40. Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robot
I don't like this album as much as most people do, but I do admire the ambition and the execution of this bubbling, psychedelic epic. Maybe if it wasn't quite so cartoony...
39. The Libertines Up the Bracket
I don't think this is as great as the Brit music press thinks it is, but it's still a great record. The U.K. version of Is This It.
38. The Killers Hot Fuss
The slick Las Vegas foursome never managed to live up this record of key drenched disco-tinged post punk revivalism.
37. The Shins Chutes Too Narrow
This band grabbed a lot of attention with this marvelous piece of indie pop song writing. From up and shimmering rockers to acoustic ballads and Beatlesque piano numbers, Chutes doesn't have a bad song on it.
36. White Stripes White Blood Cells
The record that launched a thousand guitar-drum duos, White Blood Cells was a terrific tonic of garage blues that sounded great the louder you played it. Still sounds as fresh and awesome today.
36. The Fire Theft The Fire Theft
The Sunny Day Real Estate guys reunite, but this time without guitarist Dan Hoerner. The trio ditched the name but continued to develop the sound Sunny Day had reached on The Rising Tide.
35. Ray LaMontagne Till The Sun Turns Black
Guy in his 30s decides to quit his job making sneakers in Maine, sells his van for guitar money and records the besexample of so-called singer songwriter fair I've heard in 10 years.
34. Dinosaur Jr. Beyond
J. Mascis and Lou Barlow mend the fences, get Murph back and record the best album the classic proto grunge trio ever recorded. Beyond is a refreshing blast of past.
33. Elvis Costello When I was Cruel
The master has put out so much material in the last 30 years, it's easy to lose track. Cruel is among a number of good albums from Costello -- The Delivery Man, Momufoku -- but this, a comeback of sorts, had the best overall songwriting of the bunch.
32. Fugazi The Argument
The post hardcore pioneers saved their best album for 2001. It's tight, melodic and just plain excellent. An overlooked classic.
31. Elbow The Seldom Seen Kid
Quirky, melodic and dense rock music that might have fooled you into thinking you were hearing new (and really good) Peter Gabriel. Guy Garvey and his band won a well-deserved Mercury (UKs Grammy) for this album. "The Bones of You" and "Grounds for Divorce" are amazing.
30. The Good, The Bad and the Queen The Good, The Bad and the Queen
Damon Albarn seems to have become most famous for Gorillaz, but the cartoon band remains his least creative outlet. This one-off band with former Verve guitarist, Simon Tong, Clash bassist Paul Simonon and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen, was a real stroke of brilliance in 2004.
29. Band of Horses Everything All the Time
First time I heard "Funeral" I couldn't get it out of my head. A wonderful, quiet and powerful blend of indie rock and folk.
28. Queens of the Stone Age Music for the Deaf
Dave Grohl gets behind the kit (where he belongs) with Josh Homme for a terrific record of dark, heavy rock that's never schlocky. Just loud and powerful.
27. Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism
Not a favorite band for me -- mostly because of Ben Gibbard's mousy voice -- but this album is really a hell of a good listen. From the opening bombast of "The New Year," the boppy pop of "The Sound of Settling" and the downbeat "Death of an Interior Decorator." Great song craft and a fantastic performance all around.
26. Interpol Antics
28. Queens of the Stone Age Music for the Deaf
Dave Grohl gets behind the kit (where he belongs) with Josh Homme for a terrific record of dark, heavy rock that's never schlocky. Just loud and powerful.
27. Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism
Not a favorite band for me -- mostly because of Ben Gibbard's mousy voice -- but this album is really a hell of a good listen. From the opening bombast of "The New Year," the boppy pop of "The Sound of Settling" and the downbeat "Death of an Interior Decorator." Great song craft and a fantastic performance all around.
26. Interpol Antics
Interpol's second album backed off the funk a bit and expanded the sound with more keys and a bit of orchestral arrangement. But the band doesn't back off the killer guitar and sharp rhythm attack that defined the first record.
25. Graham Coxon Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
A Pete-Townsend-sized blast of pop rock followed up Happiness in Magazines well but upped the energy level. For Coxon, the album wasn't about invention, just strong, melodic rock. And it worked.
24. Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
I have no idea what the title or the title track are about, but songs like "Margaret vs. Pauline," "Star Witness" and "Dirty Knife" are gorgeous and creepy at the same time. A truly original work.
23. The Black Keys Rubber Factory
A bluesy duo from Akron, Ohio that perfected the drum guitar thing of the White Stripes. This was their last LP for Fat Possum. Subsequent records got more adventurous, but this is classic primeval garage blues at its best.
22. Drive By Truckers The Dirty South
It's tough to pick which Truckers album is most representative of their sprawling, gothic, three-guitar-driven southern rock. What's great about this band is that they may play rock rooted in classics, but their songs are always here and now. Each album is a collection of Southern stories that populated by characters that might have come from Faulkner or O'Connor. Dirty South ups the ante with a thematic "story of the South" story line.
21. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
The album title is silly, but the hysterical hype around this record was not unjustified. A great collection of punky brit pop delivered mostly at blistering speeds may partially camouflage singer Alex Turner's clever lyrics. Listen closely, these songs are really good.
