Arcade Fire Funeral
Anthemic, cathartic, evocative, brilliant; all these words and so many more could describe Funeral, an album that perfectly captures the mood of its time through its exploration of the world, of life, of humanity and of death. It could well stand on its own as a classic not only of this decade but of the entire history of rock music. It's extraordinary that 9 people could make an album so intimate and that a voice as fragile as Win Butler's could make songs so lush. From the view into four "Neighborhoods" to the call to action of "Wake Up", the record reveals that we are all, in our many differences, united by the span of time. (C.H.)
White Stripes White Blood Cells
The Detroit drum and guitar duo broke into the mainstream in 2002 with their Lego-featured, Michel Gondry-directed video from their single, "Fell In Love With A Girl." Not many knew who they were, let alone that this was in fact the second single from its third album. Minimalistic, grimy and wonderfully constructed, the White Stripes not only brought back the dirty, blues-rock sound, but also perfected it. (N.B.)
Kanye West The College Dropout
The unknown man behind the mixing table, hidden within the credits of Jay-Z tracks, finally got his chance to step into the limelight. With impeccable flow, impenetrable drive and impregnable egoism, Kanye West began what would become a career of crafting hip-hop that could relate to both the truest of underground hip-hop fans and top-40 lovers alike. (N.B.)
Sufjan Stevens Illinois
Illinois is hardly just an album about a state. It's about the landmarks and people that embody the American spirit, the soul of the lonely man lost on a big planet, and the power, for good or ill, of our imaginations. Stevens researched the history of a place and found his soul in the tales of buildings erected and people slain. At times fervent and thrilling, at times peaceful and reflective, "Illinois'" is a true landmark of independent music. (C.H.)
Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot: Front man Jeff Tweedy breaks our hearts, proposes a war on war and weeps among "The Ashes of American Flags." Recently deceased Wilco member Jay Bennett was reportedly the genius behind this early 2000s album. It doesn't seem possible that the country/folk album could get any better, but the fact that he has passed on may indeed add to the power and beauty this album filled with sweeping melodies and bittersweet vocals contains. (N.B.)
Radiohead In Rainbows
One of the greatest bands of all time looks back on a career of innovation and comes out with its warmest, most immediately enrapturing work to date. (C.H.)
M.I.A. Kala
An album with global aspirations that also features the grittiness of an old-fashioned hip-hop mixtape, the ever-charismatic art student managed to give shout outs to poverty and AIDs in Africa while simultaneously produce one of the hottest tracks of the decade in "Paper Planes." (N.B.)
The Strokes Is This It?
Within a wave of bands sounding like English garage rock ripoffs, this band was by far the most original and best among the rest, and they knew it too. The band went from virtually unknown to having labels compete in a bidding war over their album filled with nefarious nightlife portrayals of NYC. (N.B.)
Jay Z Blueprint
The face of Roc-a-fella, Notorious B.I.G.'s successor, the Don of hip-hop. Jay-Z epitomizes all these titles no greater than on "The Bluprint," an album that will be Jay's legacy when he finally does lay down the mic. (N.B.)
Outkast Stankonia
Big Boi and Andre 3000 are their own entity within the world of hip-hop. Even apart they can create an album better than most rappers put together. And at the beginning of the century, the two managed to make an album so diverse, so smooth, so hot and so ahead of it's time. (N.B.)
Nate Brennan, Christian Hagen
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