Anyways without further delay the top 24!
24. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
His beautiful voice calmly sings over his guitar for this masterpiece of a debut album. It was recorded over 3 months when he was staying in his fathers cabin in Wisconsin, the album was written there after Justin Vernon had just suffered a break up with both his band and girlfriend. The album captures the sorrow and sadness felt throughout its 10 tracks, however doesn’t bring the sadness to the listener who just sees the beauty within his voice and songs.
Listen To: Skinny Love
23. Foals – Antidotes
Their first album caused some controversy when the band decided to leave their first two singles ‘Hummer’ and ‘Mathletics’ off the album. A surprising move seeing the popularity they had caused on the British public, however when ‘Antidotes’ finally came out it wasn’t surprising why they were able to do such a thing. The album mixes jangly danceable guitars with awkward vocals and a storming bass line which carries you through this superb album.
Listen To: Cassius
22. The Coral – The Coral
The only scouse band worth hearing from that scene! Their debut album was a perfect mixture of great pop songs such as ‘Dreaming of You’ and ‘Goodbye’, retro ska with ‘Shadow’s Fall’ and utter nonsense genius with ‘Simon Diamond’. James Skelly went on penning an album each year all going top 10, however it was their first album where the majority of the band were in their early 20s that captures the perfect revival of the British guitar band!
Listen To: Dreaming of You
21. Staff Benda Bilili – Staff Benda Bilili
This has to be the greatest story amongst the entire list, Staff Benda Bilili are 3 paraplegic street musicians who have formed a band by bringing in some younger street kids to play music with them, they have an 18 year old who plays the most insane solo’s on a 1 string hand built instrument. They were initially playing outside a zoo in the Congo and outside restaurants to make enough money to make their living, however their debut album is absolutely superb beyond belief! The songs they have written are brilliant and if you ever get the chance to see them live don’t pass it up as they will definitely make you overjoyed that they have been given the opportunity to bring their music to the larger audience.
Listen To: Staff Benda Bilili
20. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
Beautiful harmonies are the main focus of this Fleet Foxes debut album, seemingly to be the only thing that people saw at South by Southwest festival, they either must have played tons of shows or people are liars! This album is built up of 11 classic harmony guitars and is reminiscent of CSN’s old albums, I personally would love to hear a cover of ‘Guinevere’ however listening to this album will definitely keep me happy as it’s a true gem!
Listen To: Ragged Wood
19. Beirut – The Gulag Orkestar
Zac Condon’s idea, Beirut broke onto the scene playing their strange Baltic Eastern European themed songs, an American who fell in love with the Eastern European music that could be made brought it to a much larger Western audience than anyone could have thought possible. His songs bold and beautiful, his vocals sound incredibly mature for the early twenty year old as his lyrics flow throughout this mesmerizing album.
Listen To: Postcards from Italy
18. TV on The Radio – Dear Science
Their third album was the one which struck the largest chord in the mainstream, after releasing two brilliant albums which featured some of the finest singles released over those years this album was their most complete. Straight outta Brooklyn they have brought us some of the most mesmerising vocals and music, this album was acclaimed as one of the finest in 2008 when it was released and topped many charts as the best album of the year, I wholeheartedly agree!
Listen To: Golden Age
17. Lupe Fiasco – Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor‘Food & Liquor’ was the freshest Hip-Hop album of the decade, with Hip-Hop becoming more commercial than ever before the decade saw some of the worst albums released, when ‘Food & Liquor’ was released it gave a breath of fresh air to a stagnant genre. Lupe Fiasco concentrated on the lyrical content of his album delivering tracks which feature stories with meaning instead of the archetypal Hip-Hop world that focuses itself on the pop and glamour.
Listen To: Kick, Push
16. The Rapture – Echoes‘Echoes’ blended a perfect mix of electro with post rock indie, the album in parts is clearly post rock but will then fuse into a disco groove or back into some electro gold. Clearly live dance music innovators, they opened the way for many bands during the past decade to be able to perform live band dance music. The album includes cowbells; saxophones as well as thumping bass lines which will make you dance around to ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ like a fool whenever you put it on. This album is truly a classic of the noughties.
