered one of the best solo debuts of the decade. The production on The Weatherman LP is pristine, and Evidence guides his signature slow flow smoothly over every track on the album. If it wasn’t for Donuts, The Weatherman LP would be a shoo-in for my favorite album of the decade.
Purchase | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#3) Masta Ace Disposable Arts
To this day, I feel as though Masta Ace is one of the top emcees to have ever graced the mic; the guy’s flow can’t be touched, and everything that he does is pretty much amazing. Disposable Arts is an album that I found out about a little bit too late, but better late than never right? Disposable Arts is one of the best concept albums I’ve ever heard, and it shows just how good Masta Ace truly is.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#4) RJD2 Deadringer (album review)
This is one of the albums that completely changed the way that I listened to music. Ever since the first time I heard the track “Ghostwriter” I’ve looked at music in a different light. The way that RJ samples on this album is incredible, and the instrumentals that he concocts are nothing short of brilliant.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#5) Pete Rock Soul Survivor 2
This is truly one of my favorite compilation albums of the decade. Pete Rock is one of the greatest producers to ever do his thing on the boards, and this album demonstrates just how well he can adapt his style to other artists; whether it’s mimicking RZA on “Head Rush” or channeling J Dilla on “Niggaz Know,” Pete does it all. This album contains a star studded list of emcees rocking over some of the smoothest beats imaginable, courtesy of the Soul Brother #1.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#6) The Foreign Exchange Connected/Little Brother The Minstrel Show
It was so hard for me to decide which of these albums to choose, so I concluded that it should be a tie. Both of these albums are absolutely incredible; from the production to lyrics, they both have it all. 9th Wonder and Nicolay surely know how to bring the best out of the artists that they are working with. I love both of these albums for different reasons; The Minstrel Show was Little Brother’s last album recorded including 9th Wonder as a group member, and I love Connected because it was recorded by sending beats through the mail.
The Foreign Exchange: Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia
Little Brother: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#7) Pharoahe Monch Desire (live performance review)
I feel like this album is overlooked by a lot of people. Monch released Desire eight years after Internal Affairs, and there’s no doubt that he dropped another near classic in the process. The soulful soundscapes on this album accent Monch’s flow perfectly, and the outcome is one of the most political and lyrically heavy albums of the decade.
Purchase | MySpace | Wikipedia

#8) Jaylib Champion Sound
This will probably always be one of my favorite albums. Sure, the lyrics might not be on par with a lot of albums, but the beats on Champion Sound are ridiculous. In my opinion, J Dilla & Madlib are two of the all-time greatest producers, and when they connected to make an album, you knew it was going to be something special. This is yet another classic album that was made by sending beats in the mail. I was so happy when Stones Throw re-issued this album in 2007 with a deluxe edition.
Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

#9) Common Like Water For Chocolate
I’ve never been a huge Common fan, but Like Water For Chocolate is a completely different story. This album contains some of the best production of the decade via Jay Dee and the Soulquarians. Common and Dilla worked together so well; it’s almost like they were brothers. With the exception of Be, nothing that Common has put out has come close to Like Water For Chocolate.
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

#10) El-P I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (album review)
I really wanted to add Black Milk’s album Tronic, but I feel as though I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead is a more monumental album in terms of retrospect. I feel like this album (as well as El’s Fantastic Damage) pushed the boundaries of hip hop for the better. I mean, where else can you hear the Mars Volta and Trent Reznor on a hip hop record?
Purchase | Official | Twitter | MySpace | Wikipedia

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Top Albums of 2005 | Top Albums of 2006
Top Albums of 2007 | Top Albums of 2008 | Top Albums of 2009