My Favourite 49 Albums of the Decade
Dec 31st, 2009 by Jim Kennedy
I waited until the last day of the decade to post this just in case someone released the album of the decade at the last minute, but with no signs of that happening, I’m going to publish and be damned. The purpose of publishing lists like this is, of course, precisely that - to be damned.
Here’s my retaliation, in first, or disclaimers if you prefer…
This is a list of my personal favourite albums released in the period 2000 to 2009. If I recompiled this tomorrow it might be different, but not greatly so. I can’t be wrong because it’s my favourite albums. It’s not a list of the best, the most influential, or whatever, just my favourites. If it’s not on the list, it’s because I didn’t like it, or maybe I forgot about it. I’ve restricted myself to one album from each artist or band, because life’s too short. In compiling my list I went though everyone else’s list, including Nialler, Uncut, On The Record and its commenters, Asleep on the Compost Heap, Saint Stephen’s Green Preservation Society, and even the derided NME list. Mostly though I went through my own iTunes list and my CD shelves.
Some notable mentions…
Band of the Decade: Radiohead. No question on this one. In 2000 there was Kid A, in 2001 there was Amnesiac, in 2003 there was Hail to the Thief, and in 2007 there was In Rainbows. The changes in direction, the internet-only album release, and generally ploughing their own furrow. Any questions? From Hail to the Thief, here’s Where I End and You Begin:
Artist of the Decade: Bjork. I’m glad Bjork is a solo artist and Radiohead is a band, otherwise this would have been difficult to call. Vespertine in 2001 and Volta in 2007 (Medulla in the middle lost me for a while, but that’s just me), a storming set at Electric Picnic, the nutso invention of it all, the odd collaborations, and she follows me on twitter. How cool is she? Here’s Wanderlust from Volta:
Album of the Year 2009: Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion. This one charged out in front from February and never looked back to see who was coming up behind, because nobody was coming up behind. Also, gig of the year was Animal Collective’s second attempt in Tripod. Here’s one fan’s unofficial video for My Girls:
My top 49 favourite albums of the decade just passed, in alphabetical order:
3Epkano - 3Epkano (2005)
Orchestral music for old black-and-white films. Another criminally-underreported Irish group.
Adebisi Shank - This Is An Album By Adebisi Shank (2009)
Thrashy speed metal, and one of the best Irish releases of the year. Astonishing live band.
Animal Collective – Merriweather Post-Pavilion (2009)
Best album of 2009 (as predicted by me back in February) and nothing since has given me pause in that. Joyous, uplifting dancey electronic pop.
Antony And The Johnstons - I Am A Bird Now (2005)
Just when you think you’ve heard everything…
Arcade Fire – Funeral (2005)
I guess you get used to everything, but remember how this blew you away when you heard it first time?
Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (2006)
Another one-man virtuouso, except he was a mere boy of 19 at the time.
Björk - Vespertine (2001)
Even though she’s not from this planet, this album more than deserves inclusion. File under ‘Can do no wrong.’
Brian Wilson - SMiLE (2004)
If you are simply a channel for God’s music, why does it take 37 years to complete a piece of work? Who are we to ask? Just be thankful.
Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene (2005)
It really was the decade of Canadian music.
Calexico - Hot Rail (2000)
I wasn’t sure if this one would make it and had to check the year. Phew, 2000, although Feast of Wire would have been an excellent alternative.
CocoRosie - La Maison De Mon Reve (2004)
A hippy and an opera singer half-sisters. This really shouldn’t work, but it does.
Cornelius - Point (2001)
A completely different direction than the Fantasma album. This one gets heavy rotation around these parts.
David Kitt - The Big Romance (2001)
Kittser’s classic ‘Step Outside In The Morning Light’ makes this album for me.
Decal - Little Sketches (2004)
A download-only release of unfinished songs Decal found gathering dust on a harddrive, apparently. Another unsung Irish classic.
Final Fantasy - Has A Good Home (2005)
Too much talent for just one man. Go see him play live if you ever get the chance and bring something for picking your jaw up off the floor.
