Best of the Aughts: Albums

MUSIC LIST

by Slant Staff on February 1, 2010 Jump to Comments (13) or Add Your Own

10. Portishead, Third. Portishead was always an outlier in the '90s grunge scene—the Bristol misfits with the pretty noir music and a singer whose voice was more haunting than bitter. They left as quickly as they came, and in 2002 Beth Gibbons released an under-the-radar folk album, Out of Season, the minimalism of which would point the way to the band's third collaboration, called simply Third, a reunion that couldn't have been less sentimental or more austere. This anti-return-to-form comes in the form of an industrial dirge, synths hammering on "Machine Gun," Gibbons whispering tormented thoughts, never wallowing because they seem so completely new, like every Portishead album, beamed-in from somewhere in outer space. PS

9. Sufjan Stevens, Illinois. Among the many delights in returning to Illinois (a.k.a. Come on Feel the Illinoise) again and again is thinking about how such a soft-voiced, banjo-pickin', goody two shoes could realize such a brash and enormous vision. Practically overwhelming, Illinois's 22 tracks make for a forager's dream come true, whether rediscovering the quiet folk confessional "Casimir Pulaski Day" or getting lost in the bombast of "Chicago" or "The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts." Fun as hell and damned difficult, Illinois is like a gigantic anthology of short stories you'll never finish but leaf through year after year. JN

8. Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The stupidity-of-the-record-industry fable illustrated by Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is well told by now, so let's just skip it. The eventual outcome of Warner's blundering mismanagement is a riveting document of Americana anxiety. From the plodding, hiccupping overture of "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart" to the last static-y gasp of "Reservations," the album thoroughly deconstructed that tricky genre label Americana, and in the process turned Wilco from the prime of the alt-country pack to America's best answer to Radiohead. WM

7. Jay-Z, The Black Album. He may not have the decade's most egregious fake retirement (that dubious honor goes to Brett Favre), but Jay-Z's break from the game lasted about as long as one of the interludes that punctuate The Black Album. While authorial intention may be anathema to true criticism, there’s still an element of pants-on-fire stunt posturing that hangs over the record, hyped as the final statement from the (rightfully) self-proclaimed best rapper alive. It's a testament to the album's power that, even if it no longer functions as a swan song, the record still stands as Jay-Z's most dense and personal work. JK

6. The Avalanches, Since I Left You. Two years before Girl Talk started straining 40 years of popular music through the garbage disposal, the Avalanches perfected the art of album as reclaimed quilt with Since I Left You, stitching mounds of disparate samples into a quivering tableaux of jagged beauty, a medium where the samples, rather than settle in the background, were effectively transformed into song itself. Nearly 10 years after its release, the band's sole album has yet to be challenged by a follow-up, despite a decade's worth of hearsay and rumors. JC

5. Jay-Z, The Blueprint. Only after the waters have receded can you accurately pinpoint a high-water mark. So it took eight years of relative disappointments like Kingdom Come and The Blueprint 3 and near-matches like American Gangster and The Black Album—not to mention the bottoming out of the record industry—before we could say with absolute confidence that The Blueprint represents Jay-Z at his finest: curbing competitors (Mobb Deep, R.I.P.), narrating his compelling autobiography, playing the globe-trotting man of luxury, and nurturing young talent. The production styles of Just Blaze and Kanye West, then-unknowns who produced more than half of the album between them, dominate rap to this day. WM

4. Arcade Fire, Funeral. In fall of 2004, in the middle of a frustrating election season, the Montreal bleeding hearts in Arcade Fire appeared out of nowhere (back when a nascent hype cycle still allowed such things to happen) with an album of emotionally stunning, death-afflicted, pitch-perfect pop songs. There was a dash of Springsteen, heavy Cure, generous helpings of Joy Division, and, um, the Verve (come on, think about it). We all swooned. And are still swooning: Even after the band was elevated to Rolling Stone rock saviors, released a second album that sounded more amenable to arenas than churches or bedrooms, jammed with the Boss, and worst of all, was imitated by a host of lesser strings-and-tears outfits (ugh, Plants and Animals), Funeral still has the power to stop your heart. WM

