The Top Albums Of The 2000s: 10-1

Here ends our journey of the top 50 albums of the past decade.



10. The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots

The Flaming Lips created and perfected Art Rock. This album has tons of electronic influence but also delves into the creative side of rock with witty lyrics and the use of pop as enhancement, not necessarily as a genre. Interesting concept, I know.

1. Fight Test
2. One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21
3. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1
4. Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 2
5. In The Morning Of The Magicians
6. Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell
7. Are You A Hypnotist??
8. It's Summertime
9. Do You Realize??
10. All We Have Is Now
11. Approaching Pavonis Mons By Balloon (Utopia Planitia)



9. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites

As far as rock and roll goes, I mean well-constructed, well-toned, beautiful rock and roll goes, Mew is the only modern band to come close. They are rough, they are talented, their lyrics are childish yet appropriate for the album. This record is gapless and doesn't even want to let up. If you don't already listen to this album on a regular basis, prepare for an awakening.

1. The Circuitry Of The Wolf
2. Chinaberry Tree
3. Why Are You Looking Grave?
4. Fox Cub
5. Apocalypso
6. Special
7. The Zookeeper's Boy
8. A Dark Design
9. Saviours Of Jazz Ballet
10. An Envoy To The Open Fields
11. Small Ambulance
12. The Seething Rain Weeps For You
13. White Lips Kissed Mew
14. Louise Louisa



8. Pedro The Lion - Winners Never Quit

David Bazan is one of my favorite artists due to his involvement in Pedro and the Headphones and as far as Pedro in the past decade goes, you can't get any better than this record. It stays in their style, is well produced, and every song is beautifully depressing. Pedro is simple which, in turn, makes great musik simple.

1. Slow And Steady Wins The Race
2. Simple Economics
3. To Protect The Family Name
4. A Mind Of Her Own
5. Never Leave A Job Half Done
6. Eye On The Finish Line
7. Bad Things To Such Good People
8. Winners Never Quit



7. Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State

My favorite Sufjan album. I know that it's not as poppy or accessible as Illinoise but this intamacy is constructed so well that I just can't pass it up. Every song is beautiful. Literally. I find every song attractive. That's not even a joke. If you've listened to this album all the way through you know what I'm talking about. Give it a chance.

1. Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid)
2. All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
3. For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
4. Say Yes! to M!ch!gan!
5. Upper Peninsula
6. Tahquamenon Falls
7. Holland
8. Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
9. Romulus
10. Alanson, Crooked River
11. Sleeping Bear, Sault Saint Marie
12. They Also Mourn Who Do Not Wear Black (For the Homeless in Muskegon)
13. Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)
14. Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)
15. Vito's Ordination Song



6. The Strokes - Is This It?

The best rock album of the decade. The Strokes take their punk-esque rhythms, construct them differently, add intelligence to them, keep the beat as steady as a rock and back it all with low-production quality to make one of my all time favorite rock albums. It's grungy while being sophisticated, it's beautiful while being in your face, it's heartfelt while remaining rock and roll. This album is legit.

1. Is This It
2. The Modern Age
3. Soma
4. Barely Legal
5. Someday
6. Alone, Together
7. Last Nite
8. Hard To Explain
9. When It Started
10. Trying Your Luck
11. Take It Or Leave It



5. Girl Talk - Night Ripper

Girl Talk revolutionized musik.
1973 - Edgar Winter Group's song "Frankenstein" conatins take offs from popular songs and melodies on purpose. It was the first kind of sampling song and it was done with all instruments. An unheard of idea.
1977 - Afrika Bambaataa creates the idea of bringing turntablists together in a peaceful fashion. The first wide acceptance and use of DJs (who use all samples) in a corporation which gained a significant amount of press in the musik scene. An unheard of idea.
1996 - DJ Shadow puts out Endtroducing..., hands down the best turntablist album of all time. Cutting, beat juggling, mixing, doing things on a turntable that put every DJ to shame. A perfection of an art.
2004 - Greg Gillis of Girl Talk puts out Unstoppable, an album that is entirely mash ups and not just mash ups. Several songs in one collective song.
2006 - Girl Talk perfects his art with Night Ripper, blowing minds left and right.
This is the final frontier of musik and Girl Talk does it best.
For full enjoyment: accompany your listen with this.

1. Once Again
2. That's My D.J.
3. Hold Up
4. Too Deep
5. Smash Your Head
6. Minute By Minute
7. Ask About Me
8. Summer Smoke
9. Friday Night
10. Hand Clap
11. Give and Go
12. Bounce That
13. Warm It Up
14. Double Pump
15. Overtime
16. Peak Out



4. Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther

The.best.pop.rock.album.ever. Well, maybe not ever, but definitely of the past 10 years. Lyrically it blows my mind, melodically, especially in combo with the drums, it's fascinating, and it's mood stays constant while changing the songs enough to be distinguishable.

1. Roscoe
2. Bandits
3. Head Home
4. Van Occupanther
5. Young Bride
6. Branches
7. In This Camp
8. We Gathered In Spring
9. It Covers The Hillsides
10. Chasing After Deer
11. You Never Arrived




3. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Like I said, Radiohead has been blowing minds for years. This is by far their best album since The Bends and I cannot talk enough about how it takes everything I know about the band, and musik, and twists it enough to make me doubt everything I ever learned. If you don't know Radiohead, prepare to be shocked and revolutionized.

1. 15 Step
2. Bodysnatchers
3. Nude
4. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
5. All I Need
6. Faust Arp
7. Reckoner
8. House Of Cards
9. Jigsaw Falling Into Place
10. Videotape



2. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days

Maybe it's because this is the first Iron And Wine album I really paid attention to that makes me love it so much, maybe it's because Sam Beam is a genius, maybe, and by maybe, I mean 100% yes, maybe it's both. Our Endless Numbered Days was the first well produced Iron & Wine album and while it is an improvement from his lo-fi recordings and does indeed help, Sam could be playing in a rainstorm and I be unable to hear him and it would still sound more beautiful than I can imagine. If you like folk musik then you obviously already know Iron & Wine, but if for some reason you don't, give them a fair chance. Realize the complexity of the instruments and the conceivability of the lyrics.

1. On Your Wings
2. Naked As We Came
3. Cinder And Smoke
4. Sunset Soon Forgotten
5. Teeth In The Grass
6. Love And Some Verses
7. Radio War
8. Each Coming Night
9. Free Until Cut Me Down
10. Fever Dream
11. Sodom, South Georgia
12. Passing Afternoon


1. Daft Punk - Discovery

The best electronic album of all time is also the best album of the decade and even has a place in my top 10 of all time. Every.single.person. loves at least one track off of this record. It's impossible not to. It provides everything from jazz influence, french house, American pop, and everything in between. The accompanying musik videos are just as captivating as the songs themselves and set this album apart from the rest.
Discovery is the greatest.
Boom.
Roasted.

1. One More Time
2. Aerodynamic
3. Digital Love
4. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
5. Crescendolls
6. Nightvision
7. Superhereos
8. High Life
9. Something About Us
10. Voyager
11. Veridis Quo
12. Short Circuit
13. Face To Face
14. Too Long


Be sure to check out the rest of the list.
Monday, October 5th: 50-41
Tuesday, October 6th: 40-31
Wednesday, October 7th: 30-21
Thursday, October 8th: 20-11
Friday, October 9th: 10-1



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