December 1, 2009
Top 200 Albums of 2000-2009
When some other best of lists for the decade in music started coming out, I decided to make my own. What better content than a 'best of' list for this aspiring blogger? Pitchfork had released most of their Top 200 and I thought, what is the point of one album at 175 or 183 or 146? I think 101-200 could have been called 'a hundred other good albums.' Certainly there were a hundreds, maybe even a thousand good albums released during the 00s (we still haven't agreed on what to call them) but I cannot name them all. I'm not going to include rap albums or 'noise' that I don't listen to but other people think is good in order to please various crowds. This list is just for you and me. I decided to try for 100, I figured I owned enough albums to get at the very least two thirds of the way there and then then others that I have heard and even cherished but never owned on a cd. I ended up with 111 and I do own 3/4 of these albums in one format or more. Before we delve into the list let me give a brief background of my tastes and experiences of the decade.
I started the decade just as avid a music follower/fan/devotee as I am now but my taste was firmly centered on Dylan and the Beatles and ended in 1970 save Blood on the Tracks, Desire and maybe Led Zeppelin IV. Now, as everyone knows, Dylan and the Beatles are still the basis for all musical achievement and exploration in pop/rock and what has morphed into 'indie.' (Rubber Soul is TOTALLY Indie - just look at the cover) I didn't think current music had much to offer and I knew next to nothing about it except to avoid the Top 40 stations that played Britney Spears (you might know her only as 'Britney') and would round out the decade with Hoobastank and Nickelback and Miley Cyrus. That would all change when my college years began in 2002, and, in the university tradition, 'carpe music'. Pitchfork was a big part of it, I remember when I actually read the reviews, when you could read the reviews and understand they were about the album they were reviewing. There were at least a hundred albums that I discovered during the decade that were from another decade but that is not what this list is about even though I wasn't usually after only new stuff, you'll see some of those albums in the Hall of Fame section. And that is what this list is about, other than giving me an outlet to foist my inner critic/archivist on cyberspace - maybe someday somebody will be reading this or a similar list and wondering why they keep seeing the name 'Radiohead' pop up. Then when they go out and buy their first Radiohead album, their life will change. That is why I try to keep up with music, so I don't unnecessarily deprive myself of a great work of art that is available the whole time. I hope this list, if anyone ever reads it provides a few points of interest, some new music to listen to and okay well maybe one or two disagreements - or should I say settles some disagreements.
Personal(Lesser known albums) - Animal Bands - The The Bands - End of the Alphabet
Solo Guys - Solo Women - Electronic to Rap to Hip/Hop - Comedy Duos - Middle 19
The Top 20