What are the best CDs from the first 5 years of the decade, 2000 through 2004?

My list (Top 40) - only one album per artist:

1. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips.
2. Amnesiac - Radiohead.
3. Scarlet's Walk - Tori Amos.
4. How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - U2.
5. Bloodflowers - The Cure.
6. Poses - Rufus Wainwright.
7. Reality - David Bowie.
8. Issues + Options - Phil Roy.
9. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan.
10. Universal Hall - The Waterboys.
11. Musicology - Prince.
12. Release - Pet Shop Boys.
13. Essence - Lucinda Williams.
14. Uppers & Downers - Fisher.
15. Around the Sun - REM
16. Silver and Gold - Neil Young.
17. It's a Wonderful Life - Sparklehorse.
18. Sea Change - Beck.
19. Fever to Tell - Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
20. Love is Hell - Ryan Adams.
21. Alice - Tom Waits.
22. Elephant - White Stripes.
23. Cause and Effect - Human Drama.
24. Loose Screw - The Pretenders.
25. Long Distance Runner - The Motorhomes
26. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco
27. American Life - Madonna
28. The Love Below/Speakerboxx - Outkast
29. Shootenanny! - eels.
30. UP - Peter Gabriel.
31. Sophtware Slump - Grandaddy.
32. A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay.
33. Now Here is Nowhere - The Secret Machines.
34. Bare - Annie Lennox.
35. Say You Will - Fleetwood Mac.
36. Emotive - A Perfect Circle.
37. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - PJ Harvey.
38. By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers.
39. Rock Steady - No Doubt.
40. The Rising - Bruce Springsteen.


Somehow I intended to do a Top 20, and ended up with 40... this decade has been better musically so far than I thought

I don't think I could come up with 40 if I tried!

For me, best of the decade so far...and no particular order...


Aha - Minor Earth Major Sky
Curt Smith - Halfway Pleased
Lenny Kravitz - Baptism
Coldplay - Rush Of blood To the head
Martin Grech - Open Heart Zoo

Gosh.. I don't know about listing off forty, but one from this decade that stands out to me is

The Avalanches - Since I Left You

Mama's Gun by Erykah Badu is one of the top releases of the past five years.

So is Comfort Woman by Me'Shell NdegeOcello.

Good to see RHCP's By The Way mentioned.


I forgot the album in my avatar.

Definetely the best electropop album to come since the year 2000.
[Edited 12/9/04 19:14pm]

Radiohead- Kid A
Radiohead- Amnesiac
Radiohead- Hail To The Thief
Coldplay- Rush of Blood To The Head
Beck Sea Change
Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrott
Wilco- A Ghost Is Born
Andre 3000- The Love Below
Tonic- Head On Straight
George Michael- Patience
Ben Folds- Rock'n The Suburbs
Ben Folds - EP Trilogy
Paul McCartney- Drivin Rain
Air- Talkie Walkie
Josh Rouse- Under The Cold Blue Stars
Josh Rouse- 1972
Postal Service- Give Up
PM Dawn- F*cked Music
Prince- Rainbow Children
Rufus Wainwright- Want 1 and 2
D'Angelo- Untitled
Aqualife- Still Life
White Stripes- Elephant
5 for fighting- Battle For Everything
Iron and Wine- Woman King
Iron and wine- Our Endless Numbered Days (listen here http://www.ironandwine.com/IWoend.html )
Eminem- Marshall Mathers LP
Nine Inch Nails- Still
Iron and Wine- Our endless numbered days
Sigur Ros - ()
Crescent- By the roads and the fields
Four Tet- Rounds
Macy Gray- The Id
George Harrison- All Things Must Pass (Remastered)
Broken Social Scene- You Forgot It In People
Death Cab For Cutie- Transatlanticism
Vanilla Sky Soundtrack
Coldplay- Parachutes
Prince- ONA
Flaming Lips- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Prince- Musicology
Mum- Finally We Are No One
Ben Folds- Ben Folds Live
George Harrison- Brainwashed
Ani Difranco- Revelling-Reckoning

update if i can think of some mo
[Edited 12/9/04 19:29pm]
[Edited 12/9/04 23:17pm]

Björk's Vespertine
Basement Jaxx's Rooty
Outkast's Stankonia

Sdldawn said:

oooooh, good call. Great record. Especially "The Luckiest".

