30. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah” (2005)
CYHSY: indy darlings who have fallen off the map for the most part. Funny that The National has really held up over time, when it was CYHSY that caught all the buzz when they toured together. And though they might be down, you can’t forget their first effort, or their video for Over and Over Again.
29. Doves – “Some Cities” (2005)
If you partied at the Barn from 2004-06, you know this album as it was a part of the steady porch rotation along with
28. Fleet Foxes – "Fleet Foxes" (2008)
Here’s the question: 10 years from now will this album be in the pantheon of great albums or will Fleet Foxes seem like a throw-away band to me (like My Morning Jacket, who I find quite boring). I hopped on this gravy train early getting their EP in winter, and then the full album when it came out in June. Last year I put it in the top 10 and said Ragged Wood was its standout track, and a year later I still feel really good about that statement.
27. Daft Punk – “Discovery” (2001)
On the strength of Digital Love alone, this would get on the list. Lord knows how many times that track has got “more dudes grinding!” The album as a whole is just damn fun, although if I never hear “One More Time” one more time, it would be just grand. Thanks Arnau.
26. Eels – Blinking Lights… (2005)
The double album that just drainsssssss you. In fact, it’s almost too much music to handle. The highs and lows are crushing. To promote this effort, E and the gang went on tour “with strings” and we saw them in
25. TV on the Radio – “Dear Science” (2008)
Dear TV on the Radio, thank you for roping me back in. When I first heard “Return to
24. Vampire Weekend – “Vampire Weekend” (2008)
The “will they” or “won’t they” band of the decade. Their forthcoming second album is going to make or break this band. A lot of my friends can’t stand VW, some more fervently than others . When this album first came out, I absolutely loved them. I’ve definitely cooled on them (largely due to people over-playing their singles), so I’m curious how I’ll feel about their next batch of tunes. On this particular album, there is such a delightfully catchy marriage of sounds I couldn’t help but get wrapped up in their damn
23. M83 – “
I am in the minority here, but I give this the tip of the cap over “Before the Dawn Heals Us.” Track 3, “Run into Flower,” has always stuck with me—probably because there definitely are some chemicals I’d like to run into.
22. MIA – "Kala" (2007)
Why oh why oh why did people have to run Paper Planes into the ground? I know it was a pretty awesome song, but you don’t have to play it 9869889623^7 times in every movie and TV show.
21. Dodos – “Visiter” (2008)
So the word on the street is that they are adding a third member and are “more of a band” for their album due out later this year. I’m actually pretty skeptical because I love the sound they exposed us to on this album. It’s bare, it’s stripped down, and that’s exactly what I want from them.
20. Animal Collective – "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (2009)
Their best, most accessible album. Quite frankly, “My Girls” is my pick for song of the decade. It also could be video of the decade. Start to finish, this album is amazing, and I will never forget the horrendous Valentine’s Day weekend I spent in
19. Killers – “Hot Fuss” (2004)
Five years ago, I would have guessed that this band would be well on their way to being my favorite of all time. The reality? I can’t stand anything they have done since this album. Hot Fuss was easily the soundtrack to partying at the Barn. Oh, and it was nice of the fraternity across the street to start playing it once it got popular (half a year after we started pumping it out).
18. Badly Drawn Boy – “The Hour of the Bewilderbeast”(2000)
The Shining. Fall in a River. Once Around the Block. Three of my favorite songs of all time come on this one album. How did this album come out almost 10 years ago? God I feel old.
17. The Decemberists – “Castaways and Cutouts” (2003)
Picking your favorite Decemberists’ album is like picking off the menu at Benny’s: you can’t go wrong, and you’ll leave full, satisfied, but still hung over. For me, this is the one that does it. It just feels like Freshman year of college.
16. The Knife – “Deep Cuts” (2006)
Let me say this right now: If anyone ever finds a T-Shirt of the cover to their self-titled album, I will fucking love you forever. I love it that much; it is easily my pick for album cover of the decade. Musically, however, Deep Cuts get the nod on the strength of Heartbeats and Pass this On (a candidate for video of the decade, nay, entire history of music videos).
15. Cut Copy – “In Ghost Colors” (2008)
Last year, I picked this as album of the year. If it’s even possible, I love it more 12 months later. You can put this album on in the car, and before you know it, an hour has gone by and you’ve been dancing in your seat the whole way.
