The 50 Best Albums of the 2000s.

December 31st, 2009 MUSIC Cory Maidens

Number One is revealed along with the Complete List of Cory Maidens’ Top 50 Albums of the Decade. Click the name of the album to see the complete write-up associated with it

1. The Mountain Goats – The Sunset Tree (2005)
Beginning with the best pop song ever written about a true life suicide attempt with wine coolers and baby Aspirin, The Mountain Goats’ Sunset Tree is singer/songwriter John Darnielle’s autobiographical album about growing up in an abusive home in southern California accomplishes the distinctive feat of self-examination that any listener can identify with. As touching, humorous and sincere as his words may be though, lyrics alone don’t make an album a masterpiece however and near equal credit must go to Darnielle’s mastery of simple and straightforward pop songcraft. Rarely consisting of more than three to five chords, these songs are impressive because of their strict adherence to the pop conventions that Darnielle holds sacred. The production and arrangement, courtesy of indie titan in his own right John Vanderslice, elevate Darnielle’s charming and heartbreaking tunes into something more. Few albums as vividly translate all the joy and pain of the human experience into music and words.

2. Frightened Rabbit – The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)

3. Kanye West – Graduation (2007)

4. WHY? – Alopecia (2008)

5. Mastodon – Remission (2002)

6. Boris with Michio Kurihara – Rainbow (2006)

7. American Nightmare – Background Music (2001)

8. The Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (2007)

9. The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday (2005)

10. Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)

11. Neurosis – Given To The Rising (2007)

12. Daft Punk – Discovery (2001)

13. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III (2008)

14. Death Cab For Cutie – Plans (2005)

15. Cursive – The Ugly Organ (2003)

16. Girl Talk – Night Ripper (2006)

17. Converge – You Fail Me (2004)

18. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

19. Belle & Sebastian – The Life Pursuit (2006)

20. Venetian Snares – Rossz Csillag Alatt Szuletett (2005)

21. Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005)

22. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)

23. Arsis – A Celebration of Guilt (2004)

24. Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)

25. Alkaline Trio – From Here To Infirmary (2001)

26. Gallows – Grey Britain (2009)

27. Radiohead – Kid A (2000)

28. P.O.S. – Audition (2006)

29. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Miss Machine (2004)

30. Modest Mouse – The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

31. M.I.A. – Kala (2007)

32. Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle (2008)

33. Decemberists – The Crane Wife (2006)

34. Brand New – Deja Entendu (2003)

35. Mastodon – Crack The Skye (2009)

36. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

37. Enslaved – Isa (2004)

38. Jesu – Jesu (2005)

39. The Black Keys – Rubber Factory (2004)

40. Kid Cudi – A Kid Named Cudi (2008)

41. Sigur Ros – Takk (2005)

42. The White Stripes – Elephant (2003)

43. Andrew WK – I Get Wet (2001)

44. The Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera (2001)

45. Kanye West – The College Dropout (2004)

46. The Haunted – The Haunted Made Me Do It (2000)

47. Ben Folds – Ben Folds Live (2002)

48. Electric Owls – Ain’t Too Bright (2009)

49. Justice – † (2007)

50. Baroness – Blue Record (2009)

Did we leave some out? Weigh in below in the comments!

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Cory Maidens

Cory Maidens is a proud son of the American Midwest, a man of letters and an incorrigible bastard. Since acquiring his BA in English Literature, he has proudly avoided non-comic books as an apathetic eye-roll at intellectual elitism. He thinks that arguing is highly underrated as sport and engages in it more often than might be advisable to compensate for that perceived deficiency. He believes in gay marriage, The Daily Show and Bruce Springsteen. He enjoys hearing Southern voices read Civil War-era correspondence aloud.

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Cory Maidens
December 31, 2009

This is my own personal addendum to my own list. Someone stop me please.

Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (2000)
Girls – Album (2009)
The Weakerthans – Reconstruction Site (2003)
Lady GaGa – The Fame (2008)
Against Me! – As The Eternal Cowboy (2003)
The Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
LCD Soundsystem – The Sound of Silver (2007)
Tom Nix
December 31, 2009

My addendum to Cory’s list. The Rule: Only artists that did not get a spot in the Top 50 Proper.