But the entire album is solid.

JonSnow said:

I imagine his next album in the next month and a half will be just as good..

My list looks something like this, I suppose - undoubtedly I'm forgetting loads of things here...

Orange Peels – So Far
Delgados – The Great Eastern
Delgados – Hate
Pernice Brothers – World Won’t End.
The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic
The New Pornographers – Electric Version.
The Shins – Oh Inverted World
The Shins – Chutes Too Narrow
Bob Dylan – Love and Theft
Magnetic Fields – i
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi...
Bright Eyes – Lifted…
Soundtrack of Our Lives – Behind the Music
Rodney Crowell – Houston Kid
Yo La Tengo – Summer Sun
Neko Case – Furnace Room Lullaby
Aimee Mann – Magnolia s/t
Primal Scream – XTRMNTR
Wire – Send
Saint Etienne – Sound of Water
Pet Shop Boys – Release
Pulp – We Love Life
Fountains Of Wayne – Welcome Interstate Managers
High Llamas – Beet, Maize and Corn

'A Funk Odyssey' by Jamiroquai
'Remy Shand' debut album


sadly,that's all I can really think of

Sdldawn said:

awesome, i didn't know he had a new one coming!

The only albums from 2000-2004 that are very noteworthy:

David Bowie-Heathen
Madonna-Music
Janet-Damita Jo
Prince-The Rainbow Children
White Stripes-Elephant
Outkast-Stankonia/The Love Below
Kylie-Fever
Jay-Z-The Blueprint

It's been a pretty terrible past for years for rock or I just don't know what to buy.

I can't say "Best", but my favorites of 2000-20004 are:

Prince : The Rainbow Children

Q-tip: Kamaal The Abstract

Dwele : Rize
(don't know if those last two would count--they were never officially released...)

John Mayer: Room For Squares

Stephen Simmonds: Spirit Tales

Hefner: Residue

Ani DiFranco:Revelling/Reckoning

Outkast: Speakerboxx/The Love Below

Roy Hargrove: The RH Factor/Hardgroove

Da Lata: Songs From The Tin

...

paligap said:

Good call.

SquirrelMeat said:

i forgot about this one... good call. I still haven't picked up Lifelines or the live album...i'm slacking.

It's true, we are half-way through a new decade so when are we going to see a major style change in music? Every other decade saw one, why can't we?

[quote]

SquirrelMeat said:

I don't think I could come up with 5.

Oh fuck. I used to be so good about remembering when stuff was released, even sometimes the actual month and day. Now I have trouble remembering the years. I'll have to really think about this.

GangstaFam said:

October 30, 2000:
U2 All That You Can't Leave Behind
Outkast Stankonia

September 11, 2001:
Jay-Z The Blueprint
Mariah Carey Glitter

Yikes, this is defintely tough. Hasn't been the best decade for ole' fashioned albums in my opinion. But I think I can squeeze out 10.

1) Outkast - Stankonia
2) Postal Service- Give Up
3) Sinead - Faith and Courage
4) Marianne Faithfull - Kissin' Time
5) Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
6) De La Soul - Bionix II
7) The Roots - Phrenology
8) Sonic Youth - Murray Street
9) Outkast - Love Below
10) Hives - Vendi Vidi Vicious

good question, seems to me it has been a pretty slow decade so far...but there were some things i enjoyed, my top 20:

