Top 5 Best Albums

[Eulogic]

I limited the list to one album per artist. Obviously, musical taste is highly subjective, and I'm sure no one will agree with the placement of these albums. Feel free to post your own lists and reasons!

5. Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak
Kanye's fourth album is noticeably different from his earlier outings. Written and recorded in the wake of the death of West's mother, the breaking of his engagement, and his sudden increase in popularity, gone are the swagger and even (for the most part) rapping, replaced by regretful musings on failed relationships and what could have been. Fueled by the titular 808 drums (or equivalent), auto-tune, and subtle samples from artists ranging from Nina Simone to The Alan Parsons Project, 808s presents a more mature Kanye and an incredibly unique album.

4. Janelle Monae, The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monae is, in my opinion, the most talented performer of the decade. On her debut EP, Monae introduces a science fiction setting in which the protagonist, an android named Cindy Mayweather, is persecuted for her love for a human. The ArchAndroid continues this story with a tremendous musical variety, from upbeat dance to hip hop to psychedelic.

3. MGMT, Oracular Spectacular
The MGMT's first album has some winners and some duds. In fact, I would say that there are really only three great songs on it. That said, "Kids" and "Time To Pretend" are two of the best songs of the decade and "Electric Feel" is probably one of my favorite songs of all time.

2. The Decemberists, The Crane Wife
The Decemberists are my favorite band and The Crane Wife is my favorite album from them. More musically daring than their first three albums, the songs from Crane Wife and its B-sides present intricate imagery and fantastically crafted tales. While The Decemberists have since presented more complete and thematically coherent albums, The Crane Wife remains my favorite.

1. of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer is flawless as an album. Emerging from their relatively newfound pop success with The Sunlandic Twins, of Montreal does not stagnate, but continues to explore new genres with great success.

Honorable Mentions:
Tegan and Sara, Sainthood
Metric, Fantasies
She & Him, Volume One

[Neimonster]

I was gonna limit myself to five, but I am enjoying this look back.

The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree
Introduced to me by a great show; Moral Orel, The Mountain Goats quickly became one of my favorite "bands." Although "No Children" is my favorite song, this album has more good songs than Tallahassee. Broom People, This Year, Dance Music, Lion's Teeth, all great. He sings a lot about his abusive stepfather, and I enjoy getting pieces of the story in his songs.

Janski Beeeats, Game Planet
I was one of his first views on YouTube, and I thought he was awesome. Now he actually pulled it together and released an album, and it's great. Chiptuney, beaty, cheery music. Every damn song makes you want to dance.

Tourniquet, Microscopic View of a Telescopic Realm
This band would have been huge if they weren't "Christian" metal. It's really, really, really good metal. Excellent use of strings, piano and flute in some songs. The drummer is one of the best in the world. The ONE time they played in Sweden, I was there and made it an epic show for them. We started a mosh pit, stagediving and crowdsurfing. Many great songs. Some of my all-time favorites. And I'm an atheist!

Cold War Kids, Robbers & Cowards
Awesome debut by indie rockers Cold War Kids. Highlights are: Hospital Beds, Saint John, We Used to Vacation, Hang Me Up to Dry. There is something genuine and cool about this band. I'd love to get stoned and see them live. And they keep cranking out good tunes!

Justice - †
French electronica. Great album.

Mod Flanders Conspiracy, ...The Tragic Urn Spill...
Immature, yes. Awesome and innovative, yes. I found this band by searching for "sea shanties" for a pirate party we had and found a song called "The Zimbabwean Sea Shanties Of The Swashbuckler", which did not really fit the bill, but was very intriguing. I tried to find more, but couldn't. Ended up contacting the bass player, who told me the singer joined another band (which sucks) and that they had started a new band (which sucks). Forshame. There is some really interesting music on their two albums. I suppose it's screamo or something similar, but it's actually good.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium
Not necessarily one of the best albums, but I feel it was overlooked by many. Dani California, and perhaps Snow, are the only songs people know, but there are many more VERY good ones. Charlie, Stadium Arcadium, Hump de Bump, Slow Cheetah, Torture Me, Desecration Smile, Hard to Concentrate, and Storm in a Teacup stand out. The guitar tone is lovely and Fleas bass playing is ace, as usual.

Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass
The artist I always bring up when rap is discussed. The polar opposite of stupid hip-hop with crappy lyrics and autotuning. Great fucking beats and complex lyrics that take several listens and lots of thinking to understand. Some of my favorite songs are on this album. The Harbor Is Yours, Five Fingers, Dark Heart News, Coffee and the title track are all played frequently in this household.

Meshuggah - Nothing
Very hard and very intelligent metal with impossible rhythms. Surprisingly catchy for something so heavy.

N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds
I include this because this was a band I hated when that fucking "Lapdance" song hit. They have matured, learned to play instruments and produced a very varied album. Sometimes it's pure hip-hop, sometimes they sound like The Police, sometimes they make you wanna dance. "Sooner Or Later" could have been written by John Lennon. I respect N.E.R.D. now, and the video for "Everyone Nose" is damn good.

