This decade was not about MTV. Fuck MTV. It was not about mainstream American radio. It wasn't about some brain dead Viacom video or getting *told* what to listen to. It was not about an award show or arena show. It was not about the chain record store. This decade was revolutionary, personalized and on some "otha shit." I lived these albums and the selections exemplify this time for me. This decade, as of 04.16.07. Which I'm still very much living in. I have really enjoyed the music of this decade and it has a place in my heart. Some of these albums were given to me by the artists themselves in hand or by mail in handwritten packaging and are extremely special to me. If I could make a Top 150 it would include more of the heavily marketed albums that get chatted up here and by critics, but I wanted to give room to albums I own that continually go ignored or just went unheralded because it was not mass marketed to you.

As of 04.16.2007.

1. Tori Fixx / The Mochasutra. (2000) top album of this decade, period. changed everything.
2. The Presets / Beams
3. Backroom Matches / Sota!
4. Tori Fixx / Black.Out (Disc 1: Club Sexxy)
5. soce, the elemental wizard / Dream de la Dream [a.k.a. I'm In My Own World]
6. Alana Davis / Fortune Cookies
7. Jay-Jay Johanson / Rush
8. bent / Ariels
9. The Ark / We Are The Ark
10. Lo-Fi-Fnk / Boylife

11. Zoot Woman / Zoot Woman
12. Nelly Furtado / Folklore
13. Phoenix / United
14. Fefe Dobson / Fefe Dobson
15. Hot Chip / The Warning
16. Les Nubians / One Step Forward
17. Erlend Øye / Unrest
18. Infadels / We Are Not The Infadels
19. The Presets / Blow Up
20. Kelis / Get F#@Ked Up! Live and Loud in Europe (2000-01) [bootleg]

21. Grand National / Kicking the National Habit (Extended Version)
22. Uniting Nations / One World
23. Cut Copy / Bright Like Neon Love
24. Alana Davis / Surrender Dorothy
25. Miss Money / Hookah: Confessions of an R&B Hook Writer
26. Zoot Woman / Living In A Magazine
27. Kudu / Death of the Party
28. The Attic / The One
29. Codebreaker / What Is This Earth Love?
30. Cyantific / Ghetto Blaster

31. Darin / Break The News
32. Tori Fixx / Marry Me
33. The Ark / State of the Ark
34. Jacques Lu Cont / Fabriclive.09
35. Bonobo / Days To Come
36. Van She / Van She
37. Jonas Brothers / It's About Time
38. Rah Digga / Dirty Harriet
39. Jamie Lidell / Multiply
40. Mylo / Destroy Rock & Roll

41. The Go! Team / Thunder Lightning Strike
42. MSTRKRFT / The Looks
43. The Knife / Deep Cuts
44. Muallem / Frankie Splits
45. Cicada / Cicada
46. Tori Fixx / Black.Out II: The Lost Tapes
47. The Ark / State of the Ark
48. Linda Sundblad / Oh My God!
49. soce, the elemental wizard / The Lemonade Incident
50. The Futureheads / The Futureheads

51. Clor / Clor
52. Houston Bernard / I Love Houston
53. The Ordinary Boys / How To Get Everything You Ever Wanted In Ten Easy Steps
54. Janet / Re-Design of a Decade [bootleg/bastard pop comp]
55. Tori Fixx / ReFixx
56. The Streets / Original Pirate Material
57. Nordstrøm / Dagdrømmer
58. bent / Programmed To Love
59. Bombay Rockers / Introducing...
60. Amy Diamond / Still Me Still Now

61. The Robocop Kraus / Tiger
62. I'm From Barcelona / Don't Give Up On Your Dreams, Buddy
63. TTC / TTC 36 15
64. Darin / Darin
65. Jentina / Do Not Disturb
66. Thomilla / Freeze
67. KRS-One / Kristyles
68. Tigercity / Tigercity
69. Sneaky Sound System / Sneaky Sound System
70. Stereo Total / Discotheque

71. K'Alyn / The Beauty of...
72. Bodyrockers / Bodyrockers
73. Brazzaville / East L.A. Breeze
74. Bertine Zetlitz / Rollerskating
75. David & The Citizens / Until The Sadness Is Gone

...
[Edited 4/15/07 17:23pm]

Mara said:

Where does 'Wanderland' rank? If I were to do my list over, I might include that one.

sextonseven said:

Glad you asked.

