>1. Radiohead - Kid A (2000)
>It's been over nine years. Frankly, I'm all talked out and
>have been for some time. I didn't even put up a fight when my
>cousin dismissed it out of hand recently, having only heard it
>once, years ago. However, anyone reading this has probably
>heard Kid A already and formed their own opinion long ago, so
>what more could I add that hasn't been said too many times
>before?
>
>
>
>2. Björk - Vespertine (2001)
>It's her IDM album, but it's also her songwriting album.
>Vespertine showed me how glitchy electronics could be warm,
>but harps, strings, and one of the most gifted and talented
>singers of all time help make this an immaculate listen. I
>think this is one of the most underrated albums of the decade
>and in her vast, impressive discography.
>
>
>
>3. Aphex Twin - Drukqs (2001)
>Although not a cohesive listen in the traditional sense, to
>take in Drukqs is to go on a wild ride through the mad genius
>of Richard D. James. Here, he revisits his classic techno of
>the early to mid '90s (setting the stage for his return to
>acid in the mid to late '00s) but aided by every production
>skill and compositional strength he's developed since then. As
>if that were not enough, the modern day ambient master let's
>us hear his beautiful, Erik Satie-inspired piano pieces and a
>series of avant-garde acoustic workouts and freakouts. Never
>has one album offered so much and received so little
>appreciation and understanding in return. No wonder Aphex Twin
>stopped making albums.
>
>
>
>4. Hood - Cold House (2001)
>This album will always be dear to me because it helped get me
>through a difficult time. It also serves as an awesome example
>of the promotional power of the mp3, as I'd never heard Hood
>until browsing Audiogalaxy (R.I.P.) when they were a featured
>artist with three legal downloads from this album. I was
>quickly taken by Hood's fragile, gorgeous, melancholic sound,
>and today I own 12 of their discs. In an ideal world, this
>naturally flowing, genre-blending album would get at least
>half of the acclaim heaped on Kid A.
>
>
>
>5. dead prez - lets get free (2000)
>This is quite simply one of if not the most inspiring album
>I've ever heard. Listening to this gets me charged every time.
>I may not agree with every unabashed, radical political stance
>espoused by M-1 and Stic.Man, but how can anyone disagree with
>messages like "Be Healthy" and "Discipline makes things
>easier"? Besides the raw, jaw-droppingly brilliant, poetically
>expressed lyrical content, the album is musically amazing. Few
>emcees have ever sounded this consistently sharp, focused, and
>hungry, and every beat knocks and sounds beautiful at the same
>time. The fact that dead prez had an active role in producing
>the album makes it all the more special.
>
>
>
>6. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000)
>This album is just a lot of fun, even if Dan The Automator's
>production makes an album set far into the future sound dated.
>Del Tha Funkee Homosapien was seriously in the zone writing
>and recording this album.
>
>
>
>7. A Perfect Circle - Mer De Noms (2000)
>I don't think it's fair or accurate to call anything above a
>rock album, so that makes this debut release by Maynard James
>Keenan's side-project the best rock album of the decade and
>them the best new rock group, at least for my tastes. I love
>how their songs completely rock but are full of nuances and
>subtleties. The arrangements are great, and the production is
>perfect. Rock needs more of this.
>
>
>
>8. Deftones - White Pony (2000)
>The production may be a little cold on this album, but it
>works. The songs rock hard but sound delicate, too. There
>isn't a bad song on the initial release, which is what I have
>and is the intended tracklisting.
>
>
>
>9. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)
>If you'd told me any time before 2006 that I'd be putting a
>singer from *NSYNC and former Mickey Mouse Club member ahead
>of most of my favorite artists in my top albums of the decade
>list, I'd have never believed you. Have you listened to this
>album though? It's incredible. Very rarely do I listen to an
>album and just envy the music the whole time as if I wish I'd
>made it, but this is one of those. No longer an industry
>puppet, Justin grew up (perhaps trying a little too hard in
>the process) and, with the able assistance of Timbaland and
>Danja at the height of their pop prowess, created a
>masterpiece.
>
>
>
>10. Madvillain - Madvillainy (2004)
>Rarely do dream combos work out as well in reality as they do
>in theory, but MF Doom and Madlib even managed to exceed
>expectations. It may not be Doom at his deepest or 'Lib at his
>most experimental, but it's a hell of an album. Here's to the
>next.