Flaming Lips -Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (2002)
Hooray for the most uplifting album about dying from cancer of all time!
Four Tet – Rounds (2003)
Timeless now, and I suspect always.
Future Pilot AKA - Salute Your Soul (2004)
That whole Scottish-Indian thing never wears thin. Spirituality in a little disc, with pictures of old Land Rovers.
Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump (2000)
Broken household appliances, neglected robots, and Evel Knievel. An obvious classic from Grandaddy’s post-hillbilly-beard phase.
Hot Chip - The Warning (2006)
A narrow choice over ‘Made In The Dark’ but for the monkey with a miniature cymbal, this shades it.
Jape - Ritual (2008)
Maybe too early to tell, but I think Ritchie Redneck’s second solo album will be in those ‘Best Irish albums’ lists for manys a long year.
Joanna Newsom - Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
This one ticks all the boxes: winsome squeaky voice, lyrics from a medieval pastoral idyll, and played on the harp. Another no-brainer for the ‘best of…’ list.
Johnny Cash - American IV: The Man Comes Around (2002)
Setting the mark for how to reinterpret other people’s work, particularly with Trent Reznor’s ‘Hurt.’
Kraftwerk - Tour de France Soundtracks (2003)
After a decade of silence, the venerable old herren of electronic music return to remind the bleep bleep kids how it’s done, with a concept album about a bicycle race.
Laura Cantrell - When The Roses Bloom Again (2002)
Straight up, old-fashioned country music. I’m entitled to one.
LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem (2005)
Not just an album with the Daft Punk song in it, but ‘Losing My Edge’ hits you where it hurts - in the ageing parts.
Mercury Rev - All is Dream (2001)
Turns out that Deserters’ Songs is older than this decade, but this is a fine album in it’s own right.
Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling (2008)
Narrowly better than Mr. Beast, but I could have gone either way.
New Order - Get Ready (2001)
Nonsense lyrics as usual, but a fantastic sound as always.
Panda Bear – Person Pitch (2007)
Noah from Animal Collective paves the way for Merriweather. I’m predicting his album for 2010 to be one of the best of the year.
PJ Harvey - White Chalk (2007)
A return to the raw sound after the sheen and slickness of ‘Stories..’ Polly Jean scares me, and she’s only little.
Pony Club - Post Romantic (2008)
I don’t know if I ever heard this mentioned anywhere else, but an unheralded Irish gem.
Queens of the Stone Age – Songs for the Deaf (2002)
This is as close as I get to heavy metal. These guys rawk.
Radiohead - Hail to the Thief (2003)
Or, you know, any Radiohead album from the decade. Band of the Decade, hands down.
Redneck Manifesto - Cut Your Heart Off From Your Head (2002)
‘Cut…’ has ‘Dillon Family Dancers’ on it, so it marginally beats their other stuff off the list. My favourite lrish live band of the past few years. 2010 for a new album!
Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun
I swing between loving Sigur Rós and agreeing with Mogwai: ‘Coffee table music for wankers’ but I keep going back to it.
Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005)
I don’t really know why I love S-K, I think I’ve been repressing my inner angry teenage lesbian for too long. I once mortified myself by getting Janet Weiss’ autograph.
Sparklehorse – It’s A Wonderful Life (2001)
Yes, life can be sad and wonderful at the same time.
Stina Nordenstam - This is Stina Nordenstam (2001)
You either agree with this choice or you need to get some Stina Nordenstam albums into your life.
Susumu Yokota - The Grinning Cat (2001)
Not enthralling live apparently - just a little Japanese guy with a laptop - but this is why they call it ambient electronica.
Susumu Yokota & Rothko - Distant Sounds of Summer (2005)
Plinky plinky, woo!
The Fall - Fall Heads Roll (2005)
To hell with the lot of you, The Fall regularly knock it out of the park and you’re not listening. I picked this particular Fall album for ‘Blindness.’
The Go! Team - Thunder, Lightning, Strike (2004)
Bangin’ pop tunes recorded inside a metal bucket but still fresh and energising as hell five years later.
