Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
2001
Technically released in 1999, I don't think it got a proper large scale release, outside of Iceland's best record stores, until 2001 or so. Some might recognize Svefn-G-Englar, not by name (which I can't even begin to pronounce), but more from it's existence as the central theme of the final scene of Vanilla Sky. These guys do epic, haunting tunes. They can be as loud and penetrating as anything else out there. They can also be incredibly fragile, and because you can't understand a single lyric, it's easy to project the sheer emotion that they are capturing in their songs, and make it your own. Basically, they are a catharsis band. Olsen Olsen is one of their best tunes, as well as Flugufrelsarinn. This album reads like an Ikea catalog, but forget the song titles (and they eventually did)...it's the sound that counts.
#49
Album
Girls
2009
Where the hell did this one come from? One of the guys in the band had a terrible childhood (parents were Children of God cultists), has no education, and is a huge drug addict...he obviously has some talent of some sort, to bounce around like he did and find opportunities...and then "BAM", he's got a record deal, serious undergound buzz, and is probably going to see his album hit just about every pretentious 'Best of 2009' album lists. And the damn thing is great, to boot! It's exceptionally immature...basically a big 'do you like me, check yes or no' album...not quite emo, because their too fucked up on pills to cry. They are pushing the edge with their videos, where you'll find some rather shocking gay footage of a guy singing into another guys junk like a microphone. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Vampire Weekend from the streets. We'll be lucky if this band stays together long enough to put out a terrible letdown of a second album...we'll also be lucky if the backlash hits these guys before one of them is dead. Have I mentioned that Hellhole Ratrace is the best song of 2009?
#48
Tallahassee
Mountain Goats
2002
The final Mountain Goats album to make my list of 217...why is this one the best? I think, of his non-basement recording type records, this one shines through the most. The songwriting is always excellent with Darnielle, but being his first time in a 'real' studio, trying to cut a 'real' sounding record, did great things for the music. I also love it because it's a loose narrative...a concept album, if you will, about a couple who's marriage is awful, and they are hellbent on drinking themselves into oblivion. Good stuff! Pitchfork, who gave this one a 6.7 back in 2002 (and included a bunch of snark about how passe the concept album concept was in 2002, etc), went back and made it one of their Top-200 albums of the decade. Funny how things change, once you actually sit and listen to something...If you hate the pre-major label Mountain Goats because of the tape fuzz, this would be a good place to start. I still think this is a step below the masterful "Zopilote Machine", which is somehow almost 15 years old now, but marks the most incredible point in a great decade for Darnielle and his Mountain Goats project.
#47
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Neko Case
2006
What's surprising to me on this album is, how short the songs are. I've listened to this one many times in my car, and I've never walked away feeling unsatisfied, but looking at the tracks, 7 songs are 2:46 or less. That's concise songwriting, and evidence of great self editing, I think. Maybe that's the lure of this album, that just delivers on it's promise of the awesome voice, tight choruses, and perfect melodies. Maybe Sparrow probably ranks as my favorite song on the album, and is a perfect example of the conciseness. How she builds so much tension into the song, despite really only going through two verses, is amazing. When that one explodes, it's unlike anything else you'll hear in the current alt-country sound. Take something old, make it new, make it better. Neko does it really well. John Saw That Number reminds me of the curiosity of my musical tastes, and how I tend to really enjoy songs with strong religious imagery, yet I'm not even remotely religious.
#46
Stay Positive
Hold Steady
2008
Hootie 2.0 does it again! This is a great album, full of arena rock juiciness, soaring guitars, . Sequestered in Memphis is probably the most fun song they have in their catalog. Lord, I'm Discouraged is an amazingly depressing look at abusive relationships, from the perspective of a friend who just wants the girl to be ok. I think Excuses and half-truths and fortified wine is the best lyric/chorus I've heard in I don't know when. I think it takes a bar band like these guys to really hone in on what Rock n Roll is supposed to be, and they nail it on this album. Crunching, loud, shambling songs. A rocking good time, and probably the best drinking album of the decade.
#45
Sebastopol
Jay Farrar
2001
Jay Farrar was half of the business end of Uncle Tupelo, which split into Wilco and Son Volt. This should go without saying, but while Tupelo and Wilco are still regarded with awe, Farrar's projects have fallen out of the mainstream conscious. Fact of the matter is, this guy is IMPORTANT, and this album is exactly why. Son Volt essentially broke up in 1998, and this didn't come until 4 years later. Farrar tried it on his own moniker, but things never meshed, despite awesome material. It wasn't until he took the Son Volt name back that he started to even get real press again. So I think one of the biggest 'What If's of the decade is, what if Farrar had used the Son Volt name for this album, which features songs that he still plays live (like Voodoo Candle and Damn Shame, two amazing rockers)? I think the success would have dwarfed what he ended up having over the last 10 years.
