Best Albums of the Decade, 2000-2009

Top 50 Albums from 2000-2009


1.  Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
2.  Radiohead – Amnesiac
3.  Radiohead – Kid A
4.  Sigur Ros – Agaetis Byrjun
5.   Joanna Newsom – Ys
6.   Sufjan Stevens – Come on, Feel the Illionoise!
7.   The White Stripes – Elephant
8.   The Microphones – The Glow, Pt. 2
9.   The Books – Lost and Safe
10. The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
11. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place
12. The Arcade Fire – Funeral
13. The Antlers – Hospice
14. Sigur Ros – ( )
15. Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica
16. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago
17. Eluvium – Copia
18. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
19. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
20. The Mountain Goats – Tallahassee
21. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
22. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
23. Destroyer – Rubies
24. Sufjan Stevens – Greetings From Michigan!
25. Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker
26. The Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
27. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House
28. Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
29. Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head
30. Deerhoof – Friend Opportunity
31. Andrew Bird – Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs
32. The National – Boxer
33. Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights
34. The Shins – Oh, Inverted World
35. Animal Collective – Feels
36. Radiohead – In Rainbows
37. Joanna Newsom – The Milk-Eyed Mender
38. A Silver Mt. Zion – Horses in the Sky
39. Deerhunter – Microcastle/Weird Era Cont
40. tUnE-YaRdS – BiRd-BrAiNs
41. LCD Soundsytem –Sound of Silver
42. Neko Case and Her Boyfriends – Furnace Room Lullaby
43. Four Tet – Rounds
44. St. Vincent – Marry Me
45. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
46. No Age – Nouns
47. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!
48. Beck – Sea Change
49. Iron and Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days
50. The Strokes – Is This It?

Honorable Mentions:

Dan Deacon – Bromst

The Decemberists – The Crane Wife

Headphones – Headphones

The Hold Steady – Separation Sunday

M. Ward – Post-War

Pedro the Lion – Control

The Postal Service – Give Up

Sun Kil Moon – Ghosts of the Great Highway

Best Albums of 2009

I know I'm a bit late with this, but I wanted to wait until I felt at least marginally confident I had heard the "big records" from 2009.  Without further ado:

(5 stars) Albums You Really Have to Own

1.  The Antlers -- Hospice
2.  Phoenix -- Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
3.  Dirty Projectors -- Bitte Orca
4.  tUnE-YaRdS -- BiRd-BrAiNs
5. Various Artists -- Dark Was the Night (A Red Hot Compilation)
6.  Dan Deacon -- Bromst

(4 stars) Albums You Really Ought to Listen To

7.  The Mountain Goats -- The Life of the World to Come
8.  Karen O and the Kids -- Where the Wild Things Are (OST)
9.  Bowerbirds -- Upper Air
10. Woods -- Songs of Shame
11. Grizzly Bear -- Veckatimest
12. Mount Eerie -- Wind's Poem
13. Bill Callahan -- Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
14. Cass McCombs -- Catacombs
15. Andrew Bird -- Noble Beast
16. Girls -- Album
17. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart -- S/T
18. Japandroids -- Post-Nothing
19. St. Vincent -- Actor
20. Sun 0))) -- Monoliths and Dimensions
21. The Big Pink -- A Brief History of Love
22. White Denim -- Fits

(3 stars) Fine Albums, If You Like the Artist/Genre

23. Sufjan Stevens -- The BQE
24.  The XX -- S/T
25. Atlas Sound -- Logos
26. Fuck Buttons -- Tarot Sport
27. Vetiver -- Tight Knit
28. Beirut -- March of the Zapotec
29. Cymbals Eat Guitars -- Why There Are Mountains
30. Sunset Rubdown -- Dragonslayer

(2 stars) Albums That Downright Disappointed

31. The Flaming Lips -- Embryonic
32. Neko Case -- Middle Cyclone
33. The Decemberists -- The Hazards of Love
34. A Place to Bury Strangers -- Exploding Head
35. Dan Auerbach -- Keep It Hid
36. The Dodos -- Time To Die
37. Deer Tick -- Born on Flag Day
38. David Bazan -- Curse Your Branches
39. Wilco -- Wilco
40. A.C. Newman -- Get Guilty
41. The Black Heart Procession -- Six

Special Awards

Most Impressive Debut:  tUnE-YaRdS -- BiRd-BrAiNs

Album That Most Opened My Eyes to Another Genre:  Dan Deacon -- Bromst

Album That Could Have Most Benefitted From 6 More Months of Development:  Beirut -- March of the Zapotec

Worst Follow-Up To A Good Record:  The Black Heart Procession -- Six

Worst Follow-Up To A Mediocre Record:  Wilco -- Wilco