Top 50 Music Albums of the 2000s by
ForegroundNoise 
The 2000s is the only decade at the moment where I feel I've reviewed enough records to make a half decent list, but will amend and add as I listen to more stuff. I've also decided to limit it to one album per artist to ensure that everyone who deserves it gets their time in the limelight. Other notable releases (ONR), solo records, or projects by related artists that I think are worth checking out are mentioned in each entry's notes.
Please feel free to look through my public ratings and leave your suggestions in the comments below! Never someone to turn down the recommendation of a passionate music fan.
Also if you're interested, I've made a chart for my favourite underrated albums of this decade which you can check out via this address: https://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=58986
Below are my favourite short releases of the decade, and below that any stand-out albums that do not qualify as contemporary (retrospective compilations, live albums etc.). As for the term 'short release' this refers to anything that falls under less than half an hour in length, a distinction I prefer to the outdated classifiers of traditional LP/EP boundaries (also makes for more exciting individual lists).
Best Short Releases of the 2000s
1. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions (2006) [US]
garage punk (In The Red, 29:09) - 9/10
2. Jeromes Dream / Orchid - Jeromes Dream / Orchid (2000) [US]
emoviolence (Witching Hour, 11:43) - 9/10
3.Brave Little Abacus - Demo? (2008) [US]
emo • experimental rock (n/a, 21:16) - 8/10
4. Joanna Newsom - Joanna Newsom & the Ys Street Band E.P. (2007) [US]
chamber folk • progressive folk (Drag City, 24:06) - 8/10
5. Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron & Fred Squire - Lost Wisdom (2008) [CA/US]
indie folk (P.W. Elverum & Sun, 24:41) - 8/10
________________________________________________________________
Retrospective/Archival
Bang on a Can - In C (2001) [US]
minimalism • indeterminacy • chamber music (Cantaloupe Music, 45:30) - 9/10
Julius Eastman - Unjust Malaise (2005) [US]
modern classical • minimalism (New World, 192:54) - 8/10
Modest Mouse - Building Nothing Out of Something (2000) [US]
indie rock • lo-fi/slacker rock • Midwest emo (Up, 55:15) - 8/10
- Chart updated: 09/07/2023 14:15
- (Created: 02/07/2018 17:07).
- Chart size: 50 albums.
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art rock • experimental rock • electronic
(Capitol, 49:55)
10/10
"Stop sending letters
Letters always get burned
It's not like the movies
They fed us on little white lies"
I know what you're thinking. Another 2000s chart. Another Kid A in the top spot. Cue groan. Cue eye roll. Cue clicking away to another tab.
There is a dirty secret to universal acclaim: it has a threshold. Once crossed, it does more harm than good. All of a sudden, to like that which was once a marker of your own refined taste, seems now so pedestrian, so unimaginative.
Kid A, and Radiohead more generally, are acute sufferers from this over-saturation of acclaim. That is not to say all criticisms of the band aren't untrue, the most common one I see thrown their way is they are derivative, and certainly I agree that only rarely does the band cut a path through their experimentation that is entirely unique. We must not forget, however, that experimentation is a means, not an end; a fine line exists between innovation for new modes of appeal and creating something obnoxiously inaccessible for its own sake (and this is coming from someone who thinks Trout Mask Replica is the best rock album of the 60s). Radiohead bear the brunt of elitist criticism because the embellishment of their relatively mainstream sound with elements of the experimental underground is seen as an infringement on more boundary-pushing artists.
Yet I'd argue, it's in this very act that the strength of the band lies. Radiohead have never been at the front lines of the avant-garde, but they instead use their fame to incorporate seemingly disparate underground influences into mainstream rock; the IDM, folk and jazz that twist and writhe through this album are in no small part responsible for turning many, myself included, to the most interesting recesses of those genres, all whilst maintaining the band's undeniably visceral impact. "The National Anthem"'s infectious bass line and clattering drums holds together a track that disintegrates with every passing second, demanding your own throbbing response; the title track's first refrain of 'standing in the shadows at the end of my bed' lets slip a moment of forlorn human pain in an otherwise icy robotic landscape.
OK Computer might do conventional 'songwriting' better (beautiful verse/beautiful chorus/beautiful verse/beautiful chorus) but rather than rest on their laurels, Radiohead took deliberate steps away from a tried and tested formula and in committing what they thought to be commercial suicide, created what turned out to be one of their most beloved albums. Unlike so many records from my teen years that have fallen by the wayside, Kid A still endures.
ONR: In Rainbows is rightly celebrated as another of the band's high points, whilst Amnesiac has got its own dedicated cult following. What I'd offer as an alternative take is Hail to the Thief being the dark horse of the band's absurdly strong discography. Criminally underrated and overshadowed by its neighbours; in my book it should be right up there with the best of them.
Amnesiac (2001)
art rock • experimental rock (Parlophone, 43:50) - 8/10
Hail to the Thief (2003)
alternative rock • art rock (Parlophone, 56:33) - 9/10
In Rainbows (2007)
art rock • alternative rock (Xurbia Xendless, 42:38) - 9/10
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
experimental hip hop • abstract hip hop
(Mush, 73:35)
10/10
"Physics of a bicycle
Isn't it remarkable?"
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
chamber folk • progressive folk
(Drag City, 55:41)
10/10
"In bodies that don't keep
Dumbstruck with the sweetness of being
Until we don't be"
ONR:
The Milk-Eyed Mender (2004)
contemporary folk • singer/songwriter (Drag City, 52:04) - 8/10
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
abstract hip hop
(Stones Throw, 46:13)
10/10
"What's the difference? All you get is lost children
While the bosses sit up behind the desks, it cost billions
To blast humans in half, into calves and arms
Only one side is allowed to have bombs"