20. The Doves Kingdom of Rust
My enthusiasm for this album is due primarily to gut. I really like this album. Perhaps its shine is still really fresh (it came out last year)... I can identify weaknesses -- imprecise lyrics, corny keyboard sounds, a lack of theme -- but the sum total is a sweeping, terrific sounding album of great songs without a throwaway track.
19. Strokes Is This It
13. Blur Think Tank
Who needs Graham Coxon? The band's brilliant lead guitarist finally quit the band after steering it away from Brit Pop on the excellent Blur and 13, but Damon Albarn, Alex James and David Rowntree managed to release another geat album of dense and wonderful music.Think Tank is the most adventurous in Blur's excellent catalog. A good case could be made it's the band's best record ever.
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell
Remember when the single "Maps" was everywhere? If the White Stripes introduced the listening public to garage rock, this post-punk outfit perfected the sound on an aggressive, nasty album that introduced us to one of rock's greatest female leads: Karen O. If only the band had been able to keep it up.
25. Graham Coxon Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
A Pete-Townsend-sized blast of pop rock followed up Happiness in Magazines well but upped the energy level. For Coxon, the album wasn't about invention, just strong, melodic rock. And it worked.
24. Neko Case Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
I have no idea what the title or the title track are about, but songs like "Margaret vs. Pauline," "Star Witness" and "Dirty Knife" are gorgeous and creepy at the same time. A truly original work.
23. The Black Keys Rubber Factory
A bluesy duo from Akron, Ohio that perfected the drum guitar thing of the White Stripes. This was their last LP for Fat Possum. Subsequent records got more adventurous, but this is classic primeval garage blues at its best.
22. Drive By Truckers The Dirty South
It's tough to pick which Truckers album is most representative of their sprawling, gothic, three-guitar-driven southern rock. What's great about this band is that they may play rock rooted in classics, but their songs are always here and now. Each album is a collection of Southern stories that populated by characters that might have come from Faulkner or O'Connor. Dirty South ups the ante with a thematic "story of the South" story line.
21. Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
The album title is silly, but the hysterical hype around this record was not unjustified. A great collection of punky brit pop delivered mostly at blistering speeds may partially camouflage singer Alex Turner's clever lyrics. Listen closely, these songs are really good.
20. The Doves Kingdom of Rust
My enthusiasm for this album is due primarily to gut. I really like this album. Perhaps its shine is still really fresh (it came out last year)... I can identify weaknesses -- imprecise lyrics, corny keyboard sounds, a lack of theme -- but the sum total is a sweeping, terrific sounding album of great songs without a throwaway track.
19. Strokes Is This It
I still suspect that these guys had a ton of help getting these songs written and performed so tightly. The album is a perfect piece of New York pop rock with great songs. It was the band's first and best.
18. Modest Mouse Good News for People who Love Bad News
18. Modest Mouse Good News for People who Love Bad News
Modest Mouse becomes really listenable and scores with a hit record that’s mostly about death. With We were Dead... and The Moon & Antarctica, Modest Mouse were one of the most consistently great rock bands of the decade.
17. Franz Ferdinand You Could Have it So Much Better
So, there's not a single song with that nifty time change of "Take Me Out" on the debut, but this, the second album from the Scottish quartet balanced their Gang of Four sound with some great brit pop numbers. Songwriting is more even and the sound is better than the original, too.
16. Kings of Leon Because of the Times The Fallowills' third album is their best by a wide margin. It's loud and raw but tight and well-crafted. It's light years ahead of their debut -- an awesome rock and roll record. It's way more inventive than it's been given credit for.
15. Sonic Youth The Eternal
One of the greatest rock bands ever ends the decade with a vital album that stacks up very well against 30 years of groundbreaking work.
17. Franz Ferdinand You Could Have it So Much Better
So, there's not a single song with that nifty time change of "Take Me Out" on the debut, but this, the second album from the Scottish quartet balanced their Gang of Four sound with some great brit pop numbers. Songwriting is more even and the sound is better than the original, too.
16. Kings of Leon Because of the Times The Fallowills' third album is their best by a wide margin. It's loud and raw but tight and well-crafted. It's light years ahead of their debut -- an awesome rock and roll record. It's way more inventive than it's been given credit for.
15. Sonic Youth The Eternal
One of the greatest rock bands ever ends the decade with a vital album that stacks up very well against 30 years of groundbreaking work.
14. Arcade Fire Neon Bible
The second of Arcade Fire's albums finds Wim Butler and Co. smoothing out the sound a bit, but not letting up on the ambition. Like Funeral, Neon Bible is less an album than a novel about crumbling institutional walls of our postmodern times. And the songs are great, too.
13. Blur Think Tank
Who needs Graham Coxon? The band's brilliant lead guitarist finally quit the band after steering it away from Brit Pop on the excellent Blur and 13, but Damon Albarn, Alex James and David Rowntree managed to release another geat album of dense and wonderful music.Think Tank is the most adventurous in Blur's excellent catalog. A good case could be made it's the band's best record ever.
