In no particular order:
| Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not: Alex Turner could not have been more prescient when naming the Arctic Monkeys’ first album, which was followed with a media blitz so intense that it turned off a lot of people. This album is like crack to me, however, with the hooks and the verbosity and Turner’s angry British accent. I cannot tell you how much I’ve listened to it. Since its release in 2006, I can guarantee I’ve listened to part of it every single day. When Whatever first came out, I was in the midst of touring with my first band, and it immediately provided a soundtrack for dirty bars, nasty people, and changing in bathrooms. (Favorite tracks: “Mardy Bum,” “Red Light Indicates Doors are Secured,” “From the Ritz to the Rubble”) | |
| Bright Eyes, Cassadaga: From the strains of the first track (complete with a psychic’s predictions for album mastermind, Conor Oberst) to the final track, Cassadaga is a lovely and nearly perfect album. We used to wake up on Sundays, throw this in the player, and listen all the way through before setting our feet on the floor to start the day. In our new paradigm of iTunes and totally digital music, this also has amazing album art: the album comes with a “Spectral Decoder,” which you use to reveal the art. This is the last Bright Eyes album thus far; I don’t think Oberst will ever top it. (Favorite tracks: “Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed),” “If the Brakeman Turns My Way,” “I Must Belong Somewhere”) | |
| Poe, Haunted: Absolutely, staggeringly, stunningly underrated and ignored. This album was released when female artists still weren’t getting a lot of radio play, not that most of these songs are fit for radio in any case. They’re dense and dark and centered on audio tapes of Poe’s father and her brother’s book, House of Leaves. If you’re a fan of Mark Danielewski’s book, the album takes on another dimension entirely. It’s infinitely listenable; it’s a journey. (Favorite tracks: “Hey Pretty,” “Wild,” “Haunted”) | |
| Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Reprise refused to release this album, saying that they couldn’t sell it, and they are idiots. Sales aside, Foxtrot is the high point of Wilco’s discography. In my opinion, all albums that followed pale in comparison. The rift between Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett is clear throughout the making of this, but it pushed the music far further than it would have gone on its own. The thick wall of sound demands your listening attention and there’s a great documentary (I Am Trying to Break Your Heart) that lets you in on the creative process. Rest in peace, Jay Bennett, you certainly never found it here. (Favorite tracks: “Heavy Metal Drummer,” “I’m the Man Who Loves You,” “Jesus, Etc.”) | |
| Cursive, Domestica: Granted, there isn’t a bad Cursive album. They have never failed me. I think Tim Kasher is a genius and have been known, especially when drunk, to rant insistently about the fact. Domestica is a concept album about a failing relationship and it tells the story in a kind of loose chronological order. The lyrics, alternating cutting and heart-breaking, manage to hit all the right spots in identifying the difficulty, losses, and triumph contained in any long term coupling. I am like a Cursive preacher, I am constantly pushing them on people, and I’m taking this opportunity to tell you that you need to listen to them. Start with this album and just keep going. (Favorite tracks: “The Martyr,” “The Game of Who Needs Who the Most,” “The Radiator Hums”) | |
| Jay-Z, The Black Album: No one believed Jay-Z when he said this was his last studio album and rightfully so. Either way, it provided a good excuse for him to riff constantly about how he is “the best rapper alive” and I think it made a great backdrop for him to push himself into these stellar tracks. Kanye West’s stamp is all over this record; you don’t have to listen hard to hear it, beside the fact that Jay calls him out all the time, in the best hip-hop tradition. This is an album that doesn’t come off of my iPod. (Favorite tracks: “Lucifer,” “What More Can I Say?” “99 Problems”) | |
| Amanda Palmer, Who Killed Amanda Palmer?: I really hedged back and forth about whether to place this album on the list or one of the Dresden Dolls records. Anything Amanda Fucking Palmer has touched deserves accolades. I finally decided on the solo record for two reasons: it’s the closest to my heart, personally, and I think it’s the record where she finally came into being the indisputable queen of new media and noise cabaret. Zoe Keating’s cello and Ben Folds’ production shape the skeleton of Palmer’s piano in an entirely new way. The videos she made for a lot of the songs are perfect companions, including the controversial clip for “Oasis.” Amanda Palmer doesn’t just make great music, she lives art, and I admire her more than I can rightly say. (Favorite tracks: “Runs in the Family,” “Leeds United,” “Oasis”) | |
| The Decemberists, The Crane Wife: Oh, Colin Meloy, you and your archaic words and imagery have stolen my heart. Japanese folk tales made into songs? I am in, sir. Evidently, I have a thing for concept records, too. I mourn the fact that music is going more and more towards singles with the advent of the digital age. There’s nothing like an album that is fully realized through a mesh of songs and The Crane Wife is exactly that. English majors and literary types swoon at this record, myself included. The lush instrumentation, the words, and Meloy’s weird vocals combine to pull you into the music. (Favorite tracks: “O Valencia!” “The Shankill Butchers,” “Sons & Daughters”) | |
| Lady Gaga, The Fame/The Fame Monster: I maintain that this is one long album. And before you begin to argue with me about this being on the list, let me assure you that it will fall on deaf ears. I just don’t care. Much like lovers, Gaga and I don’t need your approval. We’re running away together and you can’t stop us. In all seriousness, I am totally energized by pop stars that are willing to take risks and be absolutely freaky. It’s missing from the majority of pop music in the new millennium. The danceable songs are uber-danceable; the ballads are the best kind of dramatic bombast. So, thank you, Stefani Germanotta. Thank you. (Favorite tracks: “Paparazzi,” “Speechless,” “Bad Romance”) | |
| Rilo Kiley, The Execution of All Things: There will be some that say I have too much Saddle Creek on this list. Those people can shut the hell up and make their own list. Jenny Lewis and company deserve a spot on the best of the decade, even if this album just consisted of the title song. It is a total killer. This album can almost make me forgive Blake Sennett. Almost, but not quite. (Favorite tracks: “A Better Son/Daughter,” “The Execution of All Things,” “My Slumbering Heart”) |
Honorable Mentions: Tegan and Sara, The Con; The Killers, Hot Fuss; The White Stripes, White Blood Cells
I am SO happy you mentioned House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski! I love that book, and it’s so cool how it goes along with Poe’s album.