>
>
>
>11. Autechre - Confield (2001)
>The musical equivalent to every frenetic, weird, crazy thought
>I've had, this is still the most mindblowing album I've ever
>heard. I've learned this is also the worst place for newcomers
>to Autechre to start.
>
>
>
>12. Prefuse 73 - One Word Extinguisher (2003)
>This was one of two discs that served as the road soundtrack
>to the worst summer of my life (so far!). I loved how catchy,
>visceral, and busy this album sounded, which was just what I
>needed. I thought Prefuse was cool from his first album, but a
>couple tracks aside it was just another glitch-hop album to
>me, so I didn't have high expectations for this album. I was
>blown away by the tremendous growth in production, from the
>sinewy synths to the ambient textures (including vocals) to
>the assortment of other instruments and growing supporting
>cast. This album introduced me to the music of Diverse,
>Dabrye, Daedelus, and Tommy Guerrero, but Prefuse is the star
>of the show here. At the time it seemed like the perfect
>melding of hip-hop and IDM, my two favorite genres then (and
>perhaps still). To this day, I still consider One Word
>Extinguisher Prefuse's magnum opus.
>
>
>
>13. Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007/2008)
>I had a long history with this album before I ever played it,
>but it's really not that interesting to recap, especially now.
>Suffice it to say that I'd heard nearly every song on here in
>its live incarnation long before the album was released and
>didn't expect much based on what I found to be second rate
>material compared to the songs they toured before the release
>of their three previous albums. I think it speaks to the power
>of an even, cohesive-sounding album that In Rainbows is as
>good as it is. In the right order, these songs complement each
>other flawlessly, and although I find the high points to be
>higher on Amnesiac and Hail To The Thief and the production of
>those albums to be more "interesting," this is truly a great,
>often addictive listen.
>
>
>
>14. Saul Williams - Saul Williams (2004)
>It was really difficult to rank Saul's three albums from this
>decade. Even his Rick Rubin-produced debut that sat on the
>shelf for two or three years before seeing a poorly promoted
>release is great. The margin between Saul Williams and the
>next album is paper thin, but I give self-titled the edge
>because the music, nearly all of it self-produced, seems to
>fit Saul a little better, which makes sense as some of
>NiggyTardust! is built on scraps from unreleased Nine Inch
>Nails material. Regardless, listening to him grow as a musical
>artist from Amethyst Rock Star to Saul Williams is remarkable.
>Here are fully fleshed-out, seriously heavy compositions sung
>more often than spoken or rapped, so it feels more organic
>than the spoken word over rap-rock and drum & bass debut.
>
>
>
>15. Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise And Liberation Of
>NiggyTardust! (2007/2008)
>Saul's rap Ziggy Stardust concept album produced by Trent
>Reznor hits all the right notes. Even more so than Saul
>Williams, NiggyTardust! signaled the arrival of a fully
>matured artist within the realm of music (as opposed to all
>those other creative arts Saul has mastered or at least
>dabbled in). Some of it does sound like NIN with another
>vocalist, but it also sounds global yet completely personal.
>Obviously the industrial elements from the previous album are
>pushed even further to the forefront here, but the punk and
>hip-hop remain intact, and the sonic palate is greatly
>expanded, including everything from screw to gorgeous,
>credible ballads. I was down in front for three shows
>supporting this album, all spectacular.
>
>
>
>16. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein (2001)
>Dark, scary, depressing, and brilliant, I was a little late to
>Can Ox's unique brand of cerebral street rap, coming to it
>after falling in love with the production on El-P's Fantastic
>Damage. The music on The Cold Vein is just as tense if not
>more so, but the more accessible and adept yet creative and
>experimental flows and lyrics anchor the album. One of the
>other biggest disappointments of the decade in music is the
>revelation of just how unlikely it is that Vast Aire, Vordul
>Mega, and El-P will ever regroup for a sequel.
>
>
>
>17. Outkast - Stankonia (2000)
>Even for me, it's easy to take this album for granted because
>its singles are so deeply ingrained into popular culture and
>the disc itself is full of so many songs and interludes, but
>it's important to remember that this is Outkast still at their
>creative zenith, making it look so easy trading smooth,
>rapid-paced rhymes and taking influence from all over,
>something we haven't truly gotten again from them in the
>decade since. The title for their planned full reunion album,
>The Hard 10, has taken on a new meaning.