14. Air – “Moon Safari” (1999/2000)
Ok, I cheated a little here. The album technically came out in 1999, but I couldn’t get my hands on it until 2000 so it will eternally feel like a part of this decade to me.
13. The National – “Alligator” (2006)
Before Pitchfork this year, this album would have been in the 20s. Based on their performance, it vaults all the way up to 13. Some people prefer “Boxer,” but this record just feels far more completely to me. When it reaches its apex with “Mr. November” you just have to scream out the chorus. Even if you’re in church.
12. The Flaming Lips – “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots” (2002)
Could this album be higher? Yes. Could it be lower? Yes. It’s almost impossible to gauge the Flaming Lips after the “Soft Bulletin,” which would be my pick for Album of the 1990s.
11. The Stills – “Logic Will break Your Heart” (2006)
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, and that says a lot because the parts are fucking awesome. This is the poster child for “LISTEN TO THE WHOLE DAMN ALBUM STRAIGHT THROUGH, PLEASE!”
10. Spoon – “Kill the Moonlight”(2002)
My top 10 starts off with Spoon’s album which will forever make me think of Scotty & Forgo’s freshman dorm room. Unfortunately, since then, “The Way We Get By” has been played today in a hundred different mediums. In an upset, my favorite track on the record is “Paper Tiger.” Although, I can’t promise that I will no longer do the devil’s wishes.
9.
Ok, I’ll admit it—“Neon Bible” was just a tad too dark & brooding for me. That’s not the aspect of Arcade Fire’s sound that I enjoy. That’s why Funeral gets the pick here. It distills their never-ending nostalgia for nascent days. Oh, and also the fact that #2 (Laika), Wake Up, and Rebellion (Lies) are fantastic. More accordion, please.
8. Modest Mouse – “The Moon &
This album was so good, in the summer of 2004, I got a bunch of 5-15 year olds to fall in love with it. Gravity does indeed ride everything. Oh, and no I’m not some pervert, I just spent that summer as a playground leader.
7. Interpol – Turn on Your Bright Lights (2002)
Will Interpol’s lyrics every make sense? Will they ever make an album which can top this one? I enjoyed both Antics and Our Love to Admire, but Turn on Your Bright Lights is a flat-out addictive exercise in indulging your iniquity.
6. LCD Soundsystem – “Sound of Silver” (2007)
I could listen to “All My Friends” for an eternity and not get sick of it. Commercially, this is an album that has really been overused, but I’ve done my best to avoid it outside of my own headset. I think that’s gone a long way to keeping James Murphy on my good side. It’s been two years, come out with another album already!
5. The Hold Steady – “Boys and Girls in
The group I am dying to see live. The album that somehow finds it way onto my MP3 players and CD player every week. It's a blueprint for how to party, how to lament, how to win, how to lose, and how to kick out the jams.
4. Girl Talk – “Night Ripper” (2006)
Hey girl, how ya doing? Did this thing get played 5000, or 6000 times in a row at 711 Arch? Does it even matter anymore? The
3. The Avalanches – “Since I Left You” (2001)
I was REEEEALLLY tempted to slide this all the way up to number 1. I just couldn’t do it, but that says more about the top two than this one. The way this album folds in and out of itself, does it with humor and seriousness, all the while adhering to an absolutely beautiful production--making it the audio equivalent of Shaun of the Dead (quite possibly THE perfect film). We’re all still waiting for their second completely original album, and what a brutal wait it has been.
2. Of
As Scotty said—THE break-up album. And who thought breaking up could be this funky? Although I love Skeletal Lamping, I HIGHLY doubt they can top this gut-wrenching and pulchritudinous record.
1. The Notwist – “Neon Golden” (2003)
Yep, I couldn’t resist. When I put the list together, I wrote out the name of 50 albums I loved, alphabetically. From there, I just put my pen to paper a few times writing out several top 10s. Every time, instinctively, The Notwist took my number one spot. The album is solemn and exciting at the same time. Perhaps most important, it was the album that served as the conduit for me to truly begin to connect with indy. The pulse on this album has become the pulse of my life.
Breakdown by Years:
2000: 3
2001: 2
2002: 3
2003: 2
2004: 3
2005: 3
2006: 5
2007: 3
2008: 5
2009: 1
