your top 10 albums of the decade?

[japanesebaby]

so we're almost at 2010 & at the start of the next decade and many music mags have been choosing their top 10 most influential albums of the decade (mostly saying that radiohead's kid a is #1 and then ending up debating which one's better, ok computer or kid a - repeat and fade repeat and fade).

what would be your list? i don't mean "10 best albums of the decade", instead what would be those 10 albums that define the decade for you? your personal choices, those that draw the musical outlines of your personal history in 2000-2010?

i found it really hard to pick just 10, so far i could settle with 8 secure cases - need to re-rethink about those missing two...
in no particular order (+only one album per artist, to keep it more interesting):

magenta skycode: IIIII  
kate bush: aerial
muse: origin of symmetry  
covenant: sequencer
the cure: bloodflowers
nine inch nails: with teeth
porcupine tree: deadwing
von hertzen brothers: approach


*edit: the missing two weren't that hard (i was just being demented):

kent: du & jag döden
red hot chili peppers: stadium arcadium

*edit2:

make it 11!:

jeff buckley: live a l'olympia

[dsanchez]

This is my list, just 8 albums in my case:

01- MONSTER MOVIE - Last night something happened
02- MELOTRON - Sternenstaub
03- THE CURE - Bloodflowers
04- PET SHOP BOYS - Yes
05- BJORK - Medulla
06- TELEVISE - Songs to Sing in A & E
07- TRAVIS - The Invisible Band
08- MALORY - The third face

[fiction]

Mission Impossible. It´s hard even to pick 50. So that´s what I did and out of those 50 I came down with these ten. The first five I´m totally clear about but the next five could differ some if I renew the list one day.

Woven Hand - Consider the Birds
of Montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic
Beulah - The Coast is Clear
Wooden Shjips - Wooden Shjips
Asteroid #4 - An Amazing Dream
Gorky´s Zygotic Mynci - Sleep Holiday
Placebo - Meds
The Last Shadow Puppets - The Age of the Understatement
Built like Alaska - Autumnland
Death Cab for Cutie - The Photo Album

[japanesebaby]

made it up to ten after all (first post edited).

also realized the biggest regret i have, what i miss the most from the decade: that sadly there're no jeff buckley albums from the 2000s.
i wish there was.  

1- MONSTER MOVIE - Last night something happened

did't know this album, other than faintly knew it's an ex-slowdive project.
souds quite good.

[crowbi_wan]

What, no Green Day fans here?  How dare none of you put American Idiot high atop your list :!:

I kept wanting to put a Neil Young record on the list, but could decide which one and what to omit.  The end result yielded no Neil or Pearl Jam.  Both of who are two of my favorite artists/bands.  What did make my top ten?  See below.

In no particular order:

MUSE - Origin of Symmetry
MUSE- Absolution
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
The Cure - Bloodflowers
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
The Postal Service - Give Up
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
System Of A Down - Toxicity
Radiohead - Kid A
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf

Seems I dare to pass on Green Day, too. 

And yes, I'm aware my list consists of eleven albums.  Hey, if Spinal Tap's amps can go to eleven, so can my list. 

btw, I was wondering if compilations (soundtracks, best ofs, live albums) and remasters were allowed?  Muse's Hullabaloo Soundtrack and some remasters would certainly scootch in there somewhere. 

   

[japanesebaby]

Seems I dare to pass on Green Day, too.  

relieved to see that.
yet you did include the official #1 of the decade, kid a.


atlantic ocean seem to be dividing waters there: whereas most of the UK mags all sing praises to yorke & co., SPIN magazine wasn't "so sure":

MYTH No. 1: Radiohead Can Do No Wrong - REALITY: Radiohead kinda blow.


btw if i had included evelen albums i would have added Absolution too. but tried to pick only one album from each band. a difficult choice, that one!

[crowbi_wan]

Seems I dare to pass on Green Day, too.  

relieved to see that.
yet you did include the official #1 of the decade, kid a.


atlantic ocean seem to be dividing waters there: whereas most of the UK mags all sing praises to yorke & co., SPIN magazine wasn't "so sure":

MYTH No. 1: Radiohead Can Do No Wrong - REALITY: Radiohead kinda blow.


btw if i had included evelen albums i would have added Absolution too. but tried to pick only one album from each band. a difficult choice, that one!

Yes, i read that article on the way to Vegas.  Spin, never much cared for them, but decided to pick that one up.  Quickly reminded me why I had never considered a subscription. 

But yeah, I dig Kid A a lot.  Not so much, if at all when it first came out.  In fact, I didn't even get into Radiohead until around the time I head There, There.  And een after that, it still took me a while to warm up to Thom's vocal style.

As for my list, i knew it!  Already have a small change of heart on one album.  Sticking with the same band though.  I'd have to rank Mezmerize slightly ahead of Toxicity.       

[fiction]

Bands I like to mention that just didn´t made it but were close enough for almost an apology:

Sixteen Horsepower (Folklore)
Elf Power (Back in the Web)
Telepathic Butterflies (Songs from A Second Wave)
Jayhawkes (Women´s Club)
Coral (Invisible Invasion)
Rezurex (Beyond the Grave)
Gogol Bordello (Supertaranta!)
Cantinero (Championship Boxing)
Strokes (Is this It?)
The National (Boxer)

[japanesebaby]

Already have a small change of heart on one album.  Sticking with the same band though.  I'd have to rank Mezmerize slightly ahead of Toxicity.       

haha i've already been going to and fro between VHB's 'love remains the same' and 'approach' - decided to settle with 'approach' now, the flute(!) solo on the album versio of  'kiss a wish' is too stunning.
i do think 'absolution' is a better whole than 'origin of symmetry', it's more solid  in several ways, much better produced - and it's an excellent concept album too(!).
but after some metal wrestling i decided to go for 'origin' just because its lunacy - it's just so wonderfully manic album, they've never been able to top that and probably never will.  