>
>
>
>18. Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (2007)
>Trent Reznor's allegorical, politically dystopian, cyberpunk
>concept album consists of really catchy songs that
>formulaically devolve into glorious noise. It loses points for
>some generic hard rock-isms, but Trent delivers the goods for
>the most part, making this an exciting listen complete with
>some career highlights like "Vessel" and "In This Twilight."
>The remix album is great, too, and you can remix every song on
>Year Zero with the multitracks posted online and in a DVD-ROM
>accompanying Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D, further defining the concept of
>a DIY laptop musician future come reality.
>
>
>
>19. N*E*R*D - In Search Of... (2001/2002)
>The Neptunes at their peak stretched out and created a fun,
>catchy album with a couple really beautiful heartfelt, serious
>songs. I had the European and promo release as a download in
>2001, but the album didn't really hit me until later in the
>year when they posted a stream on their official site of what
>would be released to the U.S. in 2002. I much prefer this live
>instrumentation version, but that's a debate that has been
>ongoing among fans ever since.
>
>
>20. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
>Listening now I remember why I recommended this double album
>to everybody back then. While Andre 3000 experimented (and I
>say succeeded admirably) on his disc with singing, Big Boi
>delivered on what he does best, zany, funky, but
>street-credible dirty south rap. Between the two discs there
>are so many winners, yet this appears to be a
>Diamond-certified album that is actually underrated, at least
>among hip-hop heads.
>
>
>
>21. Common - Like Water For Chocolate (2000)
>This is another close call. I don't love this album as much as
>I did at the beginning of the decade, but I still find it one
>of the best rap albums I know, and I really do know every song
>on here very well. This is the album where Common joined up
>with The Roots Crew and Jay Dee, officially the Soulquarians,
>and it sounds like the best of all three worlds. It's also the
>last album where Com wasn't P.C. Note the homophobia on album
>highlight "Dooinit" and references to "bitches" peppered
>throughout the album. Nonetheless, Like Water For Chocolate
>probably has Common's most tolerable musical love letters to
>women, especially the breakout single, and still classic, "The
>Light."
>
>
>
>22. Common - Electric Circus (2002)
>For my tastes, I prefer Electric Circus these days. I give
>LWFC the edge lyrically, but the weird, beautiful, seriously
>bumpin' (when's the last time you heard that? ha)
>electronic/hip-hop/soul music of EC appeals to me more.
>Despite what some say, I think Com spits hard on this album,
>too. I feel one of the most regrettable things in this decade
>in music was Com's audience convincing him that he was too
>different on this album, that it sucked, that he dressed
>weird. They got their wish because he's never been the same
>since, unfortunately.
>
>
>
>23. Mogwai - Rock Action (2001)
>A lush, beautiful album, and their last where I can remember
>the music just by the track titles. It is a tad short, but
>maybe it's just right. It's a bit of a departure not only in
>length, but also in content, as "You Don't Know Jesus" is the
>only song that rocks long and hard (pause?) like so many
>highlights on their first two studio albums, but I wouldn't
>trade "Sine Wave" or "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong."
>
>
>
>24. Boards Of Canada - Geogaddi (2002)
>I love the paranoid effect derived from the obscure vocal
>samples, sinewy synths, and ambient textures married with
>insistent drums. The track titles and album artwork only add
>to the mythos. This freaky, psychedelic album has been
>imitated but never duplicated.
>
>
>
>25. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead (2007)
>The hip-hop auteur grew in the many years between proper solo
>albums into a better emcee and even more formidable producer
>in the traditional sense, here drafting The Mars Volta, Cat
>Power, and Trent Reznor in addition to the usual help from his
>Definitive Jux roster. Every song here hits hard on some level
>emotionally and musically.
>
>
>
>26. Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth (2005)
>Although this wasn't another masterpiece that announced the
>triumphant return of Trent Reznor, I think this album is
>underrated. A lot of the quirks on past albums and Year Zero
>are replaced here by sludgy or jagged guitar riffs and
>pummeling drums, but it's a great performance.
>
>
>
>27. Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 2 (2000)
>This is a very fun hip-hop album with dope beats and catchy
>raps. The End.
