Best Albums of the 2000s

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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: 6 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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151.

Damien Rice

"One of THE greatest singer-songwriter records of the 21st century. Damien Rice couples his great lyricism with passionate singing to make his debut a modern masterpiece." Reply

Daydreamer | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2002

Appears in:

306 charts

Rank Score:

1,781

Rank in 2002:

Rank in 2000s:

151

Overall Rank:

977

Average Rating:

77 (360 votes)

Comments:

152.

Aerial

Kate Bush

"Can't enjoy this as much as her previous works. And I seldom heard high notes from her now on this record, perhaps due to her aging. But her vocal line still sounds sweet, only less sexy though. It's still a very edgy work when compared to other messes on the current market. Fav track: Nocturn." Reply

ilovelctr | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (4 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

288 charts

Rank Score:

1,770

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

152

Overall Rank:

984

Average Rating:

78 (369 votes)

Comments:

153.

De Stijl

The White Stripes

"It's a crunchy lo-fi bluesy garage rock album with bittersweet lyrics that everyone can relate too. Oh and a fuckload of slide guitar" Reply

- DN02RZU | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

376 charts

Rank Score:

1,712

Rank in 2000:

Rank in 2000s:

153

Overall Rank:

1,019

Average Rating:

79 (652 votes)

Comments:

154.

Picaresque

The Decemberists

"Picaresque is my favorite album from the Decemberists. It starts off with a muted tribal horn i often blast before the drums beat in with Colin narrating the premise of "the infanta": "Here she comes in her palanquin / on the back of an elephant / on a bed made of linen and sequins and silk / all...""Picaresque is my favorite album from the Decemberists. It starts off with a muted tribal horn i often blast before the drums beat in with Colin narrating the premise of "the infanta": "Here she comes in her palanquin / on the back of an elephant / on a bed made of linen and sequins and silk / all astride on her father's line / with the king and his concubines / and her nurse with her pitchers of liquors and milk / and we'll all come praise the infanta". The charging literature of the song is finely offset by the quieter, pensive, recharging bridge. The lyrics on "infanta" are the best decemberists lyrics yet (and i love intelligent lyrics), replete with high-point scrabble words like "palanquin", "pachyderm" and "folderol", tied with another picaresque tune, the epic "mariner's revenge song", probably my favorite decemberists songs of all-time. "mariner's" starts in flashback mode "in this belly of a whale" recalling a "rake and a rastabout" who moved in on the narrator's mother when he was 14 "Leaving my mother A poor consumptive wretch" with a killer-yet-frail chorus delivered by Jenny wisping "Find him, bind him / Tie him to a pole and break / His fingers to splinters / Drag him to a hole until he / Wakes up naked / Clawing at the ceiling / Of his grave". The narrator later was hired in a priory "But never once in the employ / Of these holy men / Did I ever once turn my mind / From the thought of revenge" hearing about a captain known for "wanton cruelty", the man who left his mother destitute in death. There's even a pensive instrumental passage as the narrator contemplates commiting a "wicked deed" (to kill that captain) which nails the sound of the old sea (as only the Decemberists can!). Then "And then that fateful night / We had you in our sight / After twenty months at sea / Your starboard flank abeam / I was getting my muskets clean / When came this rumbling from beneath" as the whale rose from beneath which chews up all but our two antagonists. Marvelous storytelling and delivery including an energized ending. All tunes have the feel of tales of centuries ago, classic stories charles dickens or herman melville would be proud of, full of motorcars and muskets ablaze. "we both go down together" is a tale of a couple who commit suicide knowing their families will never allow them together ("Meet me on my vast veranda / My sweet untouched Miranda / and while the seagulls are crying / we fall but our souls are flying"). That Colin can make such wordsmithy, sea shanties so catchy and endearing is a testament to his intelligence and ability to tap the human condition. Like on "eli the barrow boy", the soliloquied epitaph of a loved one, singing "Would I could afford to buy my love a fine robe / Made of gold and silk Arabian thread / But she is dead and gone and lying in a pine grove / And I must push my barrow all the day". Or the humorously playful "the sporting life": "I fell on the playing field / the work of an errant heel / the din of the crowd and the loud commotion / went deafening silence and stopped emotion" . The instrumentation on this album kicks arse too, from the fiddle on "together" to the organ and horns on "16 military wives" to the accordion on "mariner's revenge song". The slower numbers work well too, from the crime scene buildup of "the bagman's gambit" ("On the lam from the law / on the steps of the capitol / you shot a plainclothes cop on the ten o'clock") and literally lost love "from my own true love (lost at sea)", to what i feel is Colin's first love song "of angels and angles". Beautiful acoustic guitar prefaces simply-felt lines like "there are angels in your angles, there's a low moon caught in your tangles", the perfectly understated closer to offset the literary bombast of "infanta". The sentiment is as saddening-sweet on "the engine driver" with a chorus pleading "and if you don't love me, let me go", and even on the lyrically-simple-life-of-a-male-prostitute of "on a bus mall" illustrating "here in our hovel we fuse like a family, / But I will not mourn for you. / So take off your makeup / And pocket your pills away. / We're kings among runaways / On the bus mall." . There's even a jab at politics in "16 military wives": "Cheer them on to their rivals / Cause America can, and America can't say no / And America does, if America says it's so". " [+] Reply

paladisiac | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +11 votes (11 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

286 charts

Rank Score:

1,707

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

154

Overall Rank:

1,022

Average Rating:

78 (301 votes)

Comments:

155.

Man On The Moon: The End Of Day

Kid Cudi

"A good gateway to hip-hop for those that aren't that into it" Reply

- lanadeleswift | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2009

Appears in:

241 charts

Rank Score:

1,706

Rank in 2009:

Rank in 2000s:

155

Overall Rank:

1,023

Average Rating:

77 (353 votes)

Comments:

156.

