Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s
by LedZep

I've included a few archival albums/compilations too, because why not.

• Chart updated: 11/09/2025 11:15
• (Created: 01/29/2017 00:57).
• Chart size: 100 albums.

There are 5 comments for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s has an average rating of 90 out of 100 (from 19 votes). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.

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13. (14) 1

The Magnolia Electric Co. 

 Songs: Ohia

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If Neil Young at his peak had modern production, and The Crazy Horse tried playing everything from Americana, indie folk and country to classic 70s folk rock. This album feels like a new century's answer to On The Beach, where folk rock refuses to use by-the-book approach full of cliches and instead subverts all expectations. But of course, the highlight is Jason Molina's impeccable songwriting talent, which brings all of those genres together as cohesively as it's possible, without a dull note in the mix. [First added to this chart: 05/14/2020]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

301 charts

Rank Score:

3,560

Rank in 2003:

9

Rank in 2000s:

80

Overall Rank:

487

Average Rating:

 82 (295 votes)

Comments:

15

18. (=)

The Civil War 

 Matmos

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It's what a lot of folktronica and psychedelic folk at the time was trying to be. Lush, experimental, melodic, mystical and fun. But none of the bands in those genres have ever made as visceral, engaging and diverse a record as Matmos has with The Civil War. It's not a folktronica record per se, it's something much more. A bit glitch, a bit IDM, but always sounding so organic and wonderful. Look at Reconstruction for example, it starts with march drum beat, quickly becomes a complex web of electronic squeals which unfolds before our ears and turns into a melodic guitar riff over incredible electronic textures in the background. And that's just in the first 3 and half minutes of 9 and a half minute song. Pelt And Holler is the only "true" electronic track here, without any guitars or live instruments or samples of live instruments. But, it's a real treat. From the crazy beat to the classic Matmos music concrete elements, it's a blast. I could write an essay about each and every song here. A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure deserves a mention too, another brilliant record by these two geniuses.

Note: pick up a copy (Japan pressing) which has Cabin in the Sky as a closer, that one is possibly the best song on the whole thing, and it works well as a closer too. [First added to this chart: 01/23/2020]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

16 charts

Rank Score:

37

Rank in 2003:

491

Rank in 2000s:

4,752

Overall Rank:

25,237

Average Rating:

 74 (13 votes)

Comments:

1

26. (=)

Ghosts Of The Great Highway 

 Sun Kil Moon

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Features Mark's best folk songs and possibly the best song he's ever crafted in Duk Koo Kim. [First added to this chart: 01/23/2020]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

258 charts

Rank Score:

2,255

Rank in 2003:

15

Rank in 2000s:

124

Overall Rank:

773

Average Rating:

 82 (306 votes)

Comments:

13

41. (46) 5

W/ The Artists 
Compilation

 Rhythm & Sound

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[First added to this chart: 10/27/2025]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

15 charts

Rank Score:

198

Rank in 2003:

130

Rank in 2000s:

1,135

Overall Rank:

6,493

Average Rating:

 75 (9 votes)

Comments:

0

62. (63) 1

Statues 

 Moloko

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[First added to this chart: 09/05/2023]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

45 charts

Rank Score:

140

Rank in 2003:

175

Rank in 2000s:

1,535

Overall Rank:

8,721

Average Rating:

 72 (42 votes)

Comments:

0

81. (=)

The Absence Of Blight 

 Lawrence (DE)

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Thick bass and relaxing, hypnotic minimal house/techno [First added to this chart: 08/25/2021]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

8 charts

Rank Score:

25

Rank in 2003:

613

Rank in 2000s:

6,138

Overall Rank:

32,446

Average Rating:

 74 (3 votes)

Comments:

0

84. (=)

Kettle Point EP 

 Rod Modell

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[First added to this chart: 01/03/2025]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

38

Rank in 2003:

479

Rank in 2000s:

4,626

Overall Rank:

24,542

Average Rating:

 73 (1 vote)

Comments:

0

89. (=)

Boris At Last -Feedbacker- 

 Boris

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[First added to this chart: 04/11/2020]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

97 charts

Rank Score:

534

Rank in 2003:

56

Rank in 2000s:

477

Overall Rank:

2,864

Average Rating:

 77 (131 votes)

Comments:

