by J. Albert Barr
And so we move on to the second half of my very own Top 100 Albums of the 2000s! This is the cream of the proverbial crop, in my humble opinion, folks, where not only the best albums are presented, but also what I feel to be culturally significant and important albums; not the least of which, the album I've placed at #1, which I genuinely feel is the single best musical expression of what many of us believe to be the progressive dehumanization and corporatization of society through an increasing immersion into a wholly digitized, virtual, and consumer-driven, world of almost total artificiality and antiseptic simulacra. Well, ominous, pessimistic projections aside, let's get on with the second half of the countdown, shall we?:
50. Nixon - Lambchop (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Up with People", "The Old Gold Shoe" and "The Books I Haven't Read".
49. Asleep in the Back - Elbow (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Powder Blue", "Any Day Now" and "Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)".
48. Kill the Moonlight - Spoon (2002)
Favorite tracks: "Small Stakes", "Jonathon Fisk" and "Stay Don't Go".
47. Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth (2006)
Favorite tracks: "Reena", "Incinerate" and "Rats".
46. Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots - The Flaming Lips (2002)
Favorite tracks: "Do You Realize?", "Fight Test" and "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell".
45. Talkie Walkie - Air (2004)
Favorite tracks: "Run", "Surfing on a Rocket" and "Another Day".
44. The Moon & Antarctica - Modest Mouse (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Dark Center of the Universe", "Alone Down There" and "Paper Thin Walls".
43. Look Into the Eyeball - David Byrne (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Like Humans Do", "The Accident" and "The Moment of Conception".
42. Is This It - The Strokes (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Soma", "The Modern Age" and "Take It or Leave It".
41. Things We Lost in the Fire - Low (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Embrace", "July" and "Dinosaur Act".
40. Let's Get Out of This Country - Camera Obscura (2006)
Favorite tracks: "Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken", "Come Back Margaret" and "If Looks Could Kill".
39. Geogaddi - Boards of Canada (2002)
Favorite tracks: The whole thing, really.
38. Dark Island - Pram (2003)
Favorite tracks: "Goodbye", "Paper Hats" and "Track of the Cat".
37. Person Pitch - Panda Bear (2007)
Favorite tracks: "Bros", "Take Pills" and "Good Girl/Carrots".
36. Stankonia - Outkast (2000)
Favorite tracks: "B.O.B.", "Xplosion" and "So Fresh, So Clean".
35. The Hour of Bewilderbeast - Badly Drawn Boy (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Camping Next to Water", "Magic in the Air" and "Epitaph".
34. Oh, Inverted World - The Shins (2001)
Favorite tracks: "New Slang", "Pressed in a Book" and "The Past and Pending".
33. xx - The xx (2009)
Favorite tracks: "Basic Space", "Crystalised" and "Fantasy".
32. Sound-Dust - Stereolab (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Baby Lulu", "Space Moth" and "Hallucinex".
31. Arular - M.I.A. (2005)
Favorite tracks: "Pull Up the People", "Bucky Done Gun" and "10 Dollar".
30. Actor - St. Vincent (2009)
Favorite tracks: "The Strangers", "Black Rainbow" and "Just the Same but Brand New".
29. White Blood Cells - The White Stripes (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Fell in Love with a Girl", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "The Union Forever".
28. The Real New Fall LP - The Fall (2004)
Favorite tracks: "Sparta 2#", "Boxoctosis" and "Green Eyed".
27. The Woods - Sleater-Kinney (2005)
Favorite tracks: "The Fox", "What's Mine is Yours" and "Entertain".
26. Sound of Silver - LCD Soundsystem (2007)
Favorite tracks: "All My Friends", "North American Scum" and "New York, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down".
25. Funeral - The Arcade Fire (2004)
Favorite tracks: "Wake Up", "Rebellion (Lies)" and "In the Backseat".
24. Blacklisted - Neko Case (2002)
Favorite tracks: "Blacklisted", "Deep Red Bells" and "I Wish I Was the Moon".
23. Out of Season - Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man (2002)
Favorite tracks: "Romance", "Sand River" and "Drake".
22. The Noise Made By People - Broadcast (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Come On Let's Go", "Papercuts" and "You Can Fall".
21. Sea Change - Beck (2002)
Favorite tracks: "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "The Golden Age" and "Round the Bend".
20. Love and Theft - Bob Dylan (2001)
Favorite tracks: "High Water", "Moonlight" and "Sugar Baby".
19. Veckatimest - Grizzly Bear (2009)
Favorite tracks: "Two Weeks", "Cheerleader" and "Ready, Able".
18. Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea - PJ Harvey (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Big Exit", "Good Fortune" and "We Float".
17. Fever Ray - Fever Ray (2009)
Favorite tracks: "If I Had a Heart", "Seven" and "Keep the Streets Empty for Me".
16. Fan Dance - Sam Phillips (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Love is Everywhere I Go", "How to Dream" and "Say What You Mean".
15. Witching Hour - Ladytron (2005)
Favorite tracks: "Whitelightgenerator", "Destroy Everything You Touch" and "Sugar".
14. Merriweather Post Pavilion - Animal Collective (2009)
Favorite tracks: "My Girls", "Bluish" and "No More Runnin'".
13. Amnesiac - Radiohead (2001)
Favorite tracks: "Knives Out", "Pyramid Song" and "Spinning Plates".
12. Felt Mountain - Goldfrapp (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Pilots", "Lovely Head" and "Utopia".
11. Third - Portishead (2008)
Favorite tracks: "Hunter", "The Rip" and "Threads".
10. Blueberry Boat - The Fiery Furnaces (2004)
Favorite tracks: "Quay Cur", "My Dog Was Lost But Now He's Found" and "Chief Inspector Blancheflower".
9. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot - Wilco (2002)
Favorite tracks: "Jesus Etc.", "War on War" and "Poor Places".
8. Silent Shout - The Knife (2006)
Favorite tracks: "Like a Pen", "We Share Our Mother's Health" and "Still Light".
7. In Rainbows - Radiohead (2007)
Favorite tracks: "Nude", "House of Cards" and "All I Need".
6. Ha Ha Sound - Broadcast (2003)
Favorite tracks: "Before We Begin", "Pendulum" and "Winter Now".
5. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out - Yo La Tengo (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House", "Tears Are in Your Eyes" and "Night Falls on Hoboken".
4. White Bread Black Beer - Scritti Politti (2006)
Favorite tracks: "Mrs. Hughes", "The Boom Boom Bap" and "Snow in Sun".
3. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (2008)
Favorite tracks: "He Doesn't Know Why", "Ragged Wood" and "Meadowlarks".
2. Smile - Brian Wilson (2004)
Favorite tracks: "Heroes and Villains", "Wonderful" and "Surf's Up".
1. Kid A - Radiohead (2000)
Favorite tracks: "Everything in it's Right Place", "How to Disappear Completely" and "Morning Bell".
There you have it, dear readers! My picks for the Top 100 Albums of the 21st century's first decade! I hope you enjoyed perusing the list! Take care. :-)
