50. Wilco- ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ (2001)
Creating the sound of a post apocalyptic indie band is no easy feat. Books could be written about this album…and have been. If you want to know the full history of the record, Wikipedia is your friend (there is a book and film about its creation). The Chicago based band Wilco has made some of the most imaginative and endearing music of the last fifteen years and ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ is their masterpiece. At Jeff Tweedy’s core he is a man who has a sense of melody that could rival Paul McCartney. But the inner artistic struggle Tweedy endures is that he wants to be more like John Lennon. This dual personality serves him well, as writing an endearing song isn’t enough, he wants to know how he can take the song to the furthest limit. This was Jay Bennett’s last album with Wilco. His head bumping with Tweedy eventually got him tossed out of the group, but it was this very conflict that makes this record so great. “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” couldn’t have been concocted without Bennett. He layered these songs in tandem with Tweedy making them more than mere indie pop rock but something much greater. I’m a believer that most albums should sound great upon your first listen and that a few dozen listens should never be necessary…except in the cases of Radiohead and Wilco. Layers fall off as each of these bands create records that aren’t for the faint of heart, but if you are willing to give yourself to their art, I promise you, the reward with be revelatory. (Read concert review from 2008)49. My Morning Jacket- ‘Z’ (2005)
The esoteric nature of this record always lures me in with its spacious bohemian anthems. Trying to explain what My Morning Jacket sounds like dancing about architecture. They are part classic rock, part alternative and part jam band. But the most of the songs on ‘Z’ (notably “Gideon”) find a band in command of their craft. The songs could have been overlong and too presumptuous, but they strike the right chord allowing for a more gratifying listening experience. The calming ambience of the songs feel like they deserve an arena setting (and they owned the stage when they opened for Pearl Jam in 2006) and yet the melodies are warm and immediate.
48. Shelby Lynne-‘Suit Yourself’ (2005)
After recording two albums for Universal, Lynne retreated to her home studio and rediscovered herself. Her 2005 album ‘Suit Yourself’, is one that can’t be pigeonholed into any one genre, but many…blues, rock, country and the production harkens eminent folk music of the 1930’s and 1940’s. Besides the deeply personal moments, the fly-on-the-wall recording itself is full of revealing moments with live in-studio banter and even after the final song (“Track 12”); you can hear the “stop” button hit the control board. Take one listen to the yearning she feels on “Where Am I Now”. The song follows the narrator through one of life’s eternal searches, a place of comfort in life, whether it’s life on the road in a rock band or merely searching for an eternal soul mate that will walk that line with you. Holding nothing back and whatever anguish she has experienced, she does not bury it, but liberates it on her albums. Her songs wring with truthfulness and honesty that same way Steve Earle’s do. She has reached the highest highs and the lowest lows anyone can face. How do I know? I have the records to prove it. (Read full album review here)
47. The Dixie Chicks –‘Home’ (2002)
After back-to-back Diamond Certifications (for sales over ten million), the Dixie Chicks honed their craft and created an album that was pure bluegrass. The pop sheen given to their first two records was surrendered to a more homegrown atmosphere. Jangling acoustic guitars, violins, banjos and nary a drum in sight the arrangements and production are stimulating and effortless. The Patty Griffin songs are especially poignant and “Travelin’ Soldier” and their cover of “Landslide” showcase the band at their most harmonious and emotive. Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood should use this record as an example of the possibilities and alternate routes their career can take. (Read full concert review here)
46. The Shins-‘Chutes Too Narrow’ (2003)
There’s something intensely nostalgic about the harmonies and layered choruses that makes me smile the same way people do when they hear classic Beach Boys songs. Getting a leg up from ‘Garden State’, the Shins reached the mainstream by mid-decade and it thrust them into the mainstream. This album makes you yearn for a summer day where the wind blows through your hair as the sun gleams down on you amidst its rapt power chords (“So Says I”) and earnest vocal harmonies (“Saint Simon”) . Little music can evoke such impassioned and comforting feelings, but the Shins seem to do this effortlessly time and time again.45. The Killers-‘Hot Fuss’ (2004)