Actually the Get F#@ked Up! bootleg compilation stands in place of Wanderland [so if the studio album was included it'd be in that same spot].

I chose GFU! instead simply because all of the songs I enjoyed from the Wanderland era [not just the album] are on it. Plus, the tunes are so much more immediate live. I was such a hardcore pre-Milkshake Kelis fan in the early '00s that I wanted to give a honest nod to her as a live performer and the more rock/bugged out side of her that I sadly never got to see during her prime. GFU! is my concert, my time capsule and I wanted to spotlight that.

Don't get me wrong, the studio version of Wanderland is great, but the GFU! bootleg was my personal fan journey for me. It's a raw example which pretty much sums up why I loved Kelis back in the early noughties.

sextonseven said:

Me too.

Mara said:

I so want this.

gotta give this a proper look...

I tried, but this is a rough draft at best:

1. The Finn Brothers - Everyone Is Here
2. D'Angelo - Voodoo
3. Crowded House - Afterglow
4. Van Hunt - On the Jungle Floor
5. Neil Finn - One All
6. Aaliyah - Aaliyah
7. Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke
8. Madonna - Confessions of a Dance Floor
9. Tears for Fears - Everybody Loves a Happy Ending
10. Van Hunt - Van Hunt

11. Tamyra Gray - The Dreamer
12. Talib Kweli - Quality
13. Brandy - Aphrodisiac
14. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?
15. Mary J. Blige - The Breakthrough
16. Danger Doom - The Mouse and the Mask
17. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
18. Nelly Furtado - Loose
19. Guster - Keep It Together
20. Robin Thicke - A Beautiful World

21. R. Kelly - TP-2.com
22. Neil Finn - Rain [Soundtrack]
23. India.Arie - Voyage to India
24. Talib Kweli - The Beautiful Struggle
25. Missy Elliott - Miss E... So Addictive
26. Madonna - Music
27. Justin Timberlake - FutureSex/LoveSounds
28. Jay-Z - The Black Album
29. Travis - The Invisible Band
30. Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun

31. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
32. R. Kelly - Chocolate Factory
33. Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head
34. Prince - 3121
35. Ruben Studdard - Soulful
36. Travis - 12 Memories
37. Bic Runga - Beautiful Collision
38. Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek - Reflection Eternal
39. Stevie Wonder - A Time to Love
40. The Roots - The Game Theory

41. Outkast - Stankonia
42. Coldplay - Parachutes
43. U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
44. Common - Like Water for Chocolate
45. Tim Finn - Feeding the Gods
46. India.Arie - Testimony, Vol. 1
47. Jill Scott - Beautifully Human
48. N.E.R.D. - In Search Of...
49. Erykah Badu - Worldwide Underground
50. Mary J. Blige - No More Drama

51. U2 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
52. Prince - Musicology
53. Amy Winehouse - Back in Black
54. Mos Def - The New Danger
55. Coldplay - X&Y
56. Tim Finn - Imaginary Kingdom
57. Guster - Ganging Up on the Sun
58. India.Arie - Acoustic Soul
59. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
60. Bic Runga - Birds

61. Missy Elliott - Under Construction
62. Madonna - American Life
63. Dave Matthews Band - Busted Stuff
64. George Michael - Patience
65. R.E.M. - Reveal
66. Michael McDonald - Motown Two
67. Keane - Hopes and Fears
68. Brandy - Full Moon
69. Terence Trent D'Arby - Wildcard
70. The Roots - Phrenology

71. Mary J. Blige - Love & Life
72. Common - Be
73. Michael Jackson - Invincible
74. Ed Harcourt - Here Be Monsters
75. Janet Jackson - All for You

Ever since the new Tori came out, I've really been thinking about this.

This list is already out of date! LCD Soundsystem has jumped up to number 10, and Chromeo and Björk have debuted in the top 25 with their new albums.