Albums of the Decade: 2000-2009 - #70-61

#70

To Find Me Gone
Vetiver
2006

One of the brightest surprises...Had vaguely even heard of them before seeing them live, but was blown away.  All I know of them is what is on my Ipod, and the newer album, which I've heard spun on the record player a few times.  Based on # of plays, the material off this album is my favorite, though you could make a serious argument that the self titled album is better, and I'd believe you on certain days (it ranked #108, FYI).  They could be one of the most underrated bands in music today.  Are they the kind of band that could crack through, a la Grizzly Bear, into a bigger audience?  I think so, but it's just as likely they spit out a handful of great albums that hardly nobody hears.  Won't Be Me is one of the better songs that you'll hear this past decade.

#69

There Is No Enemy
Built To Spill
2009

Had this one came out in 2008, or at least had a little more time to churn through the ether, it could crack the Top-25, I think.  It's just a fantastic album, and greatly surprised me, after I had kind of lost my love for Built to Spill a little bit.  Now, I'm back in full on fanboy mode, listening to their entire catalog at least five times over the last couple of months.  And we can thank this album.  If I had to pick a guitar sound to take with me to heaven, I might opt for these guys.  Just a great tone...Martsch is a phenom, though I'm not even sure if he shows up on the radar when those 'Greatest Guitarist' lists come out.  Damn shame.  This is a great album...one of the best of 2009.

#68

Parachutes
Coldplay
2000

These guys are a huge, horrible, U2 wannabe cliche now, but this album stands out as proof that sometimes what becomes popular at least can start out good.  Yes, Yellow makes me want to shoot my face off with a shotgun, and seeing Chris Martin walk somberly on the beach singing close up into a camera is my idea of Hell...but outside of that track, this album really has no faults.  Shiver is just explosive, and We Never Change is perfection.  It gets lost in the shuffle, but this was largely an acoustic band, at this point.  There's some electric guitar, but they were their best when it was stripped down a bit.  Now?  Chris Martin writes about rainbows and puppy dogs.  That's what happens when you get ultra-famous, marry a boring actress, spit out a couple of kids, and pretend you're the love child of Bono and Thom Yorke.

#67

Rock N Roll
Ryan Adams
2003

Holy shit, at what point did this turn from a clusterfuck of an album to a near classic?  I mean, seriously?  I put this thing on now (thanks for leaving it at the house, Ryan), and the entire house blows up with awesomeness.  Yes, he was a pain in the ass to Lost Highway back in the day, and yes, his heart must have been more into 'Love is Hell'...and yes, he was listening to too much Interpol, The Strokes, and The White Stripes at the time.  I get it, I do...this one was panned, and in the moment, rightly so.  It's been 6 years, though, and I can safely say that this one is aging like a 2003 Bordeaux (that was a good vintage, FYI).  1974 is a great rocker, meant to be played loud as fuck.  The Parker Posey collaboration, Note to Self: Don't Die is somehow fascinatingly excellent.  My favorite is probably Burning Photographs, which I'd put on my '2000-2009 Mix Tape', if I made one.  I don't think any of this stuff appears live, and I'd be surprised if Adams even recognized it's existence, now.  It's holding up well, though, and is worth a listen.

#66

The Woods
Sleater-Kinney
2005

I was taken a bit back when I sorted my list and found three Sleater-Kinney albums ranked very, very highly.  In the first draft of the list, this was Top-50.  I've reassessed, a bit, but this is still up there as the best all girl band of the decade (past two decades, if you're keeping count).  I believe there are only two other female artists that will crack higher than this one.  It's a man's world, but these girls rocked harder than just about any of them.  This was their final album...they have since broken up, and they went out with a bang.  The 11 minute epic, Let's Call it Love stands out as my favorite song in their catalog.  Timeless music, too...ages exceptionally well. 

