Listed below are the best albums of the 2000s as calculated from their overall rankings in over 59,000 greatest album charts. (Chart last updated: 4 hours ago).
"One of the most underrated albums ever created for me. Even though they dont invent or bring anything completely new to music. This is an astonishing piece of work, every song stands for itself, yet they work as a whole in the album."Reply
"It lumbers out literally with a mostly-uninteresting "shanty for the arethusa", but after that, there's no let up. "billy liar" is a jaunty farce starting "Billy Liar's got his hands in his pockets / Staring over at the neighbor's, knickers down." Sarcastic ode "los angeles, i'm yours" backhanded...""It lumbers out literally with a mostly-uninteresting "shanty for the arethusa", but after that, there's no let up. "billy liar" is a jaunty farce starting "Billy Liar's got his hands in his pockets / Staring over at the neighbor's, knickers down." Sarcastic ode "los angeles, i'm yours" backhandedly offers "A plaintive melody / Truncated symphony / An ocean’s garbled vomit on the shore, / Los Angeles, I’m yours", an otherwise elegant song, one of the highlights on the album along with "billy liar", "the bachelor and the bride", "the soldiering life", "red right ankle" and "the chimbley sweep". "the bachelor and the bride" is one of many decemberists songs of doomed love (colin sings "And his fingers are they telling / Of the barren of her belly / And his callouses cure her furrowed brow / Even now" before boxing the bride-to-be's ears). "the soldiering life" is just fun to sing along with, with its "bombazine dolls" and "You were a brickbat, a bowery tuff, so rough / They culled you from a cartoon / Pulled out of your pantaloons." "blazing away" to its war-time finale. The following song earnestly starts "This is the story of your red right ankle / And how it came to meet your leg / And how the muscle, bone, and sinews tangled / And how the skin was softly shed " over acoustic guitar, a love song in some awkward-geek-boy-sorta-way. "the chimbley sweep" tells the story of "a poor and wretched boy" and sounds like a mary poppins's lawrence welk band -- an ultra-literate, accordion-wielding weird al song on some askew level -- which is too much fun to take seriously "song for myla goldberg" is marching fun while "the gymnast, high above the ground" takes patience but pays off at the chorus."[+]Reply
"Whether or not this is a bunch of old outtakes or unfinished tracks doesn't really make a difference to my ears. Elliott’s masterful and seemingly effortless songwriting shines through often without much instrumental backing other than a clean acoustic guitar. It's not lo-fi like Roman Candle or ...""Whether or not this is a bunch of old outtakes or unfinished tracks doesn't really make a difference to my ears. Elliott’s masterful and seemingly effortless songwriting shines through often without much instrumental backing other than a clean acoustic guitar. It's not lo-fi like Roman Candle or the self-titled but not as polished as XO or Figure 8, creating a distinct atmosphere in Smith's discography.
Favorites: “Thirteen”, “Angel in the Snow”, “Going Nowhere”, “Miss Misery (Early Version)”, “Half Right”, “High Times”, “Looking Over My Shoulder”"[+]Reply
"A completely underrated and overlooked album. 9, Damien Rice's follow up to the excellent, O, is every bit as good as that record. It's predominately an acoustic LP but this time Rice adds electric instruments on some tracks and the album has a more challenging sound to it. Some great songs here ...""A completely underrated and overlooked album. 9, Damien Rice's follow up to the excellent, O, is every bit as good as that record. It's predominately an acoustic LP but this time Rice adds electric instruments on some tracks and the album has a more challenging sound to it. Some great songs here in, coconut skins, rootless tree, and, accidental babies. All the songs are great and why this record isn't more highly praised is a mystery. "[+]Reply
"Neil's twenty-sixth studio album, and the first after a career-longest 4 year break. He used the time wisely apparently, as this was as strong a record as post Harvest Moon Neil would put out. This was also Neil looking backward, reliving his years with Buffalo Springfield and even recording some...""Neil's twenty-sixth studio album, and the first after a career-longest 4 year break. He used the time wisely apparently, as this was as strong a record as post Harvest Moon Neil would put out.
This was also Neil looking backward, reliving his years with Buffalo Springfield and even recording some songs that he had written decades prior.
I remember being crazy excited for this one, as during the mid to late 90's I was on a serious Neil binge, and had read about these songs for years before actually hearing them. And happily, they lived up to the hype."[+]Reply
"Probably his strongest release, though as with all his work, could do with just a tad more polish. Operation is his best song, a true gem in his catalogue."Reply
"No indie dance album will make you groove all the way through it like Music for Men by Gossip. Nearly all the elements are there: The lead vocalist will shake you to the bone. The backing band keeps a steady groove, with just the right amount of synths and studio magic, and a hefty dose of post-p...""No indie dance album will make you groove all the way through it like Music for Men by Gossip.
Nearly all the elements are there: The lead vocalist will shake you to the bone. The backing band keeps a steady groove, with just the right amount of synths and studio magic, and a hefty dose of post-punk ragged guitar to move it along.
The crucial missing element is a lack of emotional connection and lyrical content to keep bringing up back. These songs are so littered with cliches that you can sing along without knowing all the words. The lack of a ballad may also be responsible for this. With such a soulful retro-style voice, there could have been some killer mid-tempo ballads akin to Amy Winehouse here, especially at the end. Despite this flaw, it's still a solid outing.
Recommended.
Condensed to a 7" Single:
A-Side: Heavy Cross
B-Side: Dimestore Diamond"[+]Reply