>
>
>
>28. Portishead - Third (2008)
>This was my favorite album of 2008. I consider it nearly as
>good as the first two albums but in a completely different
>way. With Portishead having spent so much time away from
>music, no reasonable person could expect them to sound the
>same as they did before, back when trip-hop was still alive,
>and I'm glad they didn't try to act like nothing happened,
>either to their band or the Bristol scene. What they give us
>instead on Third is their rock album (some may feel more
>comfortable seeing "kraut" or "psychedelic" prefixed to that,
>but it's rock nonetheless). The feel is thus different but
>familiar. Beth Gibbons still sounds fragile, lost, and
>distraught but resolute, and the music is still heavy and
>serious, except for the delightful breather on the album,
>"Deep Water," which always reminds me of Steve Martin's The
>Jerk. The band is in top form, and I am so pleased that more
>new material is on the way this year.
>
>
>
>29. J-Live - All Of The Above (2002)
>Perhaps too sincere for some, All Of The Above is nevertheless
>a tutorial on great hip-hop. J-Live has a sporty flow and
>clearly has fun kicking nonstop substance and creative
>concepts over serviceable beats. It's refreshing to hear
>someone put so much time and effort into his craft.
>
>
>
>30. El-P - Fantastic Damage (2002)
>This is the second, darker half of the soundtrack to the worst
>summer of my life and is a natural accompaniment to Prefuse
>73's One Word Extinguisher as it, too, is a hybrid of hip-hop
>boom bap and electronics. This album is harder and uglier,
>however, in the most beautiful possible way, from the harsh
>sound of the beats to the subject matter of the songs. Very
>few albums are this well produced either.
>
>
>
>31. Massive Attack - 100th Window (2003)
>Nowhere near as good as Mezzanine, nowhere near as bad as many
>say. The intensity and paranoia here are aided by glitchy, icy
>electronics. This album is a heavy listen, not meant for
>dinner parties. My favorites are the songs where 3D sings
>lead.
>
>
>
>32. J Dilla - Donuts (2006)
>Despite how easy it plays, this album can be difficult to get
>a handle on intellectually if you love hip-hop and other music
>because of the length and treatment of the samples used. Is
>this technically a megamix? Are these even beats? These were
>among my first questions when I got into the album. As I
>listened, new questions arose. Is this Dilla's best album? Is
>this going to be a new trend in hip-hop? That last question
>was quickly answered in a resounding yes!, but the rest isn't
>so clear. I know this reads like the introductory paragraph of
>the pamphlet handed out at gatherings of the Cult of J Dilla,
>but just listen to the album. Closely. It has a message it
>speaks to you, if you listen.
>
>
>
>33. Quasimoto - The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas (2005)
>This album is mad. It's musically all over the place and full
>of so many ideas it can be hard to keep up. A lot of people
>don't like the funny voice affected by Madlib as the character
>Quasimoto, but I love it both musically and conceptually. I
>think the voice and the Melvin Van Peebles samples fit the
>music perfectly, too, so much so that I've never wanted to
>hear the instrumental versions of either album.
>
>
>
>34. Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001)
>This is big budget, blockbuster rap in every sense. Jay-Z
>became a superstar here, but so did Kanye West and Just Blaze.
>This album has long reached Kid A levels of overdiscussion and
>overpraise, however.
>
>
>
>35. Kanye West - Late Registration (2005)
>I've always found this album to be complete and musically
>masterful. Time has shown this to be the last time Kanye
>rapped for a whole album with substance and conviction, and
>although he's grown as a producer and composer since, nothing
>has sounded this fleshed out (thank Jon Brion).
>
>
>
>36. Radiohead - Amnesiac (2001)
>With this following so quickly behind Kid A and consisting of
>songs recorded at the same time, it's a little too easy to
>dismiss Amnesiac. I don't advise it, as the highlights on this
>album are just as good as those on Kid A. I do find the
>"electronica" to be a little overcooked here, to the point of
>ruining what was their best new song in their live set in
>years, "I Might Be Wrong," a kink they finally worked out on
>In Rainbows. The piano, strings, and horns that fill many of
>the songs here help make them some of Radiohead's finest
>moments.
>
>
>
>37. The Roots - Game Theory (2006)
>On their Def Jam debut, The Roots trade their feel-good vibes
>for sad times and tension, crafting a claustrophobic, dark,
>gritty masterpiece that stands among their best work.