ONR: Madlib's groundbreaking production helped define underground hip hop this decade, with Madvillainy being his crowning glory. But the records that paved the way shouldn't be forgotten either: Shades of Blue... is one of the most essential instrumental hip hop albums of all time, whilst his 2000 Quasimoto debut The Unseen's unusual samples and eclectic vocals was a watershed moment for West Coast hip hop.
DOOM's output on the other hand earned him the title of 'your favourite rapper's rapper', whose delivery and production style has since been often emulated but rarely replicated. A concept album around food doesn't sound like it should be one of the best underground hip hop albums of the decade but a quick dive into Mm.. Food tells you otherwise, while underrated gems Born Like This and Take Me to Your Leader (as King Geedorah) aren't too far behind. With genre-bending production and flows likely to leave your chin on the floor however, Vaudeville Villain is DOOM's solo masterpiece. It's a testament to Madvillainy's quality that it's been reduced to a footnote.
Madlib - Shades of Blue: Madlib Invades Blue Note (2003)
intrumental hip hop • jazz rap (Blue Note, 56:58) - 8/10
Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain (2003)
abstract hip hop (Sound-Ink, 56:29) - 9/10
MF DOOM - Mm.. Food (2004)
abstract hip hop (Rhymesayers, 49:14) - 8/10
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
chamber pop
(Asthmatic Kitty, 73:59)
10/10
"Tuesday night at the Bible study
We lift our hands and pray over your body
But nothing ever happens"
ONR:
Michigan (2003)
chamber folk • indie folk (Asthmatic Kitty, 66:09) - 8/10
Seven Swans (2004)
indie folk • chamber folk (Asthmatic Kitty, 46:14) - 8/10
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
indie folk • psychedelic folk • lo-fi / slacker rock
(K, 66:10)
10/10
"I faced death
I went in with my arms swinging
But I heard my own breath
And I had to face that I'm still living"
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
indie rock
(Epic, 58:48)
10/10
"And it's our lives
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the first time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
We're alive for the last time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
To live before you die
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
That our lives are such a short time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember
When it takes such a long time
It's hard to remember, it's hard to remember"
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
drone • psychedelic folk • avant-folk
(n/a, 157:12)
9/10
"And she sat down into the room,
Then cry, cry, then fell asleep"
ONR: It was with The Dance... that Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte finally arrived at the sound they'd been tentatively searching for, but its 2004 predecessor was a significant stop on the way. Taking cues from Canadian post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Winter Ray is the duo's first major statement, with its strongest moments standing up to the best of their later work (coming in at more than 30 minutes, "Dead Horses" followed by "Ethyl Bromo Acetate" is a one-two punch you're unlikely to forget in a hurry).
Absurdly prolific, the duo put out between them a total of ten (yes, ten) albums and three EPs in 2008 alone, but it was actually the year after that saw some of their most impressive material aside from this entry at #8. Over five cassette tapes and over six hours sits the gargantuan Daughter of Darkness (so big its 'b-sides' companion album is nearly 90 minutes), but it's their other major 2009 release Shadow Kingdom that catches my eye. It's maybe not quite as transcendental as The Dance... but it sure as hell gives it a run for its money.
The Winter Ray (2004)
post-rock (n/a, 148:48) - 8/10
Shadow Kingdom (2009)
drone • psychedelic folk (Blackest Rainbow, 159:33) - 9/10
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 05/07/2019]
neo-psychedelia • experimental
(Animal, 60:38)
9/10
"I told the baker's daughter that I didn't want the water
She only likes it when I beg, so I expect she's waiting"
ONR:
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs (2004)
freak folk • neo-psychedelia • avant-folk (FatCat, 52:57) - 8/10
Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam (2007)
neo-psychedelia • art pop (Domino, 43:31) - 8/10
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)
psychedelic pop • neo-psychedelia (Domino, 54:45) - 8/10
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 05/14/2021]
electronic • experimental rock
(Island, 50:11)
9/10
"What more can I say?
For I am guilty
For the voice that I obey
Too scared to sacrifice a choice
Chosen for me"
____________________________________________________________________________ [First added to this chart: 02/07/2018]
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Top 50 Music Albums of the 2000s composition
Year | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
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2000 | 7 | 14% | |
2001 | 7 | 14% | |
2002 | 4 | 8% | |
2003 | 6 | 12% | |
2004 | 6 | 12% | |
2005 | 3 | 6% | |
2006 | 5 | 10% | |
2007 | 4 | 8% | |
2008 | 5 | 10% | |
2009 | 3 | 6% |
Artist | Albums | % | |
---|---|---|---|
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|
Modest Mouse | 1 | 2% | |
The Brave Little Abacus | 1 | 2% | |
Godspeed You! Black Emperor | 1 | 2% | |
Deathprod | 1 | 2% | |
Have A Nice Life | 1 | 2% | |
Natural Snow Buildings | 1 | 2% | |
Vashti Bunyan | 1 | 2% | |
Show all |
Country | Albums | % | |
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25 | 50% | |
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9 | 18% | |
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5 | 10% | |
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3 | 6% | |
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2 | 4% | |
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1 | 2% | |
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1 | 2% | |
Show all |
Top 50 Music Albums of the 2000s chart changes
Biggest fallers |
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![]() The Blue Notebooks by Max Richter |
![]() Black Antlers by Coil |
![]() Rounds by Four Tet |
New entries |
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![]() by In Be Tween Noise |
Leavers |
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![]() by The Avalanches |
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Top 50 Music Albums of the 2000s ratings