6

95. (=)

Svidd Neger (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 
Soundtrack

 Ulver

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[First added to this chart: 01/23/2020]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

2 charts

Rank Score:

4

Rank in 2003:

1,705

Rank in 2000s:

16,949

Overall Rank:

88,763

Average Rating:

 71 (4 votes)

Comments:

0

99. (=)

The Lemon Of Pink 

 The Books

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[First added to this chart: 01/23/2020]

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

122 charts

Rank Score:

721

Rank in 2003:

44

Rank in 2000s:

373

Overall Rank:

2,230

Average Rating:

 77 (146 votes)

Comments:

7

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s composition

Year	Albums	%
2000	17	17%
2001	15	15%
2002	13	13%
2003	11	11%
2004	7	7%
2005	13	13%
2006	8	8%
2007	6	6%
2008	6	6%
2009	4	4%

Artist	Albums	%
Madvillain	1	1%
Moonsorrow	1	1%
Thelonious Monk Quartet & John Coltrane	1	1%
Lightning Bolt	1	1%
Songs: Ohia	1	1%
Camera Obscura (UK)	1	1%
Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté	1	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%
	48	48%
	16	16%
	6	6%
	6	6%
	3	3%
	3	3%
	2	2%
Show all

Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s chart changes

Biggest climbers
Up 5 from 46th to 41st W/ The Artists by Rhythm & Sound
Up 4 from 50th to 46th The Ligeti Project II: Lontano / Atmosphères / Apparitions / San Francisco Polyphony / Concert Românesc by Jonathan Nott / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Up 3 from 51st to 48th Duke Columbia Years 1927-1962 by Duke Ellington

Biggest fallers
Down 8 from 13th to 21st Lateralus by Tool
Down 5 from 44th to 49th City Of Caterpillar by City Of Caterpillar
Down 2 from 41st to 43rd Somewhere Along The Highway by Cult Of Luna

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s similarity to your chart(s)

Other decade charts by LedZep

Title	Source	Type	Published	Country
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2020s	LedZep	2020s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2010s	LedZep	2010s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s	LedZep	2000s decade chart	2025
Top 99 Music Albums of the 1990s	LedZep	1990s decade chart	2025
Top 99 Music Albums of the 1980s	LedZep	1980s decade chart	2025
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s	LedZep	1970s decade chart	2025
Top 88 Music Albums of the 1960s	LedZep	1960s decade chart	2025
Top 25 Music Albums of the 1950s	LedZep	1950s decade chart	2025

Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s ratings

Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 19 ratings for this chart.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Chart ratings	Avg. chart rating
95/100	01/31/2025 14:10	SomethingSpecial	1,106	85/100
70/100	09/19/2024 13:45	Bach	956	78/100
80/100	07/30/2024 10:15	Tamthebam	633	85/100
80/100	07/15/2023 19:35	Johnnyo	2,536	80/100
95/100	07/12/2022 00:22	leniad	673	85/100

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 3% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 89.8/100, a mean average of 92.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 91.8/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 8.3.

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s favourites

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Musyahid

Mercury

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Top 100 Music Albums of the 2000s comments

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Rating:  

95/100

From leniad 07/12/2022 00:22

agalloch and vespertine top 10 is a yes for me

#287278 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Larcx13 11/23/2020 15:13

I absolutely LOVE 2000s underground hip hop scene. There's a lot more that I feel you havent heard yet either but MF DOOM, Aesop Rock and Deltron 3030 are a great start.

Here's some suggestions of other artists that had some critically acclaimed records at that time:
Cunninlynguists, Masta Ace, Atmosphere, J Dilla, Murs & Living Legends, Brother Ali

#261271 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From buzzdainer 09/19/2020 18:42

I don't see anything wrong with having a metal-heavy chart if that's the music you loved from the decade. Nice to see some excellent selections from other genres here too, and nice to see some undeniably great entries such as Arcade Fire's Funeral honored here. Great job!

#258428 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

From LedZep 09/04/2020 09:20

Thanks man! I should probably cut some metal picks. I have 23 of them which is really too much, but I’m not sure which ones to drop...

#257746 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Rating:  

95/100

From Ben4 05/02/2017 18:27

Lots of good stuff here. I especially like Tool and Mastodon

#190199 | Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

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