Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s by 
buzzdainer 
The most striking development in the twenty-first century music world is the way cyber-balkanization through digital media has rendered just about everyone into distinct musical camps that don't talk to each other much. So it has become possible, for instance, for a person to love Josh Ritter (associated with indie folk and Americana) but never to have heard of Josh Rouse (who works in much the same musical terrain, just with a different audience). During the seventies and eighties, I typically knew just about every song in Casey Kasum's weekly top 40 (which I listened to religiously), whereas by the 2000s I'd be lucky--or unlucky, depending on your perspective--to know even one. So how did I discover new music? Well, in the first half of the decade, by listening to WNCW (a great community station based in Spindale, North Carolina), raiding my then-girlfriend's music collection, and attending concerts in Asheville. A lot of my musical loves came out of, or were influenced by, the rivers and hollows of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Pisgah National Forest near where I lived.
Later, I relocated first to Vermont and then to Nevada, where I became suffused with both the seedy cityscape of Reno and the spectacular natural landscapes of Lake Tahoe, the Sierra Nevada, and the Great Basin. I started playing music with a group of friends, reading a lot of music reviews (No Depression magazine was my favorite until it went out of print, though it remained an active online presence), and listening to more indie rock and electronica. I was probably a more adventurous music listener than I was in the nineties, but I still missed out on some pretty cool post-rock, garage rock revival, abstract hip hop, plunderphonics, and other genres I didn't know about, or just ignored for whatever reason. So I'm exploring some of that stuff now. As with all my charts, I'd love to receive your feedback, and I'd appreciate any music recommendations you might have. Happy reading!
- Chart updated: 04/07/2024 16:15
- (Created: 02/16/2016 19:11).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There are 24 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s has an average rating of 91 out of 100 (from 33 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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My favorite album by Josh Ritter, the artist I've listened to more than any other over the past fifteen years or so, who writes meticulously crafted lyrics within his relatively traditional, organ- and guitar-centric, Dylan-inspired folk Americana. These songs evoke beautifully the rolling agricultural landscapes of Ritter's native western Idaho, a place I first visited in 1997 when I helped my sister move from Boulder, Colorado, to Moscow, Idaho (Ritter's hometown), to start graduate school. Hello Starling is chock full of stories and mythologies unique to Ritter's tunnel-blasting, lentil-growing, West-winning oeuvre. The romantic "Kathleen" is the highlight here, with one of the all-time greatest musical pickup lines: "All the other girls here are stars; you are the Northern Lights."
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
2
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This album is the loud, swampy, in-your-face high-water mark for great Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers. Unlike their spiritual forebears Lynyrd Skynyrd, who have always seemed to me naïve and reactionary in their uncritical depiction of white Southern pride, Drive-By Truckers have always understood the underlying irony of Faulknerian Southernness, which principal songwriter Patterson Hood has elsewhere called "the duality of the Southern thing." I'm not even sure that the best track here is one of Hood's, though; that honor has to go to Jason Isbell's brutal, whiskey-drenched ballad "Goddamn Lonely Love," with its achingly desperate chorus: "I'll two of what you're having / And I'll take all of what you've got / To kill this goddamn lonely, goddamn lonely love."
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
2004
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Rank Score:
852
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This album brings together rock and dance music in a way that's more successful than any other album I can think of. I love the club freakouts in "Get Innocuous" and "North American Scum," but then there's also the incredible tenderness of "All My Friends" and "Someone Great." James Murphy brings these disparate styles together better than anyone, perhaps because he seems oblivious of, or indifference to, distinctions between what constitutes "pop" and "indie," respectively. All that matters to him are sounds that work beautifully, and he brings it all together with real instrumentation and analog production that feel fresh, immediate, and spacious.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
2007
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Rank Score:
13,671
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Back when I lived in Reno, I played in a folk rock band. We had some original songs, but two-thirds of our set list was covers. Of those, I'd say a third of them were Gillian Welch songs. That was never our intention, but her songs are so good, so jammable, so well crafted and well written, so ready for reinterpretation, that we couldn't resist adding more. Our favorite was the title track from this album--a slow burner, mesmerizing, mysterious--a song that works so well because it evokes the California coast where Welch grew up rather than trying to channel Appalachian mountain music (which she nevertheless does remarkably well on her first two albums). Really, every song on this album is charming in that same authentic, homespun way.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