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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 18 ratings for this chart.
Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
85/100 ![]() | 06/07/2023 05:06 | leniad | ![]() | 85/100 |
90/100 ![]() | 06/06/2023 11:15 | Johnnyo | ![]() | 79/100 |
100/100 ![]() | 08/22/2022 13:42 | replacementlevel | ![]() | 95/100 |
100/100 ![]() | 08/22/2022 13:14 | Rm12398 | ![]() | 89/100 |
95/100 ![]() | 11/23/2021 16:03 | ![]() | ![]() | 90/100 |
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This chart is rated in the top 1% of all charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a Bayesian average rating of 91.4/100, a mean average of 94.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 94.4/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 5.7.
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Top 50 Music Albums of the 2000s comments
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Great picks, want to see this At 100 albums
Really good chart and interesting comments. Like it a lot
I am not familiar with most of these albums. I am giving you 5 stars for your knowledge!

Great chart! The ones that stick out that I love are Portishead Third and Four Tet Rounds, both wonderful albums. You have awesome taste in music.

I'm confused. No offense was intended. I'm just saying a lot of people on BEA (clarification: being active users/users who use the forums, etc.) would agree with this chart. And they do... that's all.
Not sure how that's an insult... but yeah... I guess you can take it that way.
Like really, all I was saying is this is a perfectly curated chart that probably nobody would disagree with who actively uses the forums.
Furthermore, I'm not sure if you saw my comment, but you keep suggesting that I should get more into genres I already have listened to and don't enjoy/love... I think you are insinuating I am closed minded because I don't have Burial on my chart...but why would I if I don't enjoy it after multiple listens?

This is basically the BEA soundtrack to the 2000s.
dope chart!

I'm more familiar with the albums on this chart than your overall one. Still lots to check out, but I like what I do know a lot. Great resource for discovering new music, which is what this website is all about for me.

Nice collection of albums right there. Cannot get enough of Kid A and Glow Pt2
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