Fallen

Evanescence

"W A K E M E U P Wakemeupinside C A N T W A K E U P" Reply

- Pancakes | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +12 votes (12 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2003

Appears in:

232 charts

Rank Score:

1,705

Rank in 2003:

Rank in 2000s:

156

Overall Rank:

1,024

Average Rating:

66 (391 votes)

Comments:

157.

And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

Yo La Tengo

"You’ve just had the perfect day. Sun drenched and bone tired, you gather up your things with your friends. There is sand in your hair and on your bare feet, but you don’t care. You can wash it off tomorrow. You pile into the car laughing about some inside joke that no one outside that day would e..." [+] Reply

Repo | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2000

Appears in:

339 charts

Rank Score:

1,694

Rank in 2000:

Rank in 2000s:

157

Overall Rank:

1,031

Average Rating:

79 (342 votes)

Comments:

158.

Fever Ray

"Karin Dreijer Andersson is one of the greatest minds currently active in pop music. She can write a hook as well as anyone can but then masks it in this dark, almost Lynchian weirdness. Her vocals, manipulated and not, are always compelling even though somewhat alien and usually creepy. And her l..." [+] Reply

- | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (5 helpful | 1 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2009

Appears in:

330 charts

Rank Score:

1,667

Rank in 2009:

Rank in 2000s:

158

Overall Rank:

1,049

Average Rating:

78 (351 votes)

Comments:

159.

Get Behind Me Satan

The White Stripes

"I'm going to tell you that this is The White Stripes' best album so hang with me. I get that you all are attached to White Blood Cells. I get the appeal of that album, it's a jolt of rock. This album is not White Blood Cells. It requires an acquired taste, an open mind. The White Stripes fan base...""I'm going to tell you that this is The White Stripes' best album so hang with me. I get that you all are attached to White Blood Cells. I get the appeal of that album, it's a jolt of rock. This album is not White Blood Cells. It requires an acquired taste, an open mind. The White Stripes fan base expect rock, which is why this album is often cited as their worst. From a songwriting standpoint, this is their best. I like to start the album off with "The Nurse" and not "Blue Orchid" because I feel like "Blue Orchid" was slapped in there at the last minute just so this album could have a single. "The Nurse" sets the correct tone for the album, it is also the best track. I understand why some people do not like "The Nurse", but keep in mind that "The Nurse" is a song about murder (at least from my interpretation), so it should be uncomfortable to listen to. It really gets me into the right frame of mind for the rest of the album. So for the sake of being a snob, I'm going to pretend like "Blue Orchid" doesn't exist. Get Behind Me Satan explores many themes, but the one that stands out the most for me is how to overcome seclusion. Every track represents a different scenario that deals with the issue. One of the more stunning tracks, "White Moon", is about a soldier who carries a photograph of Rita Hayworth to symbolize his "girl back home" that he never had. In this album, Hayworth represents the unobtainable dream, which grows obsessive in "Take, Take, Take", a song about seeing Hayworth in the flesh. Another standout track, "Little Ghost" is about still being attached to the memory of a dead spouse. "Every morning I awoke And I see my little ghost Wondering if it's really her that's lying there I lean to touch her and I whisper But not brave enough to kiss her When I held her I was really holding air" What makes a song like this so great is its devastating lyrics being accompanied by one of the most joyful melodies The White Stripes ever created. The White Stripes use this trick throughout most of the album. The final track "I'm Lonely" is a heartbreaking ending to the album. This song tells the listener that there is always love in family, even though the family is out of reach in a place far away. Which may be about Jack's own feelings about touring. In any case, it's still an amazing song. Overall, my interpretation of this album might be different from your own. This is one of the many reasons why this album so unique. In the end, I feel satisfied, which is what really counts." [+] Reply

NubbinBased | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2005

Appears in:

377 charts

Rank Score:

1,639

Rank in 2005:

Rank in 2000s:

159

Overall Rank:

1,071

Average Rating:

76 (659 votes)

Comments:

160.

Safe Mode: On

Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust

Sigur Rós

"The most accesible and my favourite album from Sigur Ros !!! Songs of pure joy and sadness and beauty....explores the spectrum of human emotions without fear and achieves something truly beeautiful." Reply

- pvn271 | Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Year of Release:

2008

Appears in:

342 charts

Rank Score:

1,618

Rank in 2008:

Rank in 2000s:

160

Overall Rank:

1,081

Average Rating:

77 (514 votes)

Comments:

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Total albums: 1,000. Page 16 of 100

Best Albums of the 2000s composition

Year	Albums	%

2000	102	10%
2001	101	10%
2002	109	11%
2003	111	11%
2004	86	9%
2005	110	11%
2006	99	10%
2007	91	9%
2008	88	9%
2009	103	10%

Artist	Albums	%

Death Cab For Cutie	5	1%
The White Stripes	5	1%
Porcupine Tree	5	1%
Bruce Springsteen	5	1%
Radiohead	5	1%
Opeth	5	1%
Wilco	5	1%
Show all

Country	Albums	%

	547	55%
	220	22%
	55	6%
	40	4%
	24	2%
	23	2%
	18	2%
Show all

Compilation?	Albums	%
No	987	99%
Yes	13	1%

Live?	Albums	%
No	992	99%
Yes	8	1%

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

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

Best Artists of the 1970s
1. Pink Floyd
2. David Bowie
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Neil Young
5. The Rolling Stones
6. Black Sabbath
7. The Clash
8. Fleetwood Mac
9. Stevie Wonder
10. The Who