The 20 best albums of the decade
The 20 best albums of the decade
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By inthenews. |  |
Tuesday, 29, Dec 2009 09:03
Lewis Bazley takes in kitchen sink drama, multi-instrumental anthems, game-changing hip-hop, a legend bowing out in spinetingling style and impossibly cool American stars as he lists his 20 best albums of the decade.
And the best albums of the decade, from 20 to 1, are.
20
Frightened Rabbit: The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)
Critically adored in the US blogosphere, so little known here that the audience at Biffy Clyro's recent London Forum set stood bemused during their support set, the Scottish quintet have crept under the radar with an album that deserves a much larger audience. There are hints of Arcade Fire, Joy Division, what Idlewild could have been, in an album that's introspective but not indulgent and lifts the soul even when Scott Hutchinson's lyrics veer from candour to shocking darkness.
Listen to - The Modern Leper (2005)
19
Antony and the Johnsons: I Am A Bird Now
Antony Hegarty's Mercury win was initially met with bemusement by many - once they heard the sorrow of his utterly unique voice, they understood. With guest appearances from Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhart, Lou Reed and Hegarty's cultural cousin Boy George and lyrics that take in alienation, family and unhappiness, it's an honest, beautiful album.
Listen to - Hope There's Someone
18
Damien Rice: O (2002)
Stripped acoustic honesty at its very best. If Conor Oberst could sing with such clarity and deceptive power, or if Pete Doherty could rein in his tiresome whimsy, they might be able to match the intimacy and impact of Rice's debut. His single-mindedness meant a four-year wait for its follow-up and, in Rootless Tree, a song so tailor-made for radio play that he derailed its potential with a chorus repeating the words "f**k you".
Listen to - The Blower's Daughter
17
Sigur Ros: () (2002)
The Icelandic's band's glacial post-rock's hard to ignore now, with Wes Anderson using Staralfur for The Life Aquatic and even X Factor producers exploiting the emotive quality of Hoppipolla. But for the full spellbinding, oblique, unsettling might of Jonsi and co, this 2002 collection, built around one repeated phrase in the made-up language of Hopelandic, is their best since their debut.
Listen to - Untitled 4 (Njosnavelin)
16
Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)
The critical darlings came good with this Mercury-winning, resolutely personal fourth album that, through the delta stomp of Grounds for Divorce and the MGM majesty of One Day Like This, brought Guy Garvey and co to the masses. Their festival sets since its release reveal a band deservedly delighted to have reached the top of their game.
Listen to - One Day Like This
15
LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver (2007)
A slight departure from the New York cool of the James Murphy-founded project's debut album, Sound of Silver manages to include dirty electronica and effortlessly insouciant beats but weaves them around a layer of melancholy. Grief, the anonymity of a metropolis and the recognition that you're not as young or hip as you used to be are dealt with in hypnotic fashion. Bring on album three.
Listen to - All My Friends
14
Bloc Party: Silent Alarm (2005)
A case of setting the bar too high if ever there was one. The Londoners' politically-minded, artful debut both thrilled and inspired and despite the progression of their subsequent albums, they've never recaptured Silent Alarm's sense of catharsis.
Listen to - Banquet
13
Sufjan Stevens: Illinois (2005)
It's a pity Sufjan has now admitted the 'Fifty States Project' - the idea of an an album written for each US state - was a promotional gimmick. Because if only a tenth of them had provoked the same euphoria as this literate and multi-layered album - in which even a song about a serial killer is affecting and delicately rendered, he still would have at least five indispensable collections.
Listen to - - Chicago
12
Outkast: Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003)
A double album composed of two solo efforts, the Atlantic duo's fifth release should feel fractured and indecisive. Instead, it's a dazzling, diverse collection, two-and-a-half hours mixing Big Boi's A-grade Dirty South hip-hop and the genre-spanning romance of Andre 3000. The only LP with a Parental Advisory sticker to win the Grammy for album of the year, it also contains in Hey Ya! and The Way You Move two of the greatest singles of the decade.
Listen to - She Lives In My Lap
11
Kanye West: The College Dropout (2004)
A key component in the mastery of The Blueprint, Kanye's outstanding debut came before the inflated ego, South Park parodies, stage invasions and Autotune addiction and confirmed the prodigiously talented producer as a rapper to be reckoned with. All Falls Down, Through the Wire and The New Workout Plan fizz with invention while the Grammy-nominated Jesus Walks represents a watershed moment in 21st century music; it's a Christian song that manages to avoid being just a little bit naff.