I bought dozens of records this past decade by rock bands that had one or two killer singles. But the Las Vegas band The Killers delivered an album that is pretty damn magnanimous top to bottom. Embracing the pop -synth of the 1980’s with the edge of The Cure, The Killers stood atop of the heap for pop-rock bands in the middle of the decade. “Mr. Brightside” and its exuberant chorus remind us of why we love bigger than life rock bands. But on the flipside was “All These Things That I’ve Done” that shows the band can be somber solemn and sincere as well. Big guitars, big hooks and even bigger choruses make this the record The Killers will continually try to top. (Read 2006 concert review here)
44. Snow Patrol – ‘Eyes Open’ (2006)
Right from the albums opener, “You’re All I Have” through the closer, “The Finish Line”, a dazzling sonic sound pulsates through your headphones. It's heavy on rich melody supplemented by a throbbing rhythm section. Music is about connection and the lyrics of these songs are about reaching out, proclaiming undying love, wanting to be understood, held and comforted. The music that accompanies these emotionally charged dream filled landscape lyrics is just as triumphant as the vocal delivery. While listening to this album, I feel the band has matured, grown up and shows us that there is hope and salvation in companionship and love. (Read 2007 live review here)
43. David Bowie –‘Reality’ (2003)
This is a sentimental choice for me over ‘Heathen’. I came to truly appreciate Bowie in the winter and spring of 2004 when I saw him live two times. In Milwaukee that May, he performed “The Loneliest Guy”, an ominous philosophical track from ‘Reality’. Bowie sung each note with his eyes closed as he gripped the microphone as if he was holding on for his life. When he finished the song, he wiped away what appeared to be tears from his eyes. It was a profound moment which left me speechless and it inspired me to go back to “Reality” to rediscover this gem. Whether it was coming to the realization that mortality isn’t far off or a heightened awareness because of 9/11 (“New Killer Star”), I’m not sure, but the lyrics within ‘Reality’ are infused with a finely tuned case of awareness (especially on the sprightly “Never Get Old”). Bowie isn’t sleepwalking through life and this record is living proof. The only downside to this record is that he hasn’t released one since. With ‘Heathen’ and ‘Reality’ Bowie was at the peak of his powers by letting the listener inside his world showing them paintings that gave the listener an astute view into the world…and their lives as well. (Read 2004 live review here)42. Robert Planet & Alison Krauss-‘Raising Sand’ (2007)
Amidst all of the hype regarding Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant released his finest album since leaving Led Zeppelin with bluegrass beauty Alison Krauss. One listen to this album and each of the songs will be embedded in your soul. The lush production and penetrating quiet numbers aim for timelessness. Producer T Bone Burnett assembled a group of first-rate musicians who brought a warm vintage sound to these poignant songs. This is the only album on this list I can play for anyone between the ages of ten and eighty. The album’s final track, “Your Long Journey” cemented the sweet spirituality of these songs and recordings. As momentous as a Led Zeppelin reunion would be, this project will .
41. Weezer – ‘Weezer’ (aka ‘The Green Album / 2001)
At the time, this was viewed as a glorious return to form after several years of inactivity. Instead of being a band hell bent on nostalgia and entering an uncreative phase, Weezer delivered a record as prevailing as their debut and full of such burning elation. Along with producer Ric Ocasek the band evoked their power of unadorned four chord rock. In less than thirty-minutes, ‘The Green Album’ was the beginning of the creative rebirth of Weezer which continues until this day reminding the world of their hypnotic four-chord geek presence.40. Bob Dylan – ‘Love & Theft’ (2001)
I vividly remember buying this record on 9/11. I needed something to make sense of the world at large. As I worried about the future of the world at large, I listened to an American icon channel his entire career. As he crooned “We’re all boxed in, nowhere to escape” on “Mississippi”, it hit me like a ton of bricks, yet felt honest and authentic simultaneously. On a day where I needed something to guide me and take me away, the greatest lyricist to ever live did just that.
