Note: this is "favorite" albums, meaning those albums that I have played the most and gotten the most enjoyment out of that have come out in the past ten years. This is not a "best" albums list according to some ethereal standard of artistic greatness, although there would probably be quite a bit of overlap were I to make a list like that.
If you can get over his voice, hipster cred, and trend towards self-pity, you end up with an absolutely brilliant singer-songwriter that, at his best, is half Dylan, half McCartney. This is his last non-posthumous album, his most richly-produced and Beatles-esque, and the only one to come out in the 2000s.
Favorite Tracks: “Son of Sam,” “Stupidity Tries,” “Happiness”
Love and Theft – Bob Dylan (2001)
Dylan's still going strong. I’m a huge sucker for old-time-y Americana type music, which he does surprisingly well.
Favorite Tracks: “Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” “Summer Days,” “High Water (for Charley Patton),” “Sugar Baby”
(Last Night We Were) The Delicious Wolves – Hawksley Workman (2001)
Amazing vocal, instrumental, and songwriting talent. Perfect pop with enough quirkiness and strangeness to keep it interesting. Plus, he played every instrument on the album (very well).
Favorite Tracks: “Striptease,” “Your Beauty Must Be Rubbing Off,” “Old Bloody Orange,” "You Me and the Weather"
A Rush of Blood to the Head – Coldplay (2003)
Hate on Coldplay all you want, but this has got to be one of the best pure pop-rock albums of the past 10 years. Simple but brilliant Britpop songwriting with a sheen of U2. The first five tracks alone are enough to put it on this list for me.
Favorite Tracks: “The Scientist,” “God Put a Smile on My Face,” “In My Place”
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand (2004)
I couldn’t decide which of Franz’s albums to put up here. Tonight is darker and grittier and You Could Have it So Much Better has a better pop aesthetic, but the first one is just about flawless. Really not a bad track on the whole thing—even the throwaway “Cheating on You” is fun and catchy—and the best tracks are amazing. Plus, this album was my gateway drug for the world of contemporary music, and that’s irreplaceable.
Favorite Tracks: “Take Me Out,” “Michael,” “Darts of Pleasure”
Smile – Brian Wilson (2004)
A glimpse inside the mind of a completely psychotic genius, and a portrait of America in gleefully demented sing-along melodies. I had this album on in my car for most of my last year of high school. One of my biggest influences in terms of songwriting, vocal arrangements, and conceptual scope.
Favorite Tracks: “Heroes and Villains,” “Surf’s Up,” “Roll Plymouth Rock”…although you really just need to listen to the whole thing all the way through.
Funeral – Arcade Fire (2004)
If I had to pick a favorite, this might have to be it. By now, its echoey atmosphere, tinkly pianos, and heavy usage of solo violin has become the clichéd "Montreal sound," but nobody has ever done it with the emotional depth and epic quality they managed to pull off. The songs are atmospheric without sacrificing punch and songwriting quality, and powerful without being overwrought.
Favorite Tracks: “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” “Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles),” “Crown of Love,” “Rebellion (Lies),” “Wake Up” …actually, just the whole damn album.
In Rainbows – Radiohead (2007)
Radiohead does “sexy.” It works. Very, very well. Best (whatever that means) band of the past 20 years, and they’re still going strong.
Favorite Tracks: “Bodysnatchers,” “Nude,” “Jigsaw Falling into Place”
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga – Spoon (2007)
Another case in which I could really put any of their albums in here, but this one is probably my favorite. This is how you do modern rock right. The most striking thing about this album, and all of Spoon's music, it that it’s all so damn spare. There’s not one instrument or vocal line or percussion track that doesn’t need to be there, and everything that is there is perfect. Britt Daniel’s gritty, nasal voice has the balls so often missing from modern music, and it just fits perfectly with the off-the-cuff style that belies the obvious extreme amount of care that went into every aspect of the album . This might have to be #2 if I had to rank them. I love this band that much. Plus, I actually like the drum sound.
Favorite Tracks: “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” “Don’t You Evah,” “The Underdog,” “Rhthm and Soul,” “Finer Feelings”
Oracular Spectacular – MGMT (2008)
A perfect example of how to take the best from the past without living in it. Psychedelic/electro/rock/pop/dance/indie/folk/whatever. It’s all there, and it’s all mashed into one wonderful bubbling mess of great songs. I feel like “Kids” is going to be one of those tracks that will still be playing on the radio in 20 years. Although the album drops off a bit after the first side, the thing as a whole is brilliant.
Favorite Tracks: “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel,” “Kids”
Honorable mentions:
Troubador -- K'Naan
Over and Over -- The 88
Absolution (or Origin of Symmetry) -- Muse
Viva La Vida -- Coldplay
Rocking the Suburbs -- Ben Folds
Anything by Outkast...I absolutely love them, but I don't know their albums that well.
Anything by Outkast...I absolutely love them, but I don't know their albums that well.