3. Björk, Vespertine. Vespertine finds everyone's favorite shrieker barely rising above a whisper. Backed by subtle clicks and bloops from Matmos and some elegantly unobtrusive strings, Björk sings the praises of solitude, monogamy, and quiet days at home—all topics that would seem out of character if they weren't brightened by her uniquely glamorous oddness. On the wonderful closer "Unison," Björk claims she "thrives best hermit style/With a beard and a pipe/And a parrot on each side" before sweetly confessing that she "can't do this without you," in a moment representative of the record's innovation and loveliness. JN

2. Radiohead, Kid A. One of the watershed albums of the last 10 years, Radiohead's Kid A is really more of a '90s album, capping off that decade's alienated computer angst in a wave of post-Y2K catharsis, a chillingly detached work that signaled a newfound ambivalence with the omnipresence of machines. From the phase-shifting opening of "Everything in Its Right Place" to "Motion Picture Soundtrack," everything about the album seems right, resulting in a starkly unified vision, the perfect closing note for one decade while also serving as a lasting emblem for the next one. JC

1. OutKast, Stankonia. Though OutKast's "B.O.B." seems prescient now for other, more specifically historical reasons, Stankonia as a whole seemed to forecast the mood of this past decade by its very nature. Excessive, weird, endlessly ambitious and cryptic, and very, very long, Stankonia is a record that must be reckoned with as well as listened to, even 10 years later. From the hits (the omnipresent "Ms. Jackson," the mind-blowing "B.O.B.," the fantastically sleazy "So Fresh, So Clean") to the bizarre personal mythology about a place "seven light years below sea level," no other album from the decade better presses the limits of what popular music can do. On "Humble Mumble," Andre 3000 confronts a rock critic who "thought hip-hop was only guns and alcohol," and makes her "shit her drawers" with a groovy "Oh, hell naw!" Thus, a decade was born. JN

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Comments

JRHG1 on February 4, 2010, 01:56 PM

Nice to see Music also on the list. It received decent acclaim on year-end lists for 2000, but has not fared as well on decade-end features. Good on Slant for remembering it. Music took things a step forward from the sound of Ray of Light, but American Life was kinda samey to Music, which is why (in part) it suffered (the material, in general, also wasn't as strong). Confessions on a Dance Floor was a nice return to form, but then she didn't quite deliver as Madonna should with Hard Candy. Going by the trend of the last four albums (in terms of quality), the next one should be a doozy. :) (hopefully)

adamant_cocoon on February 5, 2010, 08:41 AM

It was wise of you guys to place Vespertine 3rd on the list (I largely prefer it to Kid A, in that Bjork chronicles saintly amour and quiet ecstasy so beauteously); you almost got me there. I still think valleys abound in your decade-in-retrospect, which are nonetheless redeemed by 30 truly fantastic albums. Haphazard choices fare worse (No Doubt? Higher than...well, most of the list and dozens of better prospects?!!) and I'd wish Kala trumped Arular even on your watch.

FattTony on February 5, 2010, 09:50 PM

Well, this is admittedly a decent list (I should stress that I only own 18 of these albums at present, and 5 others I listened to but did not feel the need to either buy or keep, though I may now buy Kala from my local second-hand dealer, and give a second listen to others I had ignored or dismissed); I'm grateful to the compilers/reviewers for alerting me to various artists whose talents I was unaware of or unfamiliar with—though I tend to agree with 'adamant' that Rock Steady has been slightly overrated, and I'm prepared to state under oath that I believe Since I Left You to be INSANELY overrated, and that In Ghost Colours would have been INFINITELY more deserving of a place on this list—but good job overall, gang; you do a fine service for us music fans who don't have time for everything but don't want to let the best slip through our radar!