Regina Spektor, Far
I liked Regina Spektor until I saw her live. Now I love her. She really belts 'em out, it's like she's singing with her entire body. I had goosebumps throughout the show and nearly cried.
Begin To Hope has the best songs, but Far is her best album. I used to listen to it every morning when it came out. I'd just put the first song on when I got up and then just let it play right through.

I have to credit Fiona Apple, she tricked me into listening to piano-playing female singers by leaking the awesome first version of Extraordinary Machine. The retail version, pushed by the studio, is FAR inferior. I was pretty much limiting myself to metal before that, and now my musical tastes are wide.

More honorable mentions:
Flobots - Fight With Tools, epic debut.
Goto80 - Breakfast [EP], the original and Liquid Stranger's dubstep remix are both incredible.
1900 - 1900, simple music that sounds like it's being played from a victrola. Less is more.
Tourniquet - Where Moth and Rust Destroy, just as good as the previous record(s).
Ratatat - Classics, lives up to its title!
The Asteroid Galaxy Tour - Fruit, not everyone's cup of tea, but I like their weird sound. "The Golden Age" is the standout track.
The Go! Team - Doing It Right [EP], "Milk Crisis" rules.
Buckethead, everything he makes is worth a listen.

[Smasha]

Throwing on a second for Justice.

[The Tromboner]

No mention of 2004's "Leviathan" from Mastodon? Criminal!

[Eulogic]

[FlankingLine]

i liked that coldplay one that everyone liked

[Neimonster]

[ploppy]

I was about to go to bed as it's almost 5am here but this is just too damn tempting.


This is no particular order in the sense that position determines which is best. I'm only numbering for order.


1. Janelle Monae - Archandroid: Everything Eula said. I think Monae will pretty much define the next decade of music. I expect and pray that she will blow the fuck up and probably reshape the very face of pop music and show that the genre doesnt have to be shallow and pander to the idea of image, gloss and hits that have been standard practice for decades. Never before has an artist been so artistic and yet so accessible. She's really turned pop music completely on it's head with just her Debut LP. She could totally bottom out too who knows really, but Archandroid stands on it's own as a lush and vivid thing of beauty that has never been done before and may never be done again.

2. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah series. I'm counting these 2 albums as one as they were pretty much recorded at the same time and are equally brilliant for entirely different reasons. People thought Erykah was slowing down after Mama's gun, that she'd never be as great as her debut in Baduism and that the failure of Neo Soul (which really was just a word not a genre lets be honest) would also mean her failure as an artist. And then lo and behold she comes out with these 2 wonderful twin babies and theres talk theres more siblings we just cant see them yet. Part 1 is so challenging and hard to buy into at first. So many of the tracks are so uncompromising for an artist of her caliber and then suddenly you get to something like That Hump and you realize that shes basically said "I'm still here motherfuckers and I can still move you in ways you havent even thought you could be moved yet, quit asking for me to bring headwraps and On and On back, move on already". And you think holy shit awesome, then she does the kindest thing on earth and releases Part 2 and she says "You know I love you, thanks for taking me seriously again, heres a throwback to what you love from me". Shes back, but then you realize she was never gone and she isn't going anywhere. I for one couldn't be happier.

3. JDilla - donuts. This album. What can I say. I mean lets just look at it for what it is. Dilla made this album in the hospital on his deathbed. He died a short while after it was fully complete. I'm inclined to believe that he put every single little bit of himself in this album and it shows. Not every track is perfect, but when you get it, you get it. He's sorry he has to go, he'll miss you as much as you miss him, heres one incredibly fat stack of beats to remember him by.

4. My Little Airport - Becoz I was too nervous at the time: This band, oh god this band I love this band so much. They are a duo from Hong Kong who sing sweet little songs, thats really the most succinct way to describe them and yet it doesnt do them justice.. From raising a little dog and losing it because "maybe dats fate" to wanting more porn from a friend because "I'm so dry I'm so dry I'm so dry" you cant help but fall head over heels. The whole while they are doing this it's in cantonese or a purposely poorly worded and spelled engrish to music that is both utterly cute and utterly abrasive. This album walks in both worlds. It gets as noisy and disorganized as My Bloody Valentine, while remaining as cute and innocent as childhood. There is so much going on in this album, so much with me only understanding a few songs because I do not speak cantonese. It isn't the words though. It's something else all too immaterial. There really is a soul inhabiting this cute little cottage. A soul that tells you it's ok to get older and deal with the problems of adulthood, but it doesnt mean you have to give up your sense of wonder at what life presents. They are as innocent as children but without any kind of naivety so you cant possibly turn your nose up to them. Get this album and never let go. You really really wont regret it.



5. This is very tough as there were many many albums I loved this decade. Hissing Fauna is super mad ultra brilliant and I love it more and more each listen, but I want to differentiate myself from Eula and am still fairly new to this album and this band. Its 5am here so Im going to look through my collection tomorrow morning and update this later with a final nom.