(Tinariwen; photo by Dennis Stempler)
We’re more than halfway done with our Best of the Decade countdown now, and starting to hit the big names. Here’s where the rubber meets the road, where we move past minor personal faves and into the game-changers (which leads me to the following confession: I’m responsible for the R. Kelly pick. He is a loathsome human being, but that record is as close to a Marvin Gaye album as I’ve heard in the 21st Century). So with the arrival of Conor at #40, we’re starting to hit the meaty part of the list. So I have to ask — any guesses at #1? Any albums you personally think are shoo-ins for the Top 40?
I’m digging this stretch of the list. Lots of good albums. I’m glad you put R. Kelly on the list, BTW. I hadn’t heard him before, but I love the samples.
Shoo-ins for Top 40:
• MIA – Arular
• Animal Collective – Sung Tongs and/or MPP
• Burial – Untrue
• New Pornographers – Twin Cinema
• Madvillain – Madvillainy
• OutKast – Stankonia
• Radiohead – In Rainbows
• Sufjan Stevens – Illinois and/or Michigan
• My Morning Jacket – Z
• The Strokes – Is This It?
• Panda Bear – Person Pitch
• Arcade Fire – Funeral
• The Hold Steady – Boys & Girls in America (or maybe Separation Sunday)
• Junior Boys – So This Is Goodbye or Last Exit
• TV On The Radio, maybe (only their full-length debut is available in the US market, so I dunno)
I hope for, among others, Dungen’s Ta Det Lugnt; Isolee’s Waremonster; Gavin Bryers/Philip Jeck/Alter Ego’s The Sinking Of The Titanic; a GhostFace disc; Lewis Taylor’s The Lost Album; Destroyer’s Rubies; The Bug’s London Zoo; Calexico’s Feast Of Wine; The Books’ The Lemon Of Pink; DJ/rupture’s Uproot; Steinski’s What Does It All Mean retrospective. I wish I knew more about jazz and classical this decade.
Good guesses, Daniel!
MMM Daniel’s list sure seems to echo the NPR best of dcecade I’m currently listening too.
I really like the far reaching extents that list list has hit so far, really looking forward to the next 40
Well, I think a lot of us would have made the same guesses that I did. The hard part is trying to determine which discs [i]outside[/i] of the indie-rock/pop genre may make the list. There, I’m kind of lost, except that I hope The Sinking Of The Titanic makes it. Also, I’m not sure if you classify dance music genres as part of indie-rock/pop, but to the extent they aren’t, I guess I’d have some idea of what discs from those genres might make the list (BTW, putting The Field’s disc on the list was a very good idea imo). (n.1)
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(n.1) I don’t dance, btw (or at least I haven’t for years). It’s all headphone listening for me.
The top 10, just so you all know, is all extreme black metal.
That’s too bad. Was hoping for a Kevin Federline — Bloodhound Gang — Phil Collins — Puddle of Mudd — Ashlee Simpson Top Five.
wait I think Daniel has it right. . . after all Kevin Federline’s Black Metal album was B R U T A L as H E L L
but the follow-up, Better Off Fed, was even better. As was album number three, South of Kevin.
my guesses for the top 10 would be:
Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele
Madvillain – Madvillainy (my #1, easiest pick I ever made)
Spoon – GaGaGaGaGa
Fugazi – The Argument (maybe? It’s in my top 10 for sure)
I’m with ya on the Gavin Bryars Sinking of the Titanic disc, Dan. I’m glad you reminded me, that was an amazing recording of a legendary composition.
I like Madvillainy a lot — especially that single built around the looped accordian sample — but I wouldn’t make it my No. 1 disc of the decade, or place it over a GhostFace album (both in the rap genre). What makes it a special disc for you?
Why can’t I read the “Best of the decade” articles you link to? Are they only available in the US? I’m curious!!!