2001
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Rank Score:
1,325
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Tacoma, Washington, based Neko Case was first recommended to me by a buddy from the Pacific Northwest. He didn't love this album; he was more taken with Neko's earlier, more obviously country-influenced work. This was my first exposure to her, and I immediately loved her gothic, witchy, reverb-heavy sound, supported expertly by guest players including Giant Sand frontman Howe Gelb and Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino. "Deep Red Bells" is the highlight; check out the paradoxical poetry in the lyrics in this slow, melancholy song: "It looks a lot like engine oil / And tastes like being poor and small / And popsicles in summer." Sweetness and darkness entwined: such is the spirit of Blacklisted.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
2002
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Rank Score:
472
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In January of 2013 I met a girl in Denver and we drove together across Wyoming, destined for the annual cowboy poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada. We never made it all the way to Elko--her car broke down in Evanston, Wyoming, and we wound up stranded in Salt Lake City in a blizzard for a week--but for the first leg of the journey, while the sun still shone over the bleak Wyoming plains, we listened to Mescalito and sang every song together. Ryan Bingham's voice is perfect for that landscape: sounds like he's been riding the range for days without water, and his lyrics contain all the wisdom and life experience of someone who's spent his life living a little bit on the edge, among outlaws and the homeless and insane. "Southside of Heaven" is the place to start here: "On the south side of heaven / Won't you take me home / 'Cause I've been broke down for so long / And Lord, it's getting cold." Whenever I hear this album, I'll always think of that January day and the woman in the seat beside me, her legs outstretched, her feet up on the dashboard.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
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[First added to this chart: 10/21/2022]
Year of Release:
2004
Appears in:
Rank Score:
10,073
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It's tough for me to choose a favorite Wilco album, as they're one of the seminal bands of my generation, a band whose every release I anticipate with a lot of excitement. On any given day I might pick Summerteeth, or The Whole Love, or even Sky Blue Sky. I read a review once that classified Wilco as "dad rock," to which I love Jeff Tweedy's response: "I think anybody that thinks about that as a...critical term is an asshole." I agree, particularly when you consider how genre-bending and experimental Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is. It's fun, it's adventurous, it's understated, it contains traces of their alt-country roots, and it has some of the finest and most creative percussion you'll hear on a rock album, particularly on "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." I dare you to try to play the air drums on that song, all you anti-dad rock hipster assholes.
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
2002
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Rank Score:
20,545
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Indie rockers The National has made a half-dozen albums that easily could have made my top 100 of all time list. That's how consistently great they've been over the past twenty years. Alligator is their best, as it's the album that best utilizes Matt Berninger's smoky baritone and often ambiguous lyrical style. The album's opener and best song, “Secret Meeting,” tells a quintessential introvert's narrative of wanting to become invisible to avoid an awkward social encounter. “Didn’t anybody tell you how to gracefully disappear in a room?” Berninger wonders over Bryan Devendorf’s sparse drum pattern before feigning an apology both plausible and absurd: “I’m sorry I missed you / I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain.” If you can relate, you understand what it's like both craving social connection and resorting to the most desperate of tactics to avoid it.
[First added to this chart: 09/06/2020]
Year of Release:
2005
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Rank Score:
4,075
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It's hard to fully appreciate what Andrew Bird does without seeing him live on stage, where he plays violin, whistles, sings, and uses looping technology to lay down beats and riffs. But this album is the best recorded representation of what he does. The Mysterious Production of Eggs is a very fine collection of indie folk tunes, headed by the swirling, crashing "Fake Palindromes," which is both a dictionary-mining, literary tour de force and a frenetic musical odyssey. It's also more than just a little disturbing: "My dewy-eyed, Disney bride what has tried / Swabbing your blood with formaldehyde? / Monsters, whiskey-plied voices cried fratricide / Jesus, don't you know that you could have died? / You should have died with the monsters that talk / Monsters that walk the earth."