>
>
>
>38. The Roots - Phrenology (2002)
>This is the third or fourth Roots album I heard and owned, but
>it's the first one I learned front to back and still some of
>their most creative work. I'd love to hear the Black Thought
>solo album, Masterpiece Theatre, that half of this album was
>versioned from. As diverse and well-produced as the music is,
>BT's solid command of the mic and songwriting development
>arguably make him the high point of the album, the group's
>first without Malik B sharing mic time (although he is the
>subject of the experimental album highlight "Water").
>
>
>
>39. D'Angelo - Voodoo (2000)
>If Burial isn't ambient r&b, this is. I've always been
>attracted to the creeping tones of this album and how pretty
>melodies, simple but often profound lyrics, and even the funk
>would cut through the murk. This album is so good I can almost
>forgive D'Angelo for not releasing another one after.
>
>
>
>40. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow (2002)
>This may have had too many hands in it, but I still find it a
>highly accomplished work and a rewarding listen. Gab has the
>same fun but substantive and conceptual lyrical content and
>dexterous delivery as J-Live but doesn't come across quite as
>naturally. Still, if you can tolerate a little geekiness and
>playful corniness in your rap music, this album was the best
>of its kind in the decade.
>
>
>
>41. Hood - Outside Closer (2005)
>There really isn't a noticeable dropoff in the quality of the
>music and lyrics between Cold House and this album. I think
>that, other than the two singles, the songs here are a little
>less catchy. If Cold House hinted at any hope for the future,
>it isn't really found here, as this is a sobering listen, with
>"Closure" being perhaps the most emotionally devastating song
>I've ever heard. This album isn't for everyone, but I find it
>a very rewarding listen. It's also another album that shows
>the similarities between jazz and post-rock.
>
>
>
>42. Herbert - Bodily Functions (2001)
>This album is highly accomplished musically and contains some
>of the most sophisticated and fully formed songwriting in the
>electronic music genre. That, in addition to live
>instrumentation, so much of this album consists of samples
>actually sourced from the human body is remarkable. Matthew
>Herbert and his jazz singer wife Dani Siciliano make a
>wonderful team.
>
>
>
>43. Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek) - Train Of
>Thought (2000)
>I think this is Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek at their individual
>best, and joining forces they created a classic with serious
>bars and serious bass. The mournful tone found in many of the
>songs adds even greater depth and resonance.
>
>
>
>44. The Notwist - Neon Golden (2002/2003)
>I guess I like this album in the same way other people like
>The Postal Service, but I find The Notwist's beautiful and
>quirky brand of "indie electronic" music to have a lot more
>depth and lasting appeal.
>
>
>
>45. The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia
>(2000)
>This is the shoegaze album of the decade as far as I'm
>concerned. Every song on here is good if not excellent.
>
>
>
>46. Talib Kweli - Quality (2002)
>Talib Kweli shocked the underground by releasing his first
>solo album without any assistance from Hi-Tek and with
>actually measurable swag. I've always loved this album. The
>songs are fun and meaningful. It's no mystery why Kwe broke
>through with this album and "Get By" in particular.
>
>
>
>47. Burial - Untrue (2007)
>Judging by my list so far, you'd never know dubstep ever
>happened, and Burial is probably the least dubstep-sounding
>artist associated with that movement, which is perhaps why I
>love him and this album so. Every song here is basically a
>stolen r&b a cappella over top of ambient music with a
>percussion set consisting of samples of a wood block, an
>aerosol can, a gun cock, and bullet shells hitting the floor.
>Burial's music also sounds like there's a room playing drum &
>bass and another playing r&b and you're in a room in-between.
>Or maybe it's just really good ambient UK garage. That's the
>thing with Burial, he's intriguing and hard to classify.
>
>
>
>48. Air - Talkie Walkie (2004)
>It's an album full of really pretty, catchy songs, some light,
>some serious. There's probably more variety in mood and
>instrumentation on this than any other Air album.
>
>
>
>49. Squarepusher - Go Plastic (2001)
>It's really good Squarepusher, easily some of his best work, a
>solid album, and fun to listen to. It hurt to exclude
>Ultravisitor, as that is a more interesting album, but
>consistency and cohesiveness made the difference.
>
>
>
>50. Daft Punk - Discovery (2001)
>I listened to this album a lot, and you probably did, too.
>
>
>
>Personally, I have a hard time taking seriously album
>recommendations from people who don't put their money where
>their mouth is (or their key-tappin' fingers, as the case may
>be). If you're like me, you should know that I bought every
>single one of these albums.