I know this post is about a month overdue, but this little project took a lot more time than I thought it would, so I haven't had time to work on it for a while. In any event, it's finally here, the requisite "best of" list that people expect from someone who listens to as much music as I do.
Let me preface this list with a few statements. First of all, you will not agree with me. That's just the nature of lists like this. However, I also feel relatively confident that most people, if they gave some of these albums a listen, would find something to like, as the list is extremely diverse. That is one of the reasons why the list was so difficult to compile; I had to compare radically different genres, styles, artists, and years. Despite this apples to oranges quandary, I was able to use some basic guidelines, which it is useful to keep in mind when reading the list.
For starters, there are no EPs, Christmas albums, movie soundtracks (sorry Garden State), or new recordings of old material (which eliminates most classical and some jazz that would have been released in the last ten years). The ranking of the albums has a lot of factors, including the overall quality of the musicianship and lyrics, the effect it had on me at the time I first listened to it, whether it has had staying power, and the overall strength of the album. These factors weighed in differently on different albums, and I arranged some of these largely by feel. For example, there are more albums from 2003-2007 in the top 50 because in order to have made the list at all, they would have had to develop into some sort of classic for me, so that they're not mostly forgotten. 2009 albums, on the other hand, haven't had that opportunity, so there are more of them, but not as many highly ranked because they are fresh in my mind but have not achieved classic status. Some albums are excellent works musically but failed to touch me in a particularly special or notable way, so they either are lower on the list or failed to make it entirely. Some albums are ranked lower than is indicative of my actual liking for the artist, simply because their albums aren't strong from start to finish (ex. Stars is an excellent band, but half their songs are awesome and the other half are extremely forgettable - thus they only have one album on the list and it's 62nd). Also, some of the rankings don't necessarily reflect how I think of them now. The Killers' Hot Fuss album was one of my favorites for a while after it came out, but I rarely listen to it/them now. However, its impact was large enough that it ranks highly.
The other thing to keep in mind is that this list is in no way static. On any given day the order could be completely different, but I had to pick one and stick to it. Also, there's probably a significant amount of albums that either could have or should have made it, but didn't. That is also the nature of things when you have as much music as I do. With all that established, here is the list of the top 100 albums of 2000-2009 as I see it.
1. Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (2003)
2. Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel The Illinoise! (2006)
3. Keane - Hopes And Fears (2004)
4. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003)
5. The Shins - Wincing The Night Away (2007)
6. Frou Frou - Details (2002)
7. The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love (2009)
8. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites (2005)
9. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003)
10. Snow Patrol - Final Straw (2003)
11. Death Cab For Cutie - Plans (2005)
12. Neko Case- Fox Confessor Brings the Flood (2006)
13. Gabe Dixon Band - Gabe Dixon Band (2008)
14. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
15. Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood (2008)
16. Anathallo - Canopy Glow (2008)
17. Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002)
18. Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003)
19. The Decemberists - Picaresque (2005)
20. 311 - Evolver (2003)
21. Imogen Heap - Speak For Yourself (2005)
22. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State (2003)
23. The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema (2005)
24. Kings of Convenience - Declaration of Dependence (2009)
25. Oren Lavie - The Opposite Side of the Sea (2007) (US-2009)
26. The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)
27. Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs (2009)
28. Keane - Under The Iron Sea (2006)
29. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife (2006)
30. Kings of Convenience - Quiet Is The New Loud (2001)
31. Feist - Let It Die (2004)
32. Interpol - Antics (2004)
33. Eisley - Room Noises (2005)
34. Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething (2003)
35. Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine (2005)
36. Norah Jones - Come Away With Me (2002)
37. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (2004)
38. Imogen Heap - Ellipse (2009)
39. The New Pornographers - Challengers (2007)
40. The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute (2005)
41. Coldplay - X&Y (2005)
42. Coheed & Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV. Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005)
43. Explosions in the Sky - All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (2007)
44. Antony and the Johnsons - I Am A Bird Now (2005)
45. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor (2005)
46. Band of Horses - Cease to Begin (2007)
47. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American (2001)
48. A Fine Frenzy - One Cell in the Sea (2007)
49. Carbon Leaf - Indian Summer (2004)
50. The Reign of Kindo - Rhythm, Chord, and Melody (2008)
51. Embrace - Out Of Nothing (2004)
52. Mew - No More Stories… (2009)
53. This Day & Age - The Bell and the Hammer (2006)
54. Melody Gardot - My One and Only Thrill (2009)
55. Michael Bublé - Michael Bublé (2003)
56. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)
57. Muse - Absolution (2003)
58. Kings of Convenience - Riot On An Empty Street (2004)
59. Neko Case - Middle Cyclone (2009)
60. 311 - Uplifter (2009)
61. The Weepies - Say I Am You (2006)
62. Stars - Set Yourself on Fire (2004)
63. Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns (2008)
64. Antony and the Johnsons - The Crying Light (2009)
65. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog (2007)
66. As Tall As Lions - As Tall As Lions (2006)
67. The Mars Volta - De-loused in the Comatorium (2003)
68. Andrew Bird - Noble Beast (2009)
69. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations (2006)
70. Muse - The Resistance (2009)
71. Pinback - Autumn of the Seraphs (2007)
72. Regina Spektor - Begin To Hope (2006)
73. Madeleine Peyroux - Careless Love (2004)
74. Mute Math - Mute Math (2006)
75. Circa Survive - Juturna (2005)
76. Emiliana Torrini - Fisherman's Woman (2005)
77. Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2 (2000)
78. Brandi Carlile - Give Up the Ghost (2009)
79. The Hush Sound - Like Vines (2006)
80. Kate Havnevik - Melankton (2007)
81. Porcupine Tree - In Absentia (2002)
82. Zero 7 - Simple Things (2001)
83. Tegan & Sara - So Jealous (2004)
84. Joshua Radin - We Were Here (2006)
85. Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal (2005)
86. Deas Vail - All the Houses Look the Same (2007)
87. Sondre Lerche - Heartbeat Radio (2009)
88. Feist - The Reminder (2007)
89. The Wailin' Jennys - 40 Days (2004)
90. Honeycut - The Day I Turned to Glass (2006)
91. The Weepies - Hideaway (2008)
92. Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams (2005)
93. Audioslave - Audioslave (2002)
94. Beck - Guero (2005)
95. Wolfmother - Wolfmother (2006)
96. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust (2008)
97. A Fine Frenzy - Bomb in a Birdcage (2009)
98. The Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004)
99. Metric - Fantasies (2009)
100. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (2007)
Tune in to my radio show this Saturday (February 6th) and next Saturday (February 13th) at 12 noon when I will be counting down the top 25 albums on this list by playing a representative song from each of them. So if you want to know what my top choices sound like, listen in to one or both by going to www.wrcufm.com and clicking "Listen In". Message me on AIM during my show (screenname "wrcu") to give feedback or let me know you're listening in.
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