Admittedly, this one is a diversion from the Son Volt sound that we'd been accustomed to, but having recently listened to Uncle Tupelo's seminal 'March 16-20, 1992' album, I think the soul of where his music was going (and where it was) can be found. It was here that he re-embraced that Woody Guthrie-loving quality...he took his roots back. I question anyone who can listen to the shambling Feel Free, which opens this album, and not like it. I just don't think it's possible. As a final aside, this album does not have a Wikipedia page, which I find absolutely shocking.
#44
Mignonette
Avett Brothers
2004
This one has been progressively bumped up this list, as I've been making it. I've gone through a big reassessment period on these guys, and they are skyrocketing in my own personal musical taste world right now. This one really caught my ear during a recent trip up to my wife's family's mountain condo. One of her cousins had left a blank faced CD-R lying out, and I tossed it in to laugh at them for listening to Lady Ga-Ga. Instead, we jammed to this one two times through, enough to make my wife want to listen to something other than the Avett Brothers (otherwise, we'd have gone for the triple). It's really easy to point to Swept Away as the best song on the album (there are two versions, and I prefer the second one), but the consistency of the tunes here is remarkable. I think these guys have taken steps forward in their most recent material, and those who are averse to the 'mountain sound' might be turned off by these guys, but my bet is you've never heard Appalachian music sound quite like this.
#43
Z
My Morning Jacket
2005
This one hits you like a ton of bricks, right off the start. That heavy baseline, then the sort of ska-ish guitar lick precipitate one of the best 'oooooh ahhhhh' choruses you'll ever hear. It's like a drunken walk through the park. There are some really, really killer songs here. I'd probably have put this album #1 on my list in 2005, which was an excellent music year. It remains a constant on my Ipod, and like their entire catalog, will probably never be deleted. Gideon, which is epic, even at sub-4 minutes long, and Dondante, which rivals Run Thru as their most exciting song ever, are the true highlights here. See these guys live, and forgive them for Highly Suspicious.
#42
Veneer
Jose Gonzalez
2005
It's quiet and folky, which you'd figure out in about 10 seconds. This was a pretty amazing debut album, I believe recommended by my friend out in San Fran, Pete Johnson. Pete keeps his ear to the rail pretty well, and this one became a pretty instant fave of mine. Heartbeats and Crosses are perhaps the best representatives from this group of songs, and they come back to back in the middle of the album. The Spanish style, nylon string guitar sounds fresh, in the Indie Rock spectrum, and there's no denying Gonzalez's chops. It's amazing that he could pull this album off, with essentially no additional backing instrumentation, or hardly anything other than his guitar and his voice. Stunning album that we need to prevent from being forgotten about over the next decade.
#41
Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lake State
Sufjan Stevens
2003
Stevens kicks off his '50 State Project' (which he will never, ever even remotely come close to finishing) with his home State of Michigan. He played all the instruments on this one, which is even more amazing if you hear how dense and orchestral it is. Each song carries either a historical lesson about Michigan, or some personal story that relates back to the State for Stevens (and sometimes both). The lyrics are often very topical to Michigan's decline (which really is more obvious today), and are socially important. Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!) takes to task the poor decisions made, but basks in the past glories of the city. It builds around the weirdest chorus you'll ever find:
Henry Ford, Henry Ford.
Public trans, public trans.
Pontiac, Pontiac.
Feed the poor, feed the poor.
City hall, city hall.
Windsor Park, Windsor Park.
Saginaw, Saginaw.
After dark, after dark.
Tigers game, Tigers game.
'84, '84.
Industry, industry.
Unemployed, unemployed.
Gun control, gun control.
Wolverine, wolverine.
Iroquois, Iroquois.
Industry, industry.
Public trans, public trans.
Auto cars, auto cars.
Jefferson, Jefferson.
Michigan, Michigan.
Somehow it works. Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid) and Say Yes! to M!ch!gan! are also standouts. It's an album that is at times seems all over the place, despite it's common theme. It's vastly interesting, and somehow very informative...and it still sounds good? Stevens is dynamic, weird, quirky, and maybe pretentious...but he can craft the most unique music out there.
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