[crowbi_wan]

Strokes (Is this It?)
The National (Boxer)

Some excellent albums 

'origin' just because its lunacy - it's just so wonderfully manic album, they've never been able to top that and probably never will. 

Exactly!  Same could be said about their live shows, too.  Not that I saw them back then, just what I've seen on film.   

[lostflower4]

What, no Green Day fans here?  How dare none of you put American Idiot high atop your list :!:

Were you serious?  I used to really like Green Day in the '90s, but when they added a keyboardist and those other on-stage musicians, I think their music (and image) really took a turn for the worst.  

Anyway, here are my picks, in order of release:

The Cure - Bloodflowers (2000)
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
SR-71 - Now You See Inside (2000)
The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)
The Cure - The Cure (2004)
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium (2006)  vinyl version
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I-IV (2008)
Depeche Mode - Sounds of the Universe (2009)


Huh, I couldn't even think of 10. Possible reasons for this:

1) The 2000s were one of the lousiest decades for music in recent history.

2) I gave up on following new music because of #1.


Actually, I believe both to be true, and I do realize there is a lot of good music out there that I'm not aware of.

Also, I've realized that there are newer albums by some of my favorite artists that I've never even listened to, or ones that I've only heard a few songs from. Can't give any exact reason why I haven't checked them out, but I guess I just have a negative view of this decade in general as far as music goes. The fact that the loudness war reached its full scale during this decade definitely didn't help my attitudes at all, and there are some albums that I absolutely cannot listen to because of this, even if they have good songs. 4:13 Dream would have probably made my Top 10 list, but the production is just so dreadfully awful that I can barely acknowledge its existence.

There are bands like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and 65daysofstatic that have made a ton of music that I like between 2000 and 2010, but either I  1) haven't heard all their albums, 2) don't like the production of their albums, or 3) think the songs sound better live than in the studio.

And I'll admit that my list even has some suspect candidates. I don't think The Cure's self-titled album was anything too spectacular, but it came out at a time in my life that was memorable to me as a Cure fan. And I simply enjoyed listening to Depeche Mode's last album for some reason, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's super fantastic either.

Anyway, I'm sure I could add to this list someday. In fact, there are some albums I'd need to hear again just because I've forgotten exactly what they're like.

I'll have to check/re-check Kent's output from 2000 onward too (thanks for the reminder, jb  ).

[japanesebaby]

1) The 2000s were one of the lousiest decades for music in recent history.

2) I gave up on following new music because of #1.

i wish i could disgaree (for the sake the music) but i'm afraid you're right.
that actually made it pretty easy for me to put the list together: there's not that much to choose from, really. and sure, there's a lot of stuff i don't know either but at the same time there's  alarmingly many albums i've checked out with big hopes but been disappointed. so.

There are bands like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and 65daysofstatic that have made a ton of music that I like between 2000 and 2010, but either I  1) haven't heard all their albums, 2) don't like the production of their albums, or 3) think the songs sound better live than in the studio.

mogwai (& these other instrymental bands) keep confusing me. i'm srt of aware that they ought to be pretty good but every time i try listening to them (studio albums) i'm just not into it as much as i "should".

And I'll admit that my list even has some suspect candidates. I don't think The Cure's self-titled album was anything too spectacular, but it came out at a time in my life that was memorable to me as a Cure fan. And I simply enjoyed listening to Depeche Mode's last album for some reason, but I wouldn't necessarily say that it's super fantastic either.

well that's what i meant with this thread: albums that mean something to you, for some reason or another (personal history etc.). not because they'd make it to the top 10 of every respectable music magazine.
actually the cure's self-titled album was among my runner ups but as i was trying to pick just one album per every band, bloodflowers made the list.

I'll have to check/re-check Kent's output from 2000 onward too (thanks for the reminder, jb  ).

definitely worth re-checking.


[/quote]

[japanesebaby]

also realized the biggest regret i have, what i miss the most from the decade: that sadly there're no jeff buckley albums from the 2000s.
i wish there was.  

i just realized that 'live a l'olympia' was released in 2001 = will have to pull spinal tap too.




his "cover" of led zep's kashmir is memorable:
Jeff Buckley - Kashmir

[fiction]

1) The 2000s were one of the lousiest decades for music in recent history.

2) I gave up on following new music because of #1.

Well I strongly disagree about the first decade of the 2000s were that lousy. Of course it depends what sort of approach you have to new music. Are you curious of new bands and wants to expand your taste in what you believe is good music by exploring new areas or do you just want to find new recordings of old time favorites?

I think this first decade of the new millenium has given me a rich spread of great variety of new good bands that elongates beyond expectations. I dare say that I may never before have found so many a good new bands. Well perhaps with the exception of the 70´s.

Actually, I believe both to be true, and I do realize there is a lot of good music out there that I'm not aware of.

I guess you´re right there, that there are a lot of music to be introduced to. It´s like a never ending stream and of course it´s impossible to be perfectly updated.

[crowbi_wan]

What, no Green Day fans here?  How dare none of you put American Idiot high atop your list :!:

Were you serious?  I used to really like Green Day in the '90s, but when they added a keyboardist and those other on-stage musicians, I think their music (and image) really took a turn for the worst. 

I was joking there.  Notice I didn't include them either.  But yes, I tend to have the same feelings as you about their change.  Used to like some of their stuff early on when they were a radio friendly punk band. 

Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

Nice choice there.    I don't listen to rap much at all anymore, but that album always brings back some good memories.  Same for Dr. Dre's 2001.  Best rap album EVER.