P.S. Sorry Mr. Keefe, but regardless of opinion, you should at least get your facts straight; namely, that The Disconnection did NOT get Christgau's 'dud' rating; if you actually examine his Consumer Guide with a bit of care, you'll see that he listed it as an Honourable Mention, and that he wrote an informative three-star-out-of-five review for Rolling Stone; rather than 'dismissing' the album with a single throwaway line, he was summarising his feelings about the music in the manner in which he does with every other Honourable Mention...by all means disagree with him, and you make good points about his wordplay and choice of comparisons (I love and admire him but he can be an annoying son-of-a-gun!) but how about trying to avoid making outright mistakes in your writing? (because it's otherwise pretty good!)

Jonathan Keefe on February 6, 2010, 12:24 AM

Making a list of this sort is an exercise in collective memory. In this case, I was so certain that I remembered that "dud" rating from Xgau's Village Voice "Consumer Guide" column that it didn't even occur to me to review his archives. Though the blurb in question has been amended, now this comment thread and Google cache will preserve our memories of that error. Super.

Carrie on February 6, 2010, 08:14 AM

I really liked this list!! But i thought that it was missing two albums. The first is Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, what happened guys? After that mind blowing review, 4.5 stars and such a masterpiece, the best of her career, and that means something, since Blacklisted and Middle Cyclone are terrific too. The other one is Joanna Newsom's Ys. It was called a masterpiece, it received 5 stars and yet it was not in the list, while The Milk-Eyed Mender (a terrific album by the way and one of my favorites of all time), that wasn't even reviewed by Slant made it. I'm pretty sure that was enough space to both (you guys placed to M.I.A. & Madonna albums inside the top 40) and even if it wasn't i would totally pick Ys over Mender any day. Without Ys, Mender wouldn't make this list, maybe Pitchfork's and others's since they actually gave it some attention back in 2004. Glad to see Aimee Mann and so many other records that we can only find over here in Slant's list. And Bjork inside the top 3 was awesome, and Polly Jean Harvey inside the top 20, even better. After that 3 stars review that you guys gave to Stories, a top 20 placement is awesome. I though White Chalk would make the list too, it was rated a 5. Beach House's Devotion was rated a 4.5 and didn't make it either! Speaking of Beach House you guys need to review their new album Teen Dream! But anyway solid list, i love it, i love the new website, i love Slant!

alexbwolf on February 7, 2010, 05:09 AM

Cool to see Music and Rock Steady on the list. I was surprised Rolling Stone had forgotten them in the decade 100 since both were in their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Carrie on February 7, 2010, 03:45 PM

Slant, i'm so glad you guys released the top 101-250, the albums i was complaining about not being included and others i love too were there! I'm even happier now! Slant keep doing more lists more often. The favorites from the 90's, the 80's, the 70's, the 60's (don't forget about Laura Nyro on that one!). You guys are also REALLY GOOD, i mean REALLY REALLY REALLY good when it comes to singer/songwriters, especially female, a list containing the 100 essential records or the best female albums ever would be the most awesome thing ever! I love you Slant staff! I need to come down now, sorry!

Ang on February 10, 2010, 12:34 PM

Thank you for this list. I really appreciate Slant's diverse choices. I visit this site on a regular basis and commend them for being inclusive of different genres and musicians. I made my own top 10 album list of the Aughts (it wasn't easy) and seven of the ten are on this list! I would have liked to see Neko too, and Fever Ray's debut album (2009) floored me.

Gila on February 14, 2010, 03:42 AM

As per usual when these kinds of retrospective lists come out, I try to seek out a lot of the albums listed. Thanks to Slant for introducing me to Goldfrapp's debut which is shockingly good- I had no idea they made an album that sounds like this. A left-field pick, but a good one.

I just wish there could have been some room made for at least one of Neko Case's albums (a second Goldfrapp album, more than 1 Liars album, and Neon Bible, I could live without) or Joanna Newsom's Ys in the Top 100.

