Aughts Albums

Here are my 20 favorite albums of the decade, the list I've been looking forward to writing more than any other. There is no debating this. I am 100% certain that this is undeniable, incontrovertible, concrete truth, which I believe to be self evident. This is a long one, so get comfortable.

Honorable mention goes to Person Pitch by Panda Bear and Yellow House by Grizzly Bear, along with about 30 others...


20. Jens Lekman - Oh You're So Silent, Jens (2005)

This album marked a turning point for me as a listener. It was the first time I really embraced an album of lesser production quality. More of a collection than an album, almost all of the songs are excellent and entirely Lekmanesque. It's not necessarily more intimate, but more relatable and easier to love than his other releases.


19. The Hold Steady - Boys & Girls In America (2006)

I didn't even care about The Hold Steady when this came out. But after listening to the yarns Craig Finn spun here, it was really hard for me not to be totally won over. Bs & Gs In A is less severe than their earlier work, and the stories felt like they took place in the small rural towns up north that operated on their own time, isolated from the rest of society. Plus, is there a better defining statement about those post-educational transition years than "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together?" I really love almost every song. And it's one of the rare occasions at this point in my life where a traditional pop ballad ("First Night") is a standout. Plus, guest vocals from Elizabeth Elmore? Did they do that especially for me?


18. Cursive - Domestica (2000)

This was my favorite album at one point, and I figured that should probably be recognized. This was so much what became everything that I idealized about music in that era of my life: the chords, the low palm-muted riffs, the anthemic nature, even the concept...It turned out to be the peak moment of their career (for me, anyways) and also one of the peaks for the entire genre. Few albums make me feel as much like myself as this one.


17. Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls (2008)

This is significant because of the stake it claimed for the Great (and later dreaded) Lo-Fi Rush of the Late Aughts. 20 years from now, I will look back on these years where a thousand bands exploited reverb and say, "Well, at least it gave me Vivian Girls."


16. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)

I thought I was going to write an entire post on how Spoon is the best band of the 00s, but I didn't get around to it. Anyways, they are and here's why. 4 perfect albums, each with a unique sound and feel, blending the poppiest hooks from rock history's greatest bands with an art-rock ambience that gives them critical currency. And while everyone else will argue that Radiohead or Animal Collective are the most important bands of our time, Spoon has the same elements that make both of those bands great, along with something neither of those bands have ever really been: fun. Anyways, consider this entry interchangeable with the 3 other albums they released this decade because I pretty much love them all equally. I can't wait for Transference.


15. Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism (2003)

Lately I've been thinking that maybe I've been too hard on these guys. If you consider the jumps made from their first to second to third albums, they are pretty apparent, albeit within the boundaries of good taste. Maybe the quality well just went dry in the middle of Plans.
Anyways, I murdered this album. Hard. And like with all the other albums I listened to way too much, I needed a break. Now, whenever I hear one of these songs, it requires a little extra attention. But they're still capable of massaging my organs like nothing else. Also noteworthy is the fact that I never got tired of "We Looked Like Giants."


14. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

I counted myself among the "Don't Get It" crowd for years after this came out. I liked all of the non-Kid A-ish singles like "Idioteque" and "How To Disappear Completely" and "The National Anthem." But after years of ignoring this while simultaneously growing in the things I listened to, this album totally revealed itself to me. All of the songs that I couldn't tell apart before ("Optimistic," "In Limbo," "Morning Bell," "Kid A") are now the songs that I've realized are integral to the album's purpose. Like most great albums, it just took a little time. And eventually it made OK Computer look like The Bends.


13. The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000)

I find it really hard to write about Since I Left You. I feel like more than any of these other albums, it's something that probably needs to be experienced. Everything I said about the title track in the Songs List is what I would say to describe this album. It's hyper-musical, pregnant with musicality. There's a highlight that pops up every two minutes. There are about 50 great melodies and riffs that get lodged in your brain after hearing this. Half the fun is going back and trying to find them.


12. Beauty Pill - The Unsustainable Lifestyle (2004)

Smooth, emotionally detached, jazzy...these are some of the buzzwords that make me light up when hearing about a band. And yet, Beauty Pill seems like the oddball of this list. But in reality, they have a lot in common with many of the bands that I love. The guitar work is some of the best of the decade. The riff on "Such Large Portions," a song that was probably criminally left off my Songs List, is on par with the best Kevin Shields has ever whammied. The rhythms of all the instruments are complex and fascinating. It doesn't hurt that the band is right on the nose when it comes to musical politics.
This is also one of the rare occasions where a multiple lead singer situation is better than one standard frontman. Could any man be capable of combining the same sexy edginess with the vulnerability that Jean Cook sings with on "Prison Song?" Could "Goodnight For Real" feel any more right than with Chad Clark singing? Even bringing Other Guy into the mix for "Drive Down The Coast" was a totally righteous move. This is the beginning of the perfect albums. I'm excited just writing about this.


11. Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts Of The Great Highway (2003)

There's really nothing like this album. I suppose I've always thought this is similar to Pink Moon, but Nick Drake has always made me sad/tired, while Ghosts makes me sad/sob-in-the-dark-because-no-matter-what-you-will-always-feel-at-least-a-little-lonely. It is truly an album I can't always listen to. There is an almost tangible change in my mood whenever I hear it. Sorta like that Seinfeld episode where the guy would stare off into the distance whenever he heard "Desperado." If this is the case, "Carry Me Ohio" is my "Desperado." I think Pink Moon is probably technically better, but Ghosts is more emotionally affecting. Which is really saying something considering that dude offed himself.


10. Nada Surf - Let Go (2002)

I had a really hard time picking out which Nada Surf album I thought was the best. In the end, I decided to go with this one. It has stood the test of time, or at least the test of 8 years. And as I've changed over that time, Let Go has continued to offer me something at each phase. I downloaded this album out of boredom, and nothing else (well, maybe "Popular") and it turned out to be one of the most crucial moves of my musical life. I've always loved the melodic precision in songs like "Fruit Fly" and "Hi Speed Soul," while simultaneously finding it really easy to get lost in a song like "Killian's Red" or "Paper Boats." They continue to churn out totally serviceable 3 piece rock/pop songs with the absolute best vocal melodies in the game.


9. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped (2006)

Please never ask me to name my favorite song from this album. It will give me a nervous breakdown. Rather Ripped has always seemed like a sister album to The Unsustainable Lifestyle to me. From the guitar work of "Incinerate" and "Jams Run Free" to the delicate perfection of "Do You Believe In Rapture?" to the Moore/Gordon/Ranaldo vocal trade-offs, they have so many of the same musical characteristics in common. As far as I can tell, Sonic Youth have never done anything else like this. I never really want them to, and I'm not sure why. And, oh yeah, THE ALBUM TITLE.


8. Ida - Will You Find Me? (2000)

You'd think I'd want to see this as a sad album, but it's more gorgeous than anything. And it's a special kind of gorgeous that manages to exist without seeming grandiose or precious. W You F Me? immediately became one of my favorite albums after hearing it Freshman Year. "Maybelle" and "The Radiator" were the ones that hooked me, but so many of the 14 songs on this masterpiece, from the slow minor-key perfection of "Shotgun" to the staggered rhythms and bone-blowing harmonies of "Man In Mind" still offer a kind of mystery I have rarely come across since. Stumbling across this on vinyl for $5 at Encore two or three years ago is probably my favorite find ever.


7. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)

I don't know what I can say about this album that hasn't already been said. I have no unique perspective. Chances are, if you're reading this, you were there and you know. This is what Good Times sounds like.


6. The Sea & Cake - Everybody (2007)

With apologies to Geoff Farina, no one does jazzy indie better than The Sea & Cake. And The Sea & Cake have never done jazzy indie better than they did on Everybody. I have trouble understanding how they were able to come up with so many perfect variations of such a specific style. For the longest time, I found it impossible to mentally come down after the coda of "Lightning." When I eventually did, I was surprised and delighted to find that they quietly snuck three of the best songs on the album in afterward. Sam Prekop continues to deliver a Dream Band-level of vocal excellence, while being more prominently featured and musically-supported than ever before. And I'm pleasantly frightened to realize that Car Alarm is finally approaching Everybody territory.
I'm starting to have a hard time coming up with different ways of saying "This is perfect."


5. Field Music - Tones Of Town (2007)

Adulthood! Class! Todd Rundgren! Not exactly the sexiest themes to consider when hearing about an album (unless you are me). But man, who could've expected these results with those kind of elements? If that's the path you're gonna travel, you better know what you're doing or else your album's gonna bomb. Field Music proved that they know about these things better than anyone currently making music. They are most convincing on the "Kingston"-"Working To Work"-"In Context" middle section (almost a suite). And like I mentioned at the end of 07 when this was my favorite album, I think of perfect sunny summer morning bike rides through downtown Fenton, and I have a hard time thinking of better things. I think this collection of songs, more than any other, helped me adapt to a really comfortable place as an adult.


4. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)

I kinda like that everybody hates this band. It's hard to deny that their success is a product of industry hype, but after the dust has settled and all the bloggers have forgetten about the CYHSY debut, I will be there, laughing and holding hands and picnicking on blankets with it. My love for this album is unconditional. Every song is so casually put together and tossed off like it's only just another song. And that's a big part of their charm. But a bigger part is that EVERY ONE OF THESE SONGS IS INCREDIBLY GOOD. And I love that I can really only understand about 5 lines on the whole album. That's part of why I've always resented the David Byrne comparisons. They're similar but entirely different. Byrne is sharp and wired and frazzled, Ounsworth is stoned and slurry and sleepy eyed. They create totally different moods. So there. I'm glad I was able to defend Ounsworth's honor 5 years too late.
On a humiliating and shameful side note, this is the only album of this list that I do not own. But I guess in some ways that's appropriate, considering its relevance as a digital entity. It has no bearing on my feelings toward it, only my buying/collecting habits. Dudes in the band, please do not be offended. When I said I loved you, I said I would love you forever.


3. The Anniversary - Designing A Nervous Breakdown (2000)

Here is an album that will only be made once in history. Some may try, but will never be able to replicate what was created here. Every voice on this album, both human and instrumental, can only be heard on D-ing A Nervous B-Down. This slice of heaven, this holy element of the body of Christ, was bestowed upon me, as so much had already been, by Initial Records. Along with my order for Breakdance Suburbia and the If They Do EP, they sent a Heroes & Villains 4-song sampler that featured "All Things Ordinary." And I was immediately captivated by the haunting chords and harmonies and lyrics and overall feel. The synths and drums (oh god, the drums) screamed 80s production, but not the kitschy kind or the cool, jangly kind. It seemed to be from a lost era that I was sure had existed. The Anniversary managed to take those aspects and blend them with bursts of post-emo indie, and I was changed.
The anthemic chorus of "Til We Earned A Holiday" and the controlled cool of the synth lead on "Hart Crane" always made them my favorite among favorites (guess what: the album's perfect), but over the last year my favorite has become "Without Panasos." When I didn't know better, I guess I figured the lyrics were probably b.s. But then I realized they're perfectly oblique and fantastical and the kind of thing I can really get behind. Their live shows were always exciting and gave me great memories of that part of my life. As much as I loved it then, I love it at least as much now.


2. Junior Boys - So This Is Goodbye (2006)

If you know me, you probably know that I love this album. I've tried to explain the intensity of this love before, but I'm not sure I've ever been able to better do so than by publicly stating that it is my second favorite album of the decade. Perfect in all the right ways (vocals, texture), and many of the wrong ones (so much space!), So This Is Goodbye set the bar for chord/melody-based perfection this decade. Never mind that it is electronic. I totally believe that this album would be of exact equal greatness with a traditional guitar/bass/drums arrangement. It's melodic perfection is evident everywhere, from the chorus of "First Time" to the flawless synth pattern at the end of "Like A Child" to the smooth gorgeousness of the "ooohs" in "FM's" chorus, and pretty much everywhere in between. This is to say nothing of Jeremy Greenspan's immaculate vocals, which make Sam Prekop sound like Bobcat Goldthwait. If I had to sum up my feelings about this album in one word, it would be, um, perfect.


1. The Dismemberment Plan - Change (2001)

Initially, I had no clue what my favorite album of the decade was. I thought about all of my favorites (this one included), and there was no clear answer. Then I thought about it again and realized, "Of course it's Change!"
If I could define my idealized image of myself in realistic way with one album, Change would be it. On Emergency & I, The Plan were manic and jittery and urgent, and moving toward something. On Change, they seem to be coming down from all of that activity and expended energy. They're tired and reflective and cool, but still haunted and a little sick. More than anything (and this is the key to what I relate to most about the album), they were resigned. Everything seems to be an observation, and there's nothing Travis Morrison is doing about it. One of the best opening tracks of the decade, "Sentimental Man," lays out the album's doctrine, and sets the emotional tone for every song that follows. And thematically, the album never skips a beat. I used to think that it was a concept album where the first 10 songs were about Ellen & Ben, and on the last song, the camera pulls back and the narrator gets a chance to talk about the state of his life. I don't believe that anymore, but it's a testament to the album's cohesiveness.
There are so many highlights. The breakneck pace and brilliant wordplay of "The Other Side." The emotional force of the closing lines of "Time Bomb." The smooth, momentum-building dynamics of "Face Of The Earth." And the imagery! How many times does he say the word "unseen?" The man is clearly unsettled. Oh, and I guess I should note that everyone in the band is an elite musician, which is an understatement for the rhythm section. I've never seen or heard anyone play the drums like Joe Easley.
If you're at all interested in this album, immediately read this interview, in which the album is dissected track-by-track by Travis Morrison and he offers some baffling revelations about the origins of "Face Of The Earth" (it's about Michael Jordan) and "Ellen & Ben."
Thanks for making it to the end and allowing me to indulge in relatively unimportant nonsense. I am soooooo list-ed out.