Listen To: Sister Saviour
15. Amadou et Mariam – Welcome To Mali
The blind couple from Mali have come a long way in Western music appreciation, they were relatively unknown until Manu Chao produced their 2005 album ‘Dimanche a Bamako’. The next success in the west was 2008’s ‘Welcome To Mali’ which was produced by Damon Albarn, the album is superb in its mixture of west coast African guitar sounds with lo-fi electro, the album is incredibly influenced by dance music and is a true testament to the progression of African music. Although incredibly successful within the world music circuit it hasn’t yet found the full audience which it truly deserves.
Listen To: Sabali
14. Of Montreal – Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Of Montreal’s eighth studio album was there most interesting to date, the concept revolving around front man Kevin Barnes transformation into his alter ego George Fruit, the album is wonderful as it goes through Kevin Barnes’ strange and insane world, the album although slightly depressing in its lyrical content has been composed so that it sounds absolutely superb, the track which transforms him into his alter ego George Fruit is the 12 minute ‘The Past Is A Grotesque Animal’ which catapults the album forward and makes it their finest work.
Listen To: The Past Is A Grotesque Animal
13. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
It's very hard to determine which the best Flaming Lips album is. I decided that ‘Yoshimi’ was the album that finally made me realise (sorry couldn’t resist) the genius that is heard in Wayne Coynes music. They have released some of their finest albums but it was ‘Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots’ which continued their rise in popularity after the superb ‘The Soft Bulletin’. This album is a perfect introduction for anyone who wants to hear what is so great about The Flaming Lips.
Listen To: Do You Realize??
12. Radiohead – Kid A
After the massive success of ‘OK Computer’ nobody knew what Radiohead would be able to do to keep people interested in their sound, they went away and worked on the follow up for 3 years and released ‘Kid A’. The sound moved towards a heavier electronic sound, with Jonny Greenwood moving away from the guitar to playing other instruments. The results were their first US #1 album and ‘Kid A’ went platinum the week of its release in the UK.
Listen To: The National Anthem
11. PJ Harvey – Stories from the City Stories From the Sea
Polly Jean Harvey’s ‘Stories from...’ was her second commercial success, however unlike ‘To Bring You My Love’ the production on ‘Stories from….’ Brought PJ Harvey across as a more accessible female singer than the rougher one we heard 5 years before. The songs were much more beautifully crafted and as a result the layers that have been carefully applied make this her finest work to date. Also a collaboration with Thom Yorke can also never harm an album!
Listen To: A Place Called Home
10. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – BRMC
When ‘BRMC’ first came out it was the album which everyone had been waiting for, the way in which they just played classic Rock ‘n’ Roll and didn’t care about what everyone else was doing would make them one of the more exciting bands that came out. A simple 3 piece which was lead by the Brian Jonestown Massacre former guitarist Peter Hayes this album is a masterpiece which shows exactly why they should be such an important band in music!
Listen To: Whatever Happened to My Rock ‘N’ Roll (Punk Song)
9. British Sea Power – The Decline Of The British Sea Power
Not only producing some of the greatest T-Shirts of the past Decade, BSP produced one of the finest debut albums around, after relocating to Brighton and changing their Name to British Sea Power from British Air Power they started a club night and gained a following before releasing their full length LP through Rough Trade. The 11 tracks on ‘The Decline of…’ may not make you a fan of the band but once you have seen them live then you will forever be converted into a BSP fan.
Listen To: Remember Me
8. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
The White Stripes have the finest guitarist and songwriter that will come out this decade, Jack White is absolutely amazing….shame about Meg. ‘White Blood Cells’ was released as they were starting to move from the John Peel playlist onto Radio 1’s mainstream, the final album where they were able to record their blues infused Rock ‘n’ Roll with the stripped back sound of just drums and guitar. This album is the reason why the White Stripes are one of the finest bands to appear and a reason why Jack should return from the Raconteurs/Dead Weather back to form up with his ‘sister’ Meg.
