Tell the Musicheads: What is your favorite album of the decade?

My runner up to the White Stripes "White Blood Cells" has to be Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." I remember how messy it was with their label at the time. Reprise Records refused to release it because it wasn't commercial enough...the band acquired the rights to the album & left the label.

I think Wilco ultimately got the last laugh on that one. The album is loaded with GREAT songs! It even sold quite well & took the band to another level. That is when the major label's started becoming the bad guy with the general public.

I liked the O Brother where art thou soundtrack a lot...Radiohead ,and Coldplay had a few great records..American Idiot by Greenday was great..and I like Jack Johnson..I googled a few top lists of the decade..and maybe evaded the question a little...I agree about Wilco being great..there is lots of great new music..Its been an interesting decade..I cant help myself from comparing the 2000's to the 90's and the 80's and the 70's..and all the decades..then again that is not the question..with 7 or 8 decades of music to choose form since the Blues and Jazz of the 1920'w and 1930's some days I have a hard time keeping up with all the new music..and maybe that is where the Current helps me...Allison Kraus and Robert Plant made a great CD..sort of from different decades..and genres..that works..its all good...or mostly good..

Couple of my favs were Winehouse's Back to Black and The Good, The Bad, & The Queen album.

I have three favorites from this decade:

"Neon Bible" by Arcade Fire
"The Woods" by Sleater-Kinney
"The Repulsion Box" by Sons & Daughters

I don't think anyone here is gonna have one single album. That's pretty much impossible. So I've narrowed it down to these ten for the whole decade...

Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004) It's a perfect album. And without it, the mood for Neon Bible could not have been set.

The Get Up Kids - On A Wire (2002) I've mentioned this before, and I will again. This album tore away from that high school pop-punk we came to expect from The Get Up Kids, and with some very dark undertones as well. With the exception of maybe one song, this is a solid album from beginning to end, and I hear some definite influence from the 'Mats. There are some good radio songs here of which the Current should take note, especially the title track "Walking On A Wire."

The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow (2003) I may have a bias here because I heard this album before I heard their debut OR saw Garden State. Even without the fantastic artwork, this is another perfect album. Music this sweet and poetic is few and far between.

Tosca - Suzuki (2000) Basically, this is the album you want playing when you're "gettin' it on." It takes the taco for sexiest of the decade.

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) Don't laugh. We all remember how big this album was when released in 2000. Many hip-hop fans agree this continues to be among the hardest gangster rap albums made in recent memory, and with all the humor and wit Eminem is known to bring, whether you like him or not. In terms of this decade, I would be so bold as to compare it to Wu-Tang Clan's Enter The Wu-Tang in the 1990s.

Green Day - American Idiot (2004) Best Green Day album ever. EVER.

Gorillaz - Gorillaz (2001) Can anyone really dispute this one? When we look back on this decade, this may be the most creative thing we'll remember. I have yet to hear anything quite like it - not even from Gorillaz.

The Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever Told (2003) I KNOW I've discussed this album here before, and I have no shame in doing so again. If this isn't among the best albums I've ever heard in my life, it's at least among the best punk albums. These guys deserve SOOO much more respect than they've received.

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (2007) I know what you're thinking: The Moon And Antarctica will be their defining album not only of the decade, but of their career so far. I predict that, in time, this album will take its place. This is the best thing Modest Mouse has ever done. If you haven't listened to this album with headphones on, DO SO.

The Strokes - Is This It (2001) We all know where we were when we first heard these guys.

I noticed two things when I assembled this list. First, the majority are in the first half of the decade. I suppose I'm leaning towards those that have stood the test of time. Maybe we should so this list again in five years! Second, there are no female-oriented artists here. That's unintentional.

when chatting over this topic, my hubby mentioned Marshal Mathers.... no laughing here..... whether you agree/like/bend towards that album you can't ignore the fact that there was urgency and intellect underneath Eminem's sweaty bleating......

And, regarding the female artists.... perhaps they were strongest and LEAST annoying as the better half of they dynamic duo's Bill mentioned............

I forgot another great album for the decade I've enjoyed!

Nada Surf - Lucky (2008) I've found myself listening to this album a LOT, and it seems to be increasing. I think this is Nada Surf's best album yet, and not just because the previous The Weight Is A Gift was dismally boring. From beginning to end, Lucky is a beautiful album, with particular emphasis on tracks like "See These Bones," "Ice On The Wing," and the subtle-then-climactic "Are You Lightning?," which might be the album's best. I really like how Nada Surf has moved towards Beach Boys-style vocals, but still completely original.

I'm very curious to see what Nada Surf does next!

This was a great excuse to go back and remember all the albums that came out this decade. There were a few where I was genuinely shocked about - 2000 seems so long ago by now!