39. Ryan Adams – ‘Easy Tiger’ (2007)
Ryan Adams may be the most maddening, yet exceptional, artist of the last decade. He’s intoxicatingly talented, but at times it blinds his editing skills. Despite ‘Easy Tiger’ not being amongst his best albums, it’s easily his strongest and most focused effort since ‘Demolition’, which ironically was culled from a number of unreleased albums. Pitchfork heralded these songs as “second tier” and even though the live performances I heard prior to the album being released felt second tier, the final output s anything but. The production quality of this disc is transcendent, as is the EP released later in the year, ‘Follow The Lights’. On ‘Easy Tiger’, Adams culled thirteen tracks and somehow, elevated their stature with momentous performances and glowing sonic textures. ‘Easy Tiger’ may not be Adam’s best album, but it’s a staggering testament to what he can accomplish when he’s clear headed and focused. (2007 live review here)
38. Elton John-‘Songs From The West Coast’ (2001)
Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s Elton John made a number of decent records led by exceptional singles. As a result, the craft of compiling a top-to-bottom album eluded John, until 2001. Inspired by listening to ‘Heartbreaker’ by Ryan Adams, this is without question Elton’s most impressive collection of songs since his mid-1970’s peak. By writing with longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin at the same time (a first for them), they created a collection of twelve piano (non-pop) songs that stands together as a collective whole…which are every bit as good as the album’s two singles, “This Train Don’t Stop There Anymore” and “I Want Love”. This was where Elton John the artist took control by throwing the pop star in the trunk.
37. Metallica – ‘Death Magnetic’ (2008)
‘Death Magnetic’ is about the struggle of life, where at every turn we are tempted and tortured. But beneath the darkness and metallic fury is a band that has truly unearthed their inner selves. The band we almost saw self destruct during ‘Some Kind of Monster’ is turning the other cheek. While they buried thoughts, feelings and difficult emotions in the past, they have excavated them on ‘Death Magnetic’. If you listen closely enough, they’re opening up a dialogue on these weighty subjects and hopefully, as a result, impart some sort of wisdom upon us. With the aid of Rick Rubin, they took an concentrated look back on their past, embraced it and found ways to flourish and fly once again. Metallica’s wings are spread open to rule not just the metal landscape, but the entire music world once again as they proudly wear their scars as survivors of not just heavy metal but life as well. (Full album review here and 2009 live reviews here and here)
36. Willie Nile – ‘Streets of New York’ (2006)
This extraordinary collection of songs is the album Paul Westerberg has been trying to make since he left The Replacements fifteen years ago; it has some of the best writing and producing on any record by a singer-songwriter this decade. There are straight out rock anthems like the album’s opener “Welcome To My Head” while there is a desolate seriousness and sadness to “Cell Phones Ringing In The Pockets of the Dead” (based on the terrorist attacks in Spain a few years back). From beginning to end, these fourteen songs feel like individual paintings with enough abstractness to make them cool but they also possess enough color and structure to make it one of the decade’s most gripping rock albums.