The Go-Betweens - Oceans Apart (2005)
I think of ‘Finding You’ as Grant McLennan’s last gift to the world.
The Jimmy Cake - Brains (2001)
Spectre and Crown might be a more complete album from the Cake, but Brains gets it for the ‘which album to rescue from a burning building’ test.
Tom Waits - Real Gone (2004)
I’m not explaining why Tom Waits makes the list. Why would you even ask such a question? What is wrong with you?
Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
This really was the start of Wilco Mk II, this album drips fantastic individual songs.
Will Oldham - Ease Down The Road (2001)
You need to be in a melancholic mood, but when you are, Will has got you covered.
Yo La Tengo - Summer Sun (2003)
Much as I love the new album, I keep going back to this one over any of the others from this decade.
Bring on the next ten years. Somewhere in the world right now there’s a kid making music that is going to blow you away.
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Could you not have found room for a few more white indie guitar rock albums? : )
Bring on the next 10 years indeed. But I do wonder if anyone will be making best album lists in 2019. I fear that the decade just past has seen the beginning of the end of the album. Downloading hasn’t killed music, but it has changed fundamentally how it’s experienced. And whether it’s the technology or lifestage, I find I rarely listen to albums in their entirety anymore. Even so, I feel that very few albums in recent years hang together as complete albums - in the way that Kind of Blue, Marquee Moon, Screamadelica or Automatic for the People are great albums. Maybe it’s simply not having the same amount of time to immerse myself in them as I once did. But my abiding feeling is that there are plenty of good songs about, but few great albums.
That said, lists are created to argue over so here we go. You have some glaring omissions. I’ll leave aside our oft-repeated Yankee Hotel Foxtrot / A Ghost is Born debate on the best Wilco album of the decade - both deserve a place in the canon. I’ll also gloss over the fact that I haven’t listened to a lot of your selection - I’ll get around to it.
Completely agree with you on Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene, Calexico, Flaming Lips and Johnny Cash.
For what it’s worth I’d add, in no particular order:
The Good the Bad and the Queen (2007)
West - Lucinda Williams (2006)
For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2007)
This Hungry Life - Tanya Donnelly (2006)
Supernature - Goldfrapp (2005)
Elephant - White Stripes (2003)
Gold - Ryan Adams (2001)
Sea Change - Beck (2002)
Tourist - St Germain (2000)
Bachelor No.2 - Aimee Mann (2000)
Sonofstan - my equivalent list from 10 years ago would have had even more white indie guitar rock albums. I have huge genre-gaps, that’s true, but I’m making progress. I like noisy guitars, what can I say?
Damian - I have to say, I still tend to put albums on in their entirety about half the time, the rest of the time I have the iPod on shuffle. I always download entire albums, rather than single tracks. You are probably right about the people not immersing themselves in albums - short attention spans, and a wealth of ‘new’ music to hear. I think that artists, too, have a part in this - a lot of albums don’t hang together as complete works anymore.
Must meet you for a pint sometime to pick up the endless Wilco discussion.
Specifically:
The Good the Bad and the Queen (2007) - I’ve only heard bits of it, but ‘meh’ as the kids say.
West - Lucinda Williams (2006) - I know I promised I’d listen to this and I will, but I’ve already got one c+w album on my list.
For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver (2007) - I know of it, but I don’t know it.
This Hungry Life - Tanya Donnelly (2006) - Lost track of her a while back.
Supernature - Goldfrapp (2005) - Never ‘got’ Goldfrapp, leaves me cold.
Elephant - White Stripes (2003) - Never ‘got’ what people saw in these guys, every song sounded like riffs on a theme to me.
Gold - Ryan Adams (2001) - I went through a ‘Whelans troubadour’ period, but I’m done with that.
Sea Change - Beck (2002) - Really? Was this one good? I lost track of him after Mutations.
Tourist - St Germain (2000) - I loved this and almost put it on the list, but realized I never listen to it anymore. I think I ODed on it.