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a VERY tough one to beat, but I actually think Sky Blue Sky is a better album (just not as IMPORTANT an album). Dylan's Love and Theft was terrific in 2001. The Crane Wife (which, as good as Hazards of Love is, is still The Decemberists' best album), Ryan Adam's Heartbreaker, For Emma, Forever Ago . . .

I had just moved to the Twin Cities in 2003 when I got my hands on a copy of Bimboo Wizard by the group Thee Ultra Bimboos. Four women from Finland who never really became known much outside of Finland, they managed to make a killer Hi Energy Rock and Roll record that I have continued to listen to all these years. I only wish that more people had heard them before they called it a day.

The album from this decade that I keep going back to is The Town and the City by Los Lobos. I was turned on to this through a review by Dave Marsh in the Rock Rap Confidential who said that it is a harrowing first-hand account of illegal immigration. It is impeccably arranged, features lyrics that are absolutely as authentic as they are poetic (hold on, hold on to every breath, and if I make it to the sunlight, I'll do it all over again) and is firmly grounded in the best roots rock tradition. I am eternally amazed that these guys aren't much more widely known than they are.

Love that album Justin! Certainly a band that never gets their due.

Every time I try to listen to one song from The Hold Steady's "Separation Sunday", I end up listening to the whole album. With absolutely no risk of hyperbole, It's the Sgt. Pepper of the aughts.

Hmm. Probably one of these:

The Dodos - Visiter
Josh Rouse – 1972
Mike O’Neill – The Owl
Honeydogs – Amygdala
Joel Plaskett – La De Da
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Paula Frazer – Indoor Universe
The Flashing Lights – Sweet Release

couple of others that spent a bunch of time in my CD player in the 00's...

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Arcade Fire - Funeral
Bob Dylan - Love and Theft
Steve Earle - The Revolutions Starts Now
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - s/t

Cathie Ryan The Farthest Wave
Matt & Shannon Heaton Fine Winter's Night
Gretchen Peters Northern Lights
Emily Smith Too Long Away

Although about 25% of the album I can't even listen to, the other 75 % blows me away. Southern Rock Opera by D.B.T. has it all. It's a celebration of the South. It's Rock Idols, It's Political Figures, It's rebel culture. With vivid stories of a troubled but glorious youth. Battles with Alcohol and Drugs , Lovers, Family. It celebrated Life and Success and happiness, by showing how quickly and permanently it can all be lost.

The Decemberist's spent a lot of time in my stereo this past decade, Picaresque in particular. Kind of listened to it obsessively for months on end until finally I had reached my fill. Engine Driver and Eli the Barrow Boy continue to bring much happiness still. Fleet Foxes, Steve Earl 'Townes', Radiohead 'In Rainbows', and A Perfect Circle '13th Step' could also make the well played list of 2000.

I seemed to have forgot one that seems like it never left my CD player...

The Black Keys - Rubber Factory

pretty good decade for dynamic duo...the Kills, the White Stripes, even the Twin Cities own Red Pens!

In the early 00's I was totally strummering out. Joe Strummer was finally back on top, after keeping a pretty low profile for almost a decade. Global a Go Go was so cool, it felt so good.

Kevin Gilbert - The Shaming of the True. Anyone whose ever worked in the music industry would be best to seek it out.

trying to come up with a list of albums, i thought maybe it would be easier to do a top 5 or 10 BANDS of the decade..... bands who influenced music to stretch from the pop mainstream to the indie periphery.... which is now..... the mainstream.... hehehehehe......


1.The White Stripes
2. The Strokes
3. The Decemberists
4. The Gorillaz
5. TV on the Radio
6. Cold Play
7. Wolf Parade
8. Death Cab for Cutie
9. Bright Eyes
10. Arcade Fire

There are so many good titles to pick from, but I'll have to give a nod to one that affected me deeply during the decade, Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising." He hasn't topped it yet, and for a decade that will always be remembered as beginning in tragedy & loss, this was the recovery.

Wow! Talk about a fun question to answer: For best CDs of the decade, here are mine...
Kasey Chambers "The Captain"
Patty Griffin "Flaming Red"
Jewel "Goodbye Alice In Wonderland"
U2 "All That You Can't Leave Behind"
David Byrne "Look Into The Eyeball"
Bruce Springsteen "The Rising"
R.E.M "Around The Sun"
Tonya Watts "Handcuff My Soul"

I meant to say....Patty Griffin "Impossible Dream" as "Flaming Red" was in 1998. Sorry about that...

Here is my top ten!


I And Love And You – The Avett Brothers

The 59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem

A New Devotion - The High Dials

Wireless Days - The Contrast

Easy Tiger – Ryan Adam

The Fine Art of Self Destruction – Jesse Malin

Nashville – Josh Rouse

Comfort Eagle – CAKE

Leaving Wonderland in a Fit of Rage - Marcy Playground

Musicforthemorningafter – Peter Yorn

I'm not big on rap but "The Marshall Mathers LP" definitely had to be one of the best ...