Listen To: Dead Leaves On The Dirty Ground
7. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
A lot of people find Interpol depressing and can’t stand Paul Bank’s voice, those people are morons. Interpol’s rise as one of the finest bands out of NYC is justified after listening to ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’. This is the perfect example of why the debut album is a better representation of a band than their subsequent efforts, Interpol clearly worked on this album making each track fit in perfect order. The songs have all been compiled to take you on a journey through New York’s streets at night.
Listen To: Obstacle 1
6. Kings of Leon – Youth and Young Manhood
The Kings of Leon have definitely exploded over this decade, from that group of long haired brothers with their cousin on guitar to international superstars. ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ brought with it a raw stripped back southern twang rock ‘n’ roll band who looked damn cool and played the finest music to come out of Nashville. Doing exactly what the title says the album travels through ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ and delivers tales of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, exactly what their travelling Pentecostal Church preaching father would have hoped!
Listen To: Genius
5. Arcade Fire – Funeral
Canada’s finest band released this album in 2005, this album exploded and made them one of the hottest bands in the year, and barely touring ‘Funeral’ meant that everyone was just left listening to their album. Named after several deaths whilst they were recording it, the album took a melancholy direction however the songs were so powerful and remarkable that it quickly became one of the most successful releases of the year and starts my heavily influenced Rough Trade top 5!
Listen To: Rebellion (Lies)
4. Radiohead – In Rainbows
When ‘In Rainbows’ came out it was a groundbreaking concept, you paid what you wanted to for the download. There was no lead up to its release and barely any promotion done for the release. The album has to be their most accomplished to date, gaining a surplus of favorable reviews, they returned to the live circuit with a celebratory gig at Rough Trade East (moved to 93ft East due to security) which I queued up all day to see, ended up on Sky News and saw them play the album in its entirety, truly a superb experience for their finest album!
Listen To: Weird Fishes_Arpeggi
3. Strokes – Is This it
Music changed when this album came out in 2001, before that we had been inundated with crap bnb, hip hop, pop and nu-metal. When ‘Is This It’ came out suddenly the music that we listened to shifted, it paved the way for other indie bands to break into the mainstream. People started to look at New York and found that the US had a plethora of great music for us to consume. British bands realised they were able to write great songs and make a living. ‘Is This It’ changed the way the decade would progress and all this from a bunch of young New Yorker’s who got signed by Rough Trade by playing down the phone!
Listen To: The Modern Age
2. Libertines – Up The bracket
Before Pete Doherty became every red tops favorite villain, he and Carl wrote the finest British album of the decade. Combined they wrote some of the finest music from our shores with some of the most poetic lyrics, I would urge you to read the lyrics of the album to see quite how amazing the Libertines first album really is. The rhythm session of Gary on drums and John on bass held the band together as Pete and Carl tore at each other vocally throughout the album, a true masterpiece with the exception of ‘Radio America’!
Listen To: The Good Old Days
1. Manu Chao – Proxima Estacion Esperanza
I understand that most of you are probably saying “Who the hell is this guy” well if that’s what your saying, please go out and listen to this album on Spotify or better still buy it! Manu Chao has to be the most important artist there is globally. In this album ‘Proxima Estacion Esperanza’ he came into his own, he sings in Spanish, French, English, Portugese, Arabic and Galician. His musical styles vary more than a chameleon; the album is a true work of genius with all the tracks merging into each other. Most will find it surprising that this has topped the charts but after hearing this album back in 2001 it opened my eyes to many different genre’s of music and has been the most influential album of the past decade!
Listen To: Mr Bobby
So tell me who did I miss out and who shouldnt have been on the list???
Love it, you have included Manu Chao!!
ReplyDelete"Music Changed when this album came out"
ReplyDeleteYes, yes it did - remove the strokes and all that is left is Travis.