1. Johnny Cash - American IV: the man comes around
2. Alan Jackson - Drive
3. David Bowie - heathen
4. John Mayer - heavier things
5. Kenny Chesney - when the sun goes down
6. George Strait - honkytonkville
7. Prince - the rainbow childern
8. Tom Petty - Last DJ
9. David Bowie - reality
10. Prince - musicology
11. Toby Keith - Shockin' Y'all
12. Dixie Chicks - Home
13. Tim McGraw & the dancehall doctors - Tim McGraw
14. Toby Keith - Unleashed
15. Marilyn Manson - holy wood
16. Bob Dylan - the bootleg series vol.6
17. Lou reed - the raven
18. Outkast - speakerboxxx/the love below
19. Lou reed - animal serenade
20. Willie Nelson & friends - stars & guitars

damosuzuki said:

that one was awsome, think I'm gonna give it another listen tonight

Bowie - Heathen
Prince - The Rainbow Children & Musicology
Björk - Vespertine & Medúlla
Beck - Sea Change
Peter Gabriel - Up
Franz Ferdinand - "self-titled"
Moloko - Statues
Madonna - Music & American Life
Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk
Junior Senior - D-D-Don't Don't Stop The Beat
Scissor Sisters - "self-titled"

:::: THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE EARLY NOUGHTIES
No real order, with only one album per artist.

01. Tori Fixx - The Mochasutra (2000)
02. Janet - Damita Jo (2004)
03. Backroom Matches - Sota! (2002)
04. Res - How I Do (2001)
05. Les Nubians - One Step Forward (2003)
06. Soce, The Elemental Wizard - I'm In My Own World (2004)
07. Fefe Dobson - Fefe Dobson (2004)
08. Anastacia - Freak of Nature (2002)
09. Christina Aguilera - Stripped (2002)
10. Kelis - Wanderland (2001)
11. K'Alyn - The Beauty of... (2003)
12. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Shoot From The Hip (2003)
13. Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (2004)
14. Alana Davis - Fortune Cookies (2001)
15. Meshell Ndegeocello - Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (2002)
16. Amel Larrieux - Infinite Possibilities (2000)
17. Guru - Jazzmatazz III: Street Soul (2000)
18. Bahamadia - BB Queen (2001)
19. Rah Digga - Dirty Harriet (2000)
20. No Doubt - Rock Steady (2001)
21. Various Artists - Red Hot + Riot: The Music & Spirit of Fela Kuti (2002)
22. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
23. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters (2004)
24. Pink - Try This (2003)
25. Nelly Furtado - Whoa, Nelly! (2000)
26. Nikka Costa - Everybody Got Their Something (2001)
27. Kenna - New Sacred Cow (2003)
28. India.Arie - Acoustic Soul (2001)
29. Protegee - Black Widow (2002)
30. Ms. Dynamite - A Little Deeper (2003)
31. Miss Money - Hooka: Diary of an R&B Hook Writer (2004)
32. Kylie Minogue - Fever (2001)
33. Shaznay Lewis - Open (2004)
34. Floetry - Floetic (2002)
35. André 3000 - The Love Below (2003)
36. Lucy Pearl - Lucy Pearl (2000)
37. Tracy Chapman - Telling Stories (2000)
38. The Streets - Original Pirate Material (2002)
39. Aaliyah - Aaliyah (2001)
40. Projectbrass - The Cure To What Ails You (2000)

Honorable Mention:
:::: Rosey - Dirty Child (2002)
:::: Common - Electric Circus (2002)
:::: Scream Club - The Double U Album (2002)
:::: Macy Gray - The Id (2001)
:::: Mya - Moodring (2003)
:::: Non-Prophets - Hope (2003)
:::: Mariah Carey - Charmbracelet (2002)
:::: Zero-7 - When It Falls (2004)
:::: Seek - Journey Into Day (2003)

kev1n said:

Rodney Crowell is a tremendous talent - one of the great songwriters of the last thirty years. He's really one of the most (forgive me for using this tired and oh-so-overused word) underated musicians of our time.