Bachelor No.2 - Aimee Mann (2000) - Alphabetically, she’s first on my iTunes so I hear snatches almost every day, but I always skip it. I lost her after a poor gig in the Gaiety way back.
I’m off to download Lucinda Williams…
If you’re going to download Lucinda, her best album is Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
Always eager to argue about Tweedy & Co over beer.
Nice list Jim - some of my own favourites in there, and the rest I will consider a ’self gifting’ list for the New Year
I love Sparklehorse ‘Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain’ almost as much as It’s a Wonderful Life, but you’re right, the latter wins it.
Do give Bon Iver a listen, I had it on a loop this time last year and kind of wore it out for myself, but re-visited it again recently and it stands up.
Catherine - I’m procuring For Emma, Forever Ago - Bon Iver as I type. I don’t know the ‘other’ Sparklehorse album, so I’ll look for that too. See you in the Fade Street self-gifting emporium sometime.
Damian - I’ll give that Lucinda William’s album a whirl tomorrow.
Great list, I see I have some catching up still to do after a decade of raising kids and being otherwise distracted, many thanks for the pointers.
With you a million percent on Radiohead.
But no Arctic Monkeys? Over hyped for sure, but great lyrics, great arrangements, great guitar music.
No?
Hey Jim,
Great list, and indeed, excellent choice for band of the decade.
Especially like your opening comments. It’s always interesting to hear different opinions when you compile and publish a list of your favourite songs / bands. The best thing about end of year lists for me is that they’re entirely subjective to the personal tastes of the author.
Even if your readers don’t agree 100% you can open a bit of debate and dialogue - as you can see above. I always find a few gems in end of year lists that I hadn’t before heard of or given a fair shot. In fact, you mentioned a few that we forgot about completley and now I’m kicking myself at the exclusions! Anyway, enjoyed reading the article! Good taste sir!
Stirling work Mr. K. Does leaving it at 49 have some secret significance ?? (rather than the usual 50 or 100)
Myself, I’m in a similar state to LeftAtTheCross thanks to the chisellers and the drink - and drinking with the chisellers… hardly even noticed we’d just finished a decade…
If it weren’t for Conor an’ Donagh, I’d hardly even recognise more than the 3 or 4 names on the list I do… Fall - think I’ve heard o’ them… Go Betweens - yep.. Billy Oldham….
Radiohead though - they that ‘Pink Floyd of our time’ lot ??
At least at the end of this decade - me kids’ll be pointing me in the way of dacent music.
Great list, with some great stuff on there. Glad to see a mention for Beirut’s ‘Gulag Orkestar’, though sorry to see he never followed it up with anything one quarter as good, and sorry that he was so rubbish when he played Tripod in 2007. But I’m also interested that for some of the artists you have on there that I’d strongly agree with, but for whom I might have picked different records: for Joanna Newsom the amazing ‘Ys’, for Radiohead ‘In Rainbows’, for Sigur Rós the brackets album, and for the Jimmy Cake (definitely worth the inclusion and glad to see them there), I’d still plump for ‘Spectre and Crown’ - an amazing record for anyone who missed it.
Possible additions? Bill Callahan’s ‘Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle’ (2009), Richmond Fontaine’s ‘The Fitzgerald’ (2005), Grizzly Bear’s amazing ‘Veckatimest’ (2009), which led to one of the best gigs I’ve ever been at in Vicar Street this November, Kings of Leon’s debut ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ (2003), Lambchop’s ‘Awcmon/Noyoucmon’ (2004), TV On The Radio’s ‘Return to Cookie Mountain’ (2006), Jay-Z and Danger Mouse’s ‘The Grey Album’ (2004) (I’m not trying to go all NME or trendy here - it’s a great fit), Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ hidden gem ‘Jacksonville City Nights’ (2005) and, in spite of being pretty hopeless thereafter, The Strokes’ debut ‘Is This It’ (2001) remains a great pop record.