#65

Person Pitch
Panda Bear
2007

I think Animal Collective is ruining music.  Pardon me if I can't get on that bandwagon.  They turn knobs, and we all flutter, and talk about how awesome they are.  I'm also a huge hypocrite.  There are several Animal Collective tracks that I secretly love, and this Panda Bear album blew me away the first time I heard it.  Whatever genre it is (art-rock?  post-rock?  pretentious-hipster-douchebag-rock?), it's clear that Mr Bear was channeling the best of Brian Wilson, circa the 'Pet Sounds' era.  The harmonized vocals sell this, but also the production quality, which is just off the charts, and deserves either full volume in a small room, or headphones and a quiet corner.  I was sold after hearing the opening track, Comfy in Nautica, and it's loopy vocal/noise track.  I can see the appeal of this variety of music, and I can appreciate that on the top of their game, Animal Collective is phenomenal.  But this kind of music makes the future rockers of tomorrow lazy, IMO, and cheapens the overall aesthetic of 'Album Rock'.  Almost certainly, my kid's kids will not buy albums.  It'll be because of the influences like Panda Bear and Animal Collective that your Grandkids will laugh at how you used to sit and listen to the same band for 45 minutes.  Albums are for old people.  Thanks, Animal Collective, you douchebags.

#64

Time to Die
The Dodos
2009

My new favorite band.  Thanks again to Ryan for leaving the vinyl over at the house...constant rotation, of late.  Their previous album 'Visiter' placed way too low on this list, and should be revised much higher.  I'm that sold on these guys, right now.  This one had Phil Ek behind the knobs, which could be why it's so awesome, but is probably also why it's fairly different from their last album.  The ramped up world beats are not so prominent, and the drums, in general.  Somehow, I don't miss them...this album hits on all cylinders.  This Is a Business holds some of that previous drum passion, and moves along like some kind of mountain ditty, with a machine gun in the back.  Whirling guitars never sounded better.  This one is held out of the Top-50 mainly because it's only been out for 2 months.  Call me in a year, and we'll see how it's holding up.

#63

Cripple Crow
Devendra Banhart
2005

A sprawling masterpiece...songs are all over the place.  Love the Allmusic styles on this one:

    * Alternative/ Indie Rock
    * Lo-Fi
    * Alternative Folk
    * Acid Folk
    * Neo-Psychedelia

What the hell is Acid Folk?  I have no idea, but I guess I dig it.  I totally dig the songs in Spanish, maybe even more than the other material on the album.  It's strange how something you can't understand can somehow still move you.  It's a very long album...22 songs, though several clock in under 2 minutes.  The ambling nature gives you the feel that it's one long piece of music, tied together.  After a few songs, it's not even all that clear where one starts and the other begins...it's a very unique record, and one that I think is tops in Banhart's catalog.

#62

All Hail West Texas
The Mountain Goats
2002

AMG has four (FOUR!) albums that The Mountain Goats dropped in 2002...two of those four make the list, including this one.  Awesomely lo-fi...the storytelling style in this one is so awesome.  Tiny short stories, that are amazingly dense, despite rarely topping 3.5 minutes.  The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton is one of my favorite Mountain Goats songs, of all time.  And there are a shit ton of songs in Darnielle's canon.  I don't know if anyone can match the songwriting style that he possesses.  A truly unique creator in the music world. 

#61

They Threw Us All in a Trench and Stuck a Monument on Top
Liars
2001

These guys are truly unique, or at least were to me, back in 2001, when I first heard this one.  Nothing like it, IMO.  Angular guitars, crazy drums, deftly used samples...fuzzed out lyrics and pretentious as fuck song titles.  These guys almost try to make you not like them, just because you're not cool enough to understand what they are about.  It's smart punk rock, I think.  Mr. Your on Fire Mr. is one of the catchiest songs of the entire decade.  The almost kid's toy drums, that morph into a chugging guitar line...it's stunning.  Nothing Is Ever Lost or Can Be Lost My Science Friend, and it's rolling percussion, and that almost annoying electronic noise...I can't explain it, this shit is just great.  Their later material was very good, but never really hit home like this one did.  A stunning debut from Liars...highly recommend listening to this one as loud as you can.


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