Best Albums of the 2000s

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Explore the best albums of the 2000s, based on over 2 million album rankings across 60,000 charts. Last updated: 3 hours ago

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2000s decade summaryThe best artists of the 2000s were Radiohead, Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Coldplay, Sufjan Stevens, Muse, Arctic Monkeys, The White Stripes, Wilco and Animal Collective.

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In Rainbows

Radiohead

"I had already liked this record, but I thought it wasn't as good as people perceived it out to be. That was until I listened to it in a car journey. The night sky looked so pretty and the sonic waves around me complemented the scenery. I was in a state of awe throughout it. And that's when I unde..." Reply

HazeyTwilight | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 26

Year of Release:

2007

Appears in:

2,993 charts

Rank Score:

40,229

Rank in 2007:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (3,990 votes)

Comments:

400

Kid A

Radiohead

"I am one of those people who have always thought that Kid A was superior to OK Computer. As impressive as OK Computer is, Kid A is the greater achievement because it was Radiohead totally reinventing themselves." Reply

teganxsara96 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 18

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

3,244 charts

Rank Score:

38,457

Rank in 2000:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

89 (4,504 votes)

Comments:

565

Funeral

Arcade Fire

"Preceding their huge Grammy win with Suburbs, this is Arcade Fire's true masterpiece. Emotionally strong and relevant, supported by beautiful instrumental arrangement. This album rocked my world when I first sat through it." Reply

- smrtboi2120 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 15

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

2,941 charts

Rank Score:

31,532

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"This album was hyped as bringing back rock n roll. I don't know that it ever left, but it certainly was an extremely influential album, as the number of "The" bands skyrocketed after this one hit. Equal credit must also be extended to The White Stripes, for sure. This has been on regular rotation..." Reply

drivebytornado | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 18

Year of Release:

2001

Appears in:

2,510 charts

Rank Score:

26,771

Rank in 2001:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"The Greatest album of the 21st century so far. Storytelling worthy of Dylan. 5 stars!" Reply

- SamTheMan | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 17

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

1,710 charts

Rank Score:

19,072

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,934 votes)

Comments:

169

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco

"If I had musical talent this is the album I would make." Reply

jhuik | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 20

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

1,704 charts

Rank Score:

16,094

Rank in 2002:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

85 (1,977 votes)

Comments:

174

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Arctic Monkeys

"Overrated as heck, every track is solid though, but that doesn't make a great album in my book. Also there is no peak song so... The lyrics for me are, for the most part, below average, but the music is great. Might be alone on that one though, because people seem to love the lyrics. Lyrics aren'..." Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 11

Year of Release:

2006

Appears in:

1,650 charts

Rank Score:

15,365

Rank in 2006:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

Comments:

"The amount of different ideas and aspects that get explored on this record is phenomenal. Not just one of my favourite ever hip-hip records but one of my favourite records of all time. It goes from smooth, classic sounding hip-hop to new, modern and disjointed sounding (which is extremely good); ..." Reply

Sometype | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 6

Year of Release:

2004

Appears in:

1,089 charts

Rank Score:

13,076

Rank in 2004:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,240 votes)

Comments:

Turn On The Bright Lights

Interpol

"While The Strokes represented the Television-y part of the '00s punk revival, Interpol came to be the leading band of the gloomy Suicide/Joy Division-inspired section of the thing. But Paul Banks went further from only mimicking this sound: they renewed their work in a way that fits perfectly the..." Reply

bonafini | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 15

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

1,316 charts

Rank Score:

12,682

Rank in 2002:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

83 (1,655 votes)

Comments:

130

10.

Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven

Godspeed You! Black Emperor

"I'm starting to get addicted to this...I think it could be in my top 10 soon...if not number 1... The thing I like best about this is that as calculated as it is, as methodical as every guitar prick and drum beat is, there's still tons of imperfections present. The soft-buildup-crescendo-loud dyn...""I'm starting to get addicted to this...I think it could be in my top 10 soon...if not number 1... The thing I like best about this is that as calculated as it is, as methodical as every guitar prick and drum beat is, there's still tons of imperfections present. The soft-buildup-crescendo-loud dynamic is fairly formulaic, but it works here because of how they pull them off. In Sleep it's not just a buildup, or a crescendo, but a smorgasbord of horns and all kinds of instruments. From the opening note until the peak there's a constant sound that's holding your attention. In Static it threatens to explode...and then doesn't. Even after three or four listens I still expected the guitars to get louder at that one part (too lazy and tired to look up when it is). By the time the final movement roles around it's as if the musicians know we're onto them. After several minutes of droning and in near silence, it just gets louder, no buildup, no warning. And there's no set mood given off (except for the beginning of Storm, that part's pretty triumphant). Post rock that gives off a creepy or dark vibe is sometimes fun, but music that leaves the mood to the listener tends to work more often. Scaruffi complains that the spoken word parts and interludes seem to have no purpose, and he's right. But why does that matter? You're in a desert of noise, you start to hear voices, and what do they say? They tell you not listen to the people trying to wash your windows. There's such a sense of mystery there that it really draws you in and makes you think. The second spoken word part is genius - like I said earlier, the mood of the album typically feels neutral, but as you hear the speaker say "and when you see the face of God you will die" chills run down your spine, no matter how the music previously made you feel. Sometimes when bands throw in spoken parts they seems like they're trying too hard to shock you *cough* Swans *cough* In this case you're flying through an ocean of noise, trying to get back to reality, but all you can catch are little glimpses of people's thoughts as you fly by. I don't think any of that made any sense. TLDR, it's a great album that demands more attention than many instrumental pieces. I hate the word epic, because this is not striving to be grand or entrancing, it's striving to make you feel." Reply

babyBlueSedan | Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 14

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

1,121 charts

Rank Score:

11,877

Rank in 2000:

Rank in 2000s:

Overall Rank:

Average Rating:

86 (1,353 votes)

Comments:

108

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 1 of 100

Best Albums of the 2000s composition

Year	Albums	%

2000	102	10%
2001	100	10%
2002	109	11%
2003	110	11%
2004	86	9%
2005	107	11%
2006	101	10%
2007	92	9%
2008	88	9%
2009	105	11%

Artist	Albums	%

Animal Collective	6	1%
Bruce Springsteen	6	1%
Wilco	5	1%
Bright Eyes	5	1%
Opeth	5	1%
The Black Keys	5	1%
Modest Mouse	5	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	548	55%
	221	22%
	56	6%
	39	4%
	23	2%
	23	2%
	18	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	988	99%
Yes	12	1%

Live?	Albums	%
No	991	99%
Yes	9	1%

Soundtrack?	Albums	%
No	989	99%
Yes	11	1%

Best Albums of the 2000s chart changes

Biggest climbers Biggest climbers in top 100 since last month
Up 3 from 83rd to 80th Person Pitch by Panda Bear
Up 3 from 50th to 47th Oracular Spectacular by MGMT
Up 2 from 99th to 97th The Resistance by Muse

Biggest fallers Biggest fallers in top 100 since last month
Down 3 from 72nd to 75th White Pony by Deftones
Down 2 from 47th to 49th The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
Down 2 from 48th to 50th Untrue by Burial

« View best albums of the 1990sView best albums of the 2010s »

Best Artists of the 1990s

1. Radiohead

2. Nirvana

3. The Smashing Pumpkins

4. Neutral Milk Hotel

5. Oasis

6. Pearl Jam

7. R.E.M.

8. My Bloody Valentine

9. Nick Cave

10. Björk