[First added to this chart: 02/16/2016]
Year of Release:
2005
Appears in:
Rank Score:
988
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
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|
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| 2000 | 9 | 9% | |
| 2001 | 6 | 6% | |
| 2002 | 11 | 11% | |
| 2003 | 7 | 7% | |
| 2004 | 9 | 9% | |
| 2005 | 11 | 11% | |
| 2006 | 14 | 14% | |
| 2007 | 14 | 14% | |
| 2008 | 8 | 8% | |
| 2009 | 11 | 11% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
 |
|
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| Ryan Adams | 5 | 5% | |
| Devendra Banhart | 5 | 5% | |
| Josh Ritter | 5 | 5% | |
| Drive-By Truckers | 5 | 5% | |
| Neko Case | 3 | 3% | |
| Spoon | 3 | 3% | |
| Wilco | 3 | 3% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 13th to 12th For Emma, Forever Ago by Bon Iver |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 1 from 12th to 13th Funeral by Arcade Fire |
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buzzdainer (2017)Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s ratings
91/100 (from 33 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 33 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 90/100  | 09/04/2023 03:49 | Moondance | | 84/100 |
| 85/100 | 09/03/2023 12:12 |  Tamthebam | | 85/100 |
| 100/100 | 12/18/2020 20:12 |  jnfbn | | 96/100 |
| 85/100 | 12/18/2020 15:30 |  StefanR10 | | 88/100 |
| 95/100 | 12/18/2020 15:24 | jeitee | | 75/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some charts can have several thousand ratings)
This chart is rated in the top 2% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 91.1/100, a mean average of 92.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 92.6/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 6.2.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s comments
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90/100
From Moondance 09/04/2023 03:55
Very entertaining chart - love the love for the mostly 'undiscovered', like Josh, Joseph, Okkervil River, Gregory, Xavier (an Aussie of course), Rhett, Langhorne & Franti - most of whom I have only recently discovered (& now enjoy) via this site and member charts.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From Johnnyo 09/03/2023 11:00
Tremendous and what appears to be a very personal chart. Love it
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From buzzdainer 12/19/2020 18:33
buzzdainer 12/19/2020 18:33
"Dusty, Sandy Music" would be a perfect title for a playlist of my favorite music from the 2000s. I'd say all the recent feedback is totally valid. This is definitely a heavily Americana-centric chart, especially when you consider that the American hip hop I like probably deserves a place within the genre of "Americana," in the sense that hip hop is the most powerful (musical) medium through which a segment of American society understands the world. I can definitely see the benefit of diversifying my listening to include more of the world, and a larger cross-section of genres. Guilty as charged.
That said, I also like the idea of my charts being a place where other BEA members can find some great Americana, including some deep cuts. That wouldn't be possible if my charts were loaded up with selections popular on other people's charts. Ultimately, I just follow my ears wherever they take me. I'm excited to dig into some of the albums you've recommended, jeitee. I've listened at some point to all of them, with the exception of Grouper. I'll probably start there.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
sssvnnn 12/18/2020 16:49
sssvnnn 12/18/2020 16:49
Very dusty and sandy music - fine.
Now that I know you lived in Nevada I understand your chart better.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
95/100
From jeitee 12/18/2020 15:32
I absolutely loved your opening comment. I always appreciate someone venturing to discover all kinds of music. Decent variety of genres in the list as well. Love the ys representation (my fave of all time!) Here are some of my top 00s picks I recommend which aren't already in this chart. vespertine by bjork for some experimental pop/electronic, madvillainy for experimental hip hop, mirrored by battles for experimental/math rock, dragging a dead deer up a hill for psychedelic drone veering on dream pop, and bitte orca for more experimental pop. Oh and for some more familiar territory, a great indie folk pick is in the attic of the universe by the antlers. Short, beautiful 20something minute piece.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From StefanR10 12/18/2020 15:30
StefanR10 12/18/2020 15:30
Nice Collection of under rated music
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
80/100
From 
Boltzmann 12/18/2020 09:34
Boltzmann 12/18/2020 09:34
I don't like the albums I know, and I tried The Dirty South by Drive-by Truckers, and let's say I liked the cover art more (but I didn't hate the music to be honest). However, I'm glad that you use this site what it's for, and then I don't mind that I don't have your taste.
I like that you made a chart of albums you liked. There's not too many of the usual albums so I have something to explore; yet you don't fill your chart with obscure picks, so I don't know what you like.
However, what I do not like is that you really only seem to switch between two or three genres, and they're all very American. Would be great if you let go of that.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From buzzdainer 03/17/2019 21:59
buzzdainer 03/17/2019 21:59
Thanks Gowi, ExTeaSea, and LebowskiRams, for stopping by to make a comment. Though our charts are all quite different, it's interesting to see that one band we call agree on from this era is Modest Mouse. To be totally honest, I'm not sure how well they've aged for me over the past fifteen years or so, but then again, I really haven't listened to them a lot lately. Makes me want to give them another listen on this lazy spring break Sunday afternoon to see if they have the same impact on me that they did when I first heard them. Thanks, y'all, for the trip down memory lane!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
mickilennial 03/08/2019 18:11
mickilennial 03/08/2019 18:11
An interesting portrait of the records that mean the most to you of this era, but I can't help but smile with such support for alt-country and lesser known reformists of folk music during an era where country itself had gone "plastic".
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
85/100
From 
ExTeaSea 03/07/2019 02:37
ExTeaSea 03/07/2019 02:37
Love that you have Blackalicious, Caribou and My Morning Jacket. Cool chart.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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