Sorry - I’ve just realised that I used ‘amazing’ to describe three different records in the above post. Must work on my adjectives for the next decade. And I realise I left off one other from the 2000s: Tinariwen’s ‘Amassakoul’ (2004), which, in spite of the irritating press emphasis on their back story, is simply a really good record.
LeftAtTheCross - I wouldn’t listen to Radiohead every day or anything, but they have certainly had the biggest impact over the full span of the decade. Arctic Monkeys is one of those bands I just don’t get - I often have these blanks where reputable people rave about some music and I just don’t get it. Nothing wrong with Arctic Monkeys as such, just no impact on me.
sgpsDublin - it’s also fun putting a list together even if it’s not definitive. For example I deleted Avalanches since I ‘used’ to love that album but haven’t bothered with it in a few years, so it ‘fails’ the longevity test. Then again, I heard some of it in a cafe last week and it sounded great.
Seán Báite - No significance to the number. After whittling down my long-list I had 49, that’s all. I didn’t really worry about it too much. Blog recommendations and MySpace are your friends for new music, I find. With most bands streaming their albums, give it a whirl - for example I’m listening to Vampire Weekend at the moment: http://www.vampireweekend.com/ Radiohead - those kids are going to be huge, I tell you.
Kevin - Yeah, the album after Gulag wasn’t all that great was it? There seem to be mixed reports from the TriPod gig - I remember it being OK, but not as good as the Olympia gig (both are reviewed hereabouts: http://dublinopinion.com/2007/06/25/beirut-snapped-from-a-tri-pod/ and http://dublinopinion.com/2006/11/03/beirut-at-the-olympia-dublin/)
As for ‘right person, wrong album’ yeah, I hear you, some of those were marginal calls. I heard both Joanna Newsom albums around the same time and Milk-Eyed Mender ‘grabbed’ me quicker I guess. For Radiohead, I could easily have been ‘In Rainbows’ but for some standout tracks in ‘Hail…’ that swayed it marginally for me. As for Sigur Rós, I just love the first album, and with the Jimmy Cake, while I agree that while ‘Spectre and Crown’ is amazing, I remember being a little disappointed with the album after the expectation of the earlier stuff. Still, a brilliant band.
Your recommendations: I will check out Bill Callahan’s ‘Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle’ - others have recommended it too. Never even heard of Richmond Fontaine’s ‘The Fitzgerald’ but will check it out. For Grizzly Bear - I’ve listened to this repeatedly just to figure out what the fuss is, and I don’t get it. Donagh agrees with me on this one, so I’ve given up on Grizzly Bear. Kings of Leon do. my. head. in. We’ll have to disagree on that one. Lambchop’s ‘Awcmon/Noyoucmon’ - I though there was too much going on with that album compared to previous stuff and it was about there that I lost Lampchop. I remember a great gig in the Olympia(?) before this album. TV On The Radio’s ‘Return to Cookie Mountain’ - I used to love this too, but I rarely go back to it, so it didn’t make the list. Jay-Z and Danger Mouse’s ‘The Grey Album’ - hmmm, not for me…. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ ‘Jacksonville City Nights’ - maybe I should revisit Ryan Adams, everyone keeps pushing him on me. The Strokes’ do. my. head. in. Complete frauds in my book.
Kevin - ‘Sorry - I’ve just realised that I used ‘amazing’ to describe three different records’ - funnily, ‘amazing’ is one of those words I’ve caught myself overusing too. I spellcheck myself for it now and delete as appropriate. I’ll check out Tinariwen’s ‘Amassakoul’ too. Cheers.
My top 15 albums, off the top of my head, in15 minutes:
1. Isn’t Anything - My Bloody Valentine
2. Soft Bulletin - Flaming Lips
3. Infected - The The
4. Frenz Experiment - The Fall
5. House of Love - House of Love
6. Doolittle - Pixies
7. Stoned & Dethroned - The Jesus & Mary Chain
8. Humans Fly - Dog Faced Hermans
9. New York - Lou Reed
10. Viva Dead Ponies - Fatima Mansions
11. Nighthawks at the Diner - Tow Wai…