35. Bryan Adams-‘Room Service’ (2004)
If this record had been released by anyone else, it would be hailed as a lost 1980’s masterpiece. This in many ways is a proper follow-up to ‘Reckless’. Written and recorded on the road over a couple of years, this is a severely affecting record without being overly maudlin. Adams at some point gave up the ghost of chasing the commercial wave and as a result created a record that is definitively indisputable. “Nowhere Fast” houses a minimal roughness with booming drums and lyrics so intimate, you can’t help but beam. “East Side Story” and “Open Road” are among his best compositions to date and would have been MTV staples two decades back. Adams created his most endearing and engaging collection of songs this decade and to even my astonishment, it’s as good as anything he’s ever committed to tape.34. Shelby Lynne- ‘I Am Shelby Lynne’ (2000)
The pulverizing force with which the drums open this record signal something great is about to ascend upon us. Shelby Lynne was undoubtedly making an ostentatious statement on the album’s opener, “Your Lies”. With a firm foot in the past, Lynne embraced her inner rock rebel pairing it with the blues and soul sounds of yesterday, but none of it feels dated. Each song gives off an aura of timelessness. Bill Bottrell’s production feels like something out of a dream, as if the music is descending from the clouds above. His greatest success was with Sheryl Crowe’s debut, but this is his magnum opus. Released in January of 2000 here in the US, this album is nearly a decade old and with every listen it sounds just as immortal and immediate. (Read 2005 live review here)33. Dave Matthews Band – ‘Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King’ (2009)
The death of LeRoi Moore should have ended the Dave Matthews Band. It had the opposite affect; it made them stronger and more determined to create music worthy of their legacy. One of the complaints about the DMB is their struggle to match their live potency in the studio. The only times they have come close to capturing this greatness is on ‘The Lillywhite Sessions’ and here on ‘Big Whiskey’. Make no mistake, the band as a whole saw, strum and zoom with their exuberant defiance on “Funny the Way It Is” and “You & Me”. Instead of wrestling with their core sound, they embraced it and the songs attain the glorious highs their counterparts do in concert. The urgency of the life-affirming “Why I Am” is a contender for their greatest achievement (and one of the decade’s best songs), a tribute to their lost brother that soars. This is an album fully deserving of their “Best Album” Grammy nomination. (LeRoi Moore reflection at this link)
32. Bob Dylan-‘Tell Tale Signs’ (2008)
This album very easily could have stood atop this list as no other collection of songs holds as many musical treasures as this one and it’s an archive set! Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series is a treasure trove of outtakes and live songs and each installment has anchored Dylan’s legacy a bit further, but this three-disc set is a masterstroke I believe that will continue to be dissected decades and even centuries from now. Focusing exclusively on 1989 to the present, it throws Dylan’s legacy on its head and spins it. Dylan has arguably made four masterpieces since 1989 (‘Oh Mercy’, ‘Time Out of Mind’, ‘Love and Theft’ and ‘Modern Times’) and this collection features alternate takes, live tracks and soundtrack offerings that aren’t merely outtakes but versions that stand head and shoulders with their released counterparts. What makes Dylan one of the defining artists ever is his ability to have this many alternate takes that stand shoulder to shoulder with his best work, and once again, this only covers the last twenty-years of his career. Some careers are defined by a few early classics. Dylan continues to elevate his mystique and persona by showing you that his flipsides and alternates are better than most artists “A” material.
31. The Strokes- ‘Is This It?’ (2001)
Finding a way to meld their punk and new wave influences, the Strokes manage to live up to the hype by pledging allegiance to those who came before while forging their own identity. Most acts who wear their influences on their sleeves wind up being a photocopy of a photocopy, good but not great. The Strokes debut, ‘Is This It’ was great right from the opening notes because of their unbinding confidence in their songs. You can hear the streets of New York on this record as the music jumps out of its skin from the fanatical buoyancy displayed by the band. In a time when we continually build up acts only to tear them down a short time later, the Strokes were and continue to be the real thing.