OK, I just made the poll available worldwide for now — please keep in mind:
This is the US version of the poll — there are *many* albums on it that are not available worldwide, and that the polls *will* vary per region. It’s like back when Clue: The Movie came out, and there were different endings depending on which theater you went to. So what you’re seeing on the US list doesn’t necessarily reflect what you’ll see on the other lists…
Yeah, in the genre, with albums like Fishscale, Supreme Clientele, Blueprint, Stankonia and plenty, plenty more, its hard to imagine a strange — and sometimes seemingly — incoherent indie rap album stake a claim as an indispensable classic. But it’s as close to a perfect album as I’ve seen in a while.
It’s perfect because its impossible for it to be. It has no definable concept and the stories rarely have a singular narrative. Instead its a gallery of Doom’s excellent word play and stream of consciousness style. The beats are either broken or lumbering, if not because of the circumstances of the recording, then at least because of Madlib’s extensive knowledge and appropriation of left field musical concepts. The entire album is a thrown together haze of geeked-out talent. It’s like a hip-hop musique concrete, sometimes. Don’t quote me on that. I’m sure its been said before.
Much like any great album, the best part about Madvillainy is how rewarding it is once you spend some time with it. This one happens to appeal to me the most. There’s a mythology behind it, there’s the Sun Ra and Steve Reich samples. “Fancy Clown”, and “Accordion” absolutely kill — eschewing simple, and sometimes boring hip-hop beat standards — as do the last 3 tracks on the album. “All Caps”, “Great Day Today” and “Rhinestone Cowboy” all play like a suite dedicated to the largess of hip-hop, its open to anyone.
Apart from what has already been listed, I’d be shocked to not see some Mountain Goats on there. Either Heretic Pride or The Sunset Tree. I’d lean Sunset Tree, but could go either way.
Craig
“albums like Fishscale, Supreme Clientele, Blueprint, Stankonia ”
On any given day, I might rate FishScale as the decade’s best album. It’s so well-regarded here that I think there was a 17 Dots blog post announcing it’s forthcoming release, under the heading “NOT Coming Soon (But Get It Anyway),” or something like that. GhostFace is one of the most insightful storytellers in pop music, and is among a handful of artists — along with Craig Finn (of THS), J0hn D. (of TMG), and Sam Bean (of I&W) — with the most amazing attention to detail. See, e.g., Shakey Dog (“Straight ahead is the doorway, see that lady that lady with the shopping cart/She keep a shottie cocked in the hallway/Damn she look pretty old Ghost, she work for Kevin, she ’bout seventy seven/She paid her dues when she smoked his brother in law at his bosses’ wedding/Flew to Venezuela quickly when the big fed stepped in”).
The Mountain Goats will be on the list, trust me. Not sure which one, tho. Sunset Tree is the most likely choice, I guess.
Spotted today’s portion of the list. Diggin’ this list more-and-more.
i’m really hoping that the list encourages people to download that farben disc!
Odd. The Moon and Antarctica is both 100 and 23. I think 100 was something else yesterday.
Rifraz — That was odd, huh? That would be “operator error,” so to speak — should be fixed now. I promise that we weren’t going to slowly make Modest Mouse every album on this list.
observation.
so far no sonic youth.
really?
No surprise, really. Only the new disc is here.
Gaslight Anthem’s Sink or Swim and The ’59 Sound
The ’59 Sound was No. 98, I believe.
Does anyone know why Bob Dylan’s Time Out of Mind is on the best of the 2000s list? Wasn’t that album released in 1997?
lol, Trevor’s right. Please remove that disc! And for goodness sake, don’t replace it with another Dylan disc.
Yeah, can’t see why Time Out Of Mind would be on here. Didn’t y’all vote on these?
ID issue! Fixed now, apologies — and sorry to disappoint you, Daniel!
Blech. Apparently, No. 19 on eMusic’s list is Bob Dylan’s reserved parking space.
We’re just gonna make it a different Dylan record every day for the next decade.
Even Bob doesn’t have3650 albums (yet)
good point re the sonic youth exclusion esquire…
except that some of their rad ass experimental stuff on their own label is indeed on emusic, and some of that is from the aughties… but any list that starts with the strokes at number 1 isn’t for me regardless!
carry on.
only gots 5 so yep!! lokin for mor…….sad eh isnt it???