Listen to - Never Let Me Down
10
Johnny Cash: American IV - The Man Comes Around (2002)
The majority of its tracks might be covers but the final album released in the lifetime of the Man in Black brought heart-swelling new meaning to the songs of Don Henley, Vera Lynn, Trent Reznor and the Beatles. That unmistakeable baritone means Bridge Over Troubled Water seems instantly fresh and while We'll Meet Again brings a lump to your throat when you remember Cash's death less than a year after the album's release, it's the world-weary resonance of the Nine Inch Nails cover that abides.
Listen to - Hurt
9
Jay-Z: The Blueprint (2001)
He closed the trilogy this year but Jay-Z's sixth album, with the fateful release date of September 11th 2001, is one of the most important releases of the decade. It took seven years but the lyrical intricacy, hook-driven swagger and soul-inspired, heavily sampled production of this album kick started a movement in hip-hop that saw the genre slowly move from tabloid-frightening gangsta cliché to Pyramid Stage-headlining crossover adoration.
Listen to - Heart of the City
8
The Libertines: Up the Bracket (2002)
It almost doesn't matter that Pete's spluttered into self-parody while Dirty Pretty Things ground to a halt; for a year or so after its release, the army of copycat Scenesters and bands itching to be as handsome, cool or talented as Pete and Carl meant it felt like the second coming of punk.
Listen to - I Get Along
7
Amy Winehouse: Back to Black (2006)
A soul-bearing, heartbreaking record. This is why we need Amy back - when she's healthy, she's one of the best writers and singers of her generation. The self-destruction evident as stumbles around Camden is there in the confessional Back to Black or the defiant Rehab while she recalls early Tina Turner and Tammi Terrell on Tears Dry On Their Own.
Listen to - Love Is A Losing Game
6
The White Stripes: White Blood Cells (2001)
There's very little that's groundbreaking or even especially complex about the Detroit duo while many will argue their grandmother could drum better than Meg White. But when this album followed a whirlwind of hype with blazing elemental blues-rock tunes, we were given our first glimpse at one of the most talented musicians of his generation; Jack White. Latterly a drummer, producer, Bond theme creator and beloved pseudo-offspring of the rock legends who'd once assumed he was "taking the p**s", he's made blues a vital force without selling his soul at the crossroads.
Listen to - Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
5
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
They might have gone all desert rock on us, but this magnificent debut heralded the arrival of a literate, socially conscious songwriter, backed by stomping tunes. Beneficiaries, rather than victims of the rise of filesharing, they shattered industry records thanks to the monumental buzz created by the early demo versions of over-the-counter romance I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor, town centre drama A View From the Afternoon or Loach-esque drama When the Sun Goes Down.
Listen to - A Certain Romance
4
The Strokes: Is This It (2001)
Simplistic and brilliantly arranged, poppy but with an almost nerdy sense of rock lore, the New Yorkers seemed like natural heirs to the throne when their debut hit the shelves in the autumn of 2001. Julian Casablancas' vocals recall Lou Reed while his adolescent alcoholism and subsequent enforced boarding school stay somehow recalls both Sid Vicious and David Gilmour. What's the difference between the Strokes and Kasabian? The former don't just dress like rock stars, they play like them too.
Listen to - Hard to Explain
3
Radiohead: Kid A (2000)
It divided fans violently after its release, but what album wouldn't have in following the career-defining OK Computer? In retrospect, Kid A now serves as a reminder of just how far ahead of their peers Radiohead have been for the latter half of their career. While the 'name-your-price' release of In Rainbows represented a bold step forward in a changed music industry, Kid A's drum loops, undulating strings and defiantly difficult style now smacks of a band who've seen the future and are inviting us along.
Listen to - Idioteque
2
The Streets: Original Pirate Material (2002)
Second album A Grand Don't Come for Free proved that concept albums need not be self-indulgent twaddle but it's Mike Skinner's 2002 debut that remains hugely influential. There'd be no Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Jack Penate, even Dizzee's mainstream success, without the apparent mundanity of his observational lines and conversational delivery and it's an album that truly evokes its era.
Listen to - Weak Become Heroes
1
Arcade Fire: Funeral (2004)
A band whose live shows feel like church services, the Canadians' multi-instrumental, awe-inspiring debut can still send a shiver down your spine. Just rewatch the Where the Wild Things Are trailer and imagine hearing the soaring epic Wake Up in person. An album whose morbidity was inspired by the bereavements of three band members, Funeral remains a stirring, grand collection with the death's-door commitment the seven-piece bring to their stage shows evident in every full-bodied Win Butler yelp, Regine Chassagne's hushed sincerity and the slashing, mournful strings of Sarah Neufeld and Tim Kingsbury. Austere, emotional, euphoric, intellectual - a record that instantly touched anyone hearing the crashing drums of Neighbourhood #3 (Power Out), the electronic sunrise of Wake Up, the seductive sway of Haiti or the hypnotic bass of Rebellion (Lies) for the first time.
Listen to - Wake Up