30. Beck –‘Sea Change’ (2001)
Break-up albums finds artists at their most defenseless and illuminating. Before this record, Beck made a career of sampling and lyrics dosed in irony. On ‘Sea Change’, he is stripped bare and there’s nowhere to hide. Producer Nigel Godrich recorded most of the music live, allowing the listener to feel as if this music is being performed in their own living room. There is a vast incongruity between Beck’s previous work and this pensive affair. However, there’s a precedent for this in rock n’ roll, specifically by Bruce Springsteen on his harrowing 1982 masterpiece, Nebraska. These adoring and alluring tales of heartbreak reveal a level of intimacy as if Beck is sharing a conversation with you over coffee and he just happens to have his guitar with him. Having a broken heart has never sounded this good.29. Fall Out Boy – ‘From Under The Cork Tree’ (2005)
The emo genre has far more going for it than anyone gives it credit for, evidence by Fall Out Boy’s third record. This album houses more raging hooks and enthralling melodies than anything else from 2005. This album is to the emo genre as ‘Slippery When Wet’ and ‘Pyromania” were to the hard rock genre in the 80’s, ditto Pearl Jam’s ‘Ten’ to the alternative era and Oasis’ ‘(What's the Story) Morning Glory?’ to the Britpop movement. Beneath all the hype and success, Fall Out Boy understands that beneath the implausible songs titles (i.e.; "Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued”) are sincere songs crafted with unadulterated sentiment. Finding middle ground between heartbreak anthems, despair, disintegration and internal pleas for solace Fall Out Boy proved to be a rare band whose songs reach a summit where pop art becomes art. Don’t judge a book by its cover, let their music be a penicillin to the agonizing uncertainty of your life, you will be better off for it. If you open your eyes, heart and mind to their music and you will find yourself being drawn into Fall Out Boy’s trajectory where you will find one of the most compelling, enthralling and meaningful bands of this generation. (2007 live review here)28. Michael McDermott – ‘Hey La Hey’ (2009)
Hey La Hey houses a sense of love and wonderment in its songs. One route to the new found happiness would have been to write over-the-top love ballads with titles as heroic as the instrumentation. McDermott twisted the idea of love, loss and yearning on its head with delicate and supple arrangements that may not find their way to life-FM radio stations, but stick to your insides because they are drenched with enthralling emotion. The album’s proper closer, “Carry Your Cross” is a plaintive piano ballad features a tender vocal that is iridescently beautiful and may be one of the greatest declarations of resolve and awakening in all of popular music. ‘Hey La Hey’ is brimming with fiery emotions that are so undeniable they burn themselves into your mind. There’s an overriding sense of responsibility and redemption on these songs. Instead of merely longing for a lost love, these characters take actions towards emancipation. (Full album review here)27. Michael Franti & Spearhead – ‘All Rebel Rockers’ (2008)
Over the last decade, Franti and his band Spearhead have continued to evolve and distinguish themselves by creating weighty music that matters in a forlornly world that embodies darkness at every corner. The world has proven to be full of seismic horrors many of us never knew possible, and while ‘All Rebel Rockers’ is a politically potent record, each composition has a staggering silver lining. The album’s duality is a delicacy- socially charged lyrics paired with rupturing backbeats that wrap around your brain but captivates you like provocative pop. ‘All Rebel Rockers’ is the soundtrack to accompany you on your leap of faith; a collection of essential hymn’s disguised as swiveling anthems for the ages whose lyrics strike a profound chord in here and now. (2008 live review here and full album review here)
26. Ryan Adams – ‘Demolition’ (2002)
Initially intended as a box set, it was abbreviated down to one laconic disc by Adams record company. By butchering a larger project and making a mixtape, the record company in some odd and twisted way is responsible for the most unfailing compilation of songs from Adams over the last decade. While I still desperately want these full albums, the mixtape feeling of this record works and showcases the tour de force lyric writing of Adams. This was his first release post ‘Gold’ and it houses some luminous softer songs (“Cry On Demand”), sonically euphoric (“Nuclear”) and flat out rocking (“Staring To Hurt”). An undercurrent of bedroom intimacy surrounds these songs and even if they were recorded for significantly different projects, they are full of life, ache and love. ‘Heartbreaker’ and ‘Gold’ pulled me in, but ‘Demolition’ was where I became a card carrying fan club member.
- Read the introduction and #'s 100 to #76 at this link
- Read #'s 75 to #51 at this link
- Read # 50 to #26 at this link
- Read #25 to #11 at this link
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network and his daily writings can be read at The Screen Door and can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com.