Here we go:

Queens of the Stone Age – Lullabies To Paralyze (2005)
Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
Nelly Furtado – Whoa, Nelly! (2000)
Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
Outkast – Stankonia (2000)
U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000)
The Arctic Monkeys – Humbug (2009)
Fantomas – The Director’s Cut (2003)
The Darkness – Permission to Land (2003)
Gorillaz – Demon Days (2004)
The Mars Volta – De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)
Deltron 3030 – Deltron 3030 (2000)
Jurassic 5 – Power In Numbers (2002)
Tool – Lateralus (2001)
Gogol Bordello – Super Taranta!(2007)
Muse – Absolution (2003)
Over The Rhine – Ohio (2003)
Foo Fighters – In Your Honor (2005)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues/ The Lyre of Orpheus (2004)
Clint Mansell and Mogwai – The Fountain (2006)
Mute Math – Mute Math (2006)
Cory Maidens
December 31, 2009

That Deltron was a big oversight on my end. I thought that record was 1999. The Nick Cave record I can get behind for sure and Clint Mansell almost made the list for the score for Moon for me.
nick
December 31, 2009

to cory –
I’m gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had the best album of all time. OF All TIME! Seriously, Kanye is the only artist to make your list twice. I think that says something considering the…breadth of your music choices in the list.
In all seriousness, I enjoyed the list even if I rarely agreed with it. And Ryan Adams is awesome, but Lady Gaga?

to tom-
The Darkness had such a good debut album, nice pick.
Tool = awful.
Nick Cave – How could anything he did top the stuff in Assasination of Jesse James?
over the rhine is ok at best no way they should be on top of the decade list.
also, who is this mute math guy?
Cory Maiderns
December 31, 2009

Kanye West and Mastodon both made the list twice and it’s totally appropriate in each case.

Lady GaGa is both a talented songwriter/performer and a cultural force. She willed herself famous and it worked because the songs were good enough. Realistically, she was the most deserving choice that I overlooked/slighted.

Abbatoir Blues / Lyre of Orpheus was vastly superior to the Jesse James soundtrack. Even the Proposition soundtrack was superior to the Jesse James soundtrack if you cut out the spoken word stuff.
Tom Nix
December 31, 2009

Nick,

One of these days I am going to teach you how to actually LISTEN to music. I think you are just hearing it.

Love,

Tom
Nick
December 31, 2009

Next thing you to are going to try and tell me that Kid A is actually a good album. lol.

As for the Nick Cave, the proposition soundtrack and the Jesse James soundtrack are the only two works I have actually listened to from him. It was a legitimate question, not an attempt to put down the pick. I honestly don’t know how anything he has done could outshine, in my opinion, the masterpiece of music he did for Jesse James. Outside of say The Good, Bad and Ugly it is my favorite soundtrack.
But to me, the music is inseperable from the movie when it comes judgement. I see the movie when I hear the music, so that may cloud my judgement to some extent. Regardless, the music in Jesse James fits the movie perfectly and is finely crafted. By no means was the propositions music bad, in fact I think it was great. Just not even close to Jesse James.

As for lady Gaga, while her music is catchy it gets so damn annoying that after a times of hearing her music it really makes me want to punch her in the poker face.

My bad on missing Mastadon, I thought I looked through the list thoroughly. I can only comment on Kanye as I have never listened (and never will)to Mastadon, but he definitely has put together several albums that would be home on any best of list.
Nick
December 31, 2009

Tom, teaching me to listen to music is like teaching a mute to speak. Impossible. I am rythmically challenged and tone deaf to boot. Not worth the time, I just like throwing my opinion around like it matters.
Nikki L.
December 31, 2009

Tom, yes yes YES on Permission to Land.
Here are a few of my favorites from the decade:

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers — Honky Tonk Union
Magic Dirt — What are Rockstars Doing Today (this is probably my favorite album of the decade)
Joshua Radin — We Were Here
T.I. — Paper Trail
Pine Hill Haints — Ghost Dance
Supersuckers — Motherfuckers Be Trippin’
PJ Harvey — Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Damien Rice, O
Amy Winehouse — Back to Black (she drives me crazy when she talks, but that record is seriously great from start to finish)
Fiona Apple — When the Pawn… (I’m putting this instead of Extraordinary Machine because A) I like it better, and B) Since it came out in late Nov. ‘99, I think it should count as this past decade since 2 of the record’s 3 singles were released in 2000)
Tom Nix
December 31, 2009

Nikki – T.I.? Really??

Also, as much as I wish it were okay, When the Pawn… doesn’t count. Fiona Apple needs to record more. She’s recorded under 35 songs in over 16 years. That’s a horrific ratio.