Some Guy on February 17, 2010, 01:46 PM

I'm just curious: why didn't the Pet Shop Boys' Fundamental make it into the top 100? It's a fantastic album that, if not outright placement in the upper section of this list, deserves at least to be ranked higher than the stillborn Release.

T-Money on February 18, 2010, 04:18 AM

Pretty awesome list! Damn, I have to say that several of my favorite albums made the cut, and I'm glad to have been introduced to some new ones.

Some albums I thought would be deserving of this list would have been...

Bloc Party—Silent Alarm

Despite the generally downward trajectory that Bloc Party have taken in recent years, this album remains a gem in British indie/post-punk. An absolutely stunning album.

Zero 7—Simple Things

While Thievery Corporation may be the most recognizable name in the low-fi electronic genre, this album is one of the most mellow and smoothest sets produced.

Kings of Convenience—Riot on an Empty Street

Now I may be alone on this one, but the track "Cayman Islands" is the closest we have gotten to Simon and Garfunkel in quite a while. This is beautiful album, perfect for that rainy day when you want to curl up with your hot chocolate in hand.

Mastodon—Leviathan

When you need to rage and get every motherfucker in the room's attention, this is the AK47 of your musical arsenal. The concept album, inspired by Moby Dick, is epic. The final track, "Hearts Alive," is nothing short of glorious.

fjraz on March 1, 2010, 01:53 PM

T-Money: I absolutely agree with Zero 7 and Kings of Convenience...truly standout albums.

Now, if I could recommend a little something, these two albums by (in my opinion) the finest Asian music exports would have made the list:

Anggun—Luminescence (2005)

This did not get a release outside of Europe, but it's a fantastic pop record nonetheless. Simply classy and demure...pop at its finest, much like her very underrated (hell everything about her always seems underrated) 1997/1998 international debut, "Snow on the Sahara". But "Luminescence" packs in more confidence, attitude and soul...had it been released in North America it would have been a massive hit record.

Key tracks: "In Your Mind", "Undress Me", "Breathe in Water", "Saviour" and the acoustic version of "Captivity".

2. Utada—Exodus (2004)

Released in the US in late 2004, it didn't do much outside of the club scene. Timbaland co-wrote 2 and produced 3 tracks here: the sweeping, ethereal-sounding (and standout) "Exodus '04" as well as "Wonder 'Bout" and "Let Me Give You My Love" (remember, this was pre-"Loose" and "FutureSex/LoveSounds"). Yes it comes off downright silly at times (especially on the album's lead single, "Easy Breezy"), but heck, there's some other gems to be found here. She released an English follow-up last year with "This is The One": a lot mainstream-sounding, but still great. Nevertheless, this *is* actually the one.

Key tracks: "Devil Inside", "Exodus '04", "Hotel Lobby", "Animato", "Kremlin Dusk"

Branching out a little further...

Sugababes—One Touch (2000)

The edgiest album ever to come out by any girlband, and by the most successful girlband of the 21st century not many in North America know about. Never mind about the line-up changes, how none of the original founding members are not even in the band right now or even their more mainstream-sounding follow-ups, this is a standout debut that never got quite the recognition it deserved. Moreover, this is actually the band's only album to feature all three original members.

Key tracks: "Overload", "New Year", "Soul Sound", "Lush Life", "Run for Cover"

Siobhan Donaghy—Revolution in Me (2003)

Exactly. The first member of the Sugababes to leave and perhaps the best one. Now we all know who was the mastermind of One Touch's left-field pop, offbeat moments. A very impressive solo debut that went very underrated (#117 in the UK). Well, she's anything but "overrated".

Key tracks: "Overrated", "Nothing But Song", "Revolution in Me", "Twist of Fate", "Iodine"

juniusmaltby on March 26, 2010, 12:48 AM

Jack White is a great guitar player, no doubt. But Tom Morello can play circles around him.

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