12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell
Remember when the single "Maps" was everywhere? If the White Stripes introduced the listening public to garage rock, this post-punk outfit perfected the sound on an aggressive, nasty album that introduced us to one of rock's greatest female leads: Karen O. If only the band had been able to keep it up.
11. Radiohead Kid A / Amnesiac
I know, it's heresy to many to not have these as number 1 (Kid A especially). I get that these were awesome statement albums, but I think subsequent records might not have been as experimental but they contained better songs.
10. Broken Social Scene You Forgot it in People
Awesome guitar-driven indie rock and more from Canada's second-best band. "Almost Crimes" and "Cause = Time" are classic songs.
9. Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
How did I miss this album the first time I committed this list to HTML? Isaac Brock's Modest Mouse quietly put a consistent decade of great and inventive indie rock that went it's own way and succeeded. This album, it's nautical theme, great songs and Johnny Marr's guitar playing
8. My Morning Jacket Z
I was late to this album but once I caught up, I couldn't stop listening. I may have played it 100 times straight without letting anything else interrupt. I can't think of many artists who have done a worse job following up and album like this. When Evil Urges comes on my iTunes during a shuffle, I freak out, wondering who sabotaged my library...
7. Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights
My head tells me that Antics is a better work, but I still like the debut best. It's dark, dirty and very danceable. Still sounds brand new today. Perhaps one of my favorite performances by a rhythm section all decade.
6. Radiohead In Rainbows
Several years from now I may feel that this album was Radiohead's best. It's that good. But choosing their best album is like trying to decide which of your children you love best. It's not possible (at least for those of us with normally functioning souls).
5. The Doves Some Cities
A great record by a very underrated band. The Doves manage to shift styles and sounds, yet they tackle each song as if its destined to be a single. Brilliant music and terrific songs.
4. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
This is one great album that gets better the more you listen. Sure, the production is awesome, but none of it would have mattered without Jeff Tweedy's keen songwriting skills.
3. The National Boxer
The National stand head and shoulders above their Brooklyn hipster peers with fantastic songs arranged with orchestral grandeur. Boxer was the best of a decade of albums for these guys who just seemed to get better and better each time.
2. Arcade Fire Funeral
An amazing debut album that charted a sound and style that are really inimitable. Neon Bible is great, too but I favor Funeral's raw and unpolished magic.
1. Radiohead Hail to the Thief
I think, again heretical perhaps, that Kid A and Amnesiac were warm-ups to Hail to the Thief that continued to chase the same themes of techno-alienation but with well crafted songs that didn't fail to include the whole band. I've often marveled at criticisms of the work as overly scattered or overlong -- how could you complain about having more of a record this brilliant?
I know, it's heresy to many to not have these as number 1 (Kid A especially). I get that these were awesome statement albums, but I think subsequent records might not have been as experimental but they contained better songs.
10. Broken Social Scene You Forgot it in People
Awesome guitar-driven indie rock and more from Canada's second-best band. "Almost Crimes" and "Cause = Time" are classic songs.
9. Modest Mouse We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
How did I miss this album the first time I committed this list to HTML? Isaac Brock's Modest Mouse quietly put a consistent decade of great and inventive indie rock that went it's own way and succeeded. This album, it's nautical theme, great songs and Johnny Marr's guitar playing
8. My Morning Jacket Z
I was late to this album but once I caught up, I couldn't stop listening. I may have played it 100 times straight without letting anything else interrupt. I can't think of many artists who have done a worse job following up and album like this. When Evil Urges comes on my iTunes during a shuffle, I freak out, wondering who sabotaged my library...
7. Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights
My head tells me that Antics is a better work, but I still like the debut best. It's dark, dirty and very danceable. Still sounds brand new today. Perhaps one of my favorite performances by a rhythm section all decade.
6. Radiohead In Rainbows
Several years from now I may feel that this album was Radiohead's best. It's that good. But choosing their best album is like trying to decide which of your children you love best. It's not possible (at least for those of us with normally functioning souls).
5. The Doves Some Cities
A great record by a very underrated band. The Doves manage to shift styles and sounds, yet they tackle each song as if its destined to be a single. Brilliant music and terrific songs.
4. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
This is one great album that gets better the more you listen. Sure, the production is awesome, but none of it would have mattered without Jeff Tweedy's keen songwriting skills.
3. The National Boxer
The National stand head and shoulders above their Brooklyn hipster peers with fantastic songs arranged with orchestral grandeur. Boxer was the best of a decade of albums for these guys who just seemed to get better and better each time.
2. Arcade Fire Funeral
An amazing debut album that charted a sound and style that are really inimitable. Neon Bible is great, too but I favor Funeral's raw and unpolished magic.
1. Radiohead Hail to the Thief
I think, again heretical perhaps, that Kid A and Amnesiac were warm-ups to Hail to the Thief that continued to chase the same themes of techno-alienation but with well crafted songs that didn't fail to include the whole band. I've often marveled at criticisms of the work as overly scattered or overlong -- how could you complain about having more of a record this brilliant?
