I found this in my email. Displayed in its original form as sent to friends on December 9, 2009.
i present my top 40 albums of the decade:
Radiohead – Kid A (2000)
Kanye West – College Dropout (2004)
Songs: Ohia – The Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)
Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
Deftones – White Pony (2000)
Outkast – Stankonia (2000)
TV on the Radio – Dear Science (2008)
Dr. Dog – Fate (2008)
Against Me! – New Wave (2007)
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (2008)
My Morning Jacket – At Dawn (2001)
LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver (2007)
Modest Mouse – Good News For People Who Love Bad News (2004)
Jay Reatard – Blood Visions (2006)
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest (2009)
Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008)
Beck – Sea Change (2002)
The Unicorns – Who Will Cut Our Hair When We’re Gone? (2004)
At the Drive In – Relationship of Command (2000)
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals (2008)
Elbow – Asleep in the Back (2001)
Annuals – Be He Me (2006)
Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
M. Ward – Post-War (2006)
The Postal Service – Give Up (2003)
Brand New – Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me (2006)
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III (2008)
Desaparecidos – Read Music/Speak Spanish (2002)
Muse – Absolution (2003)
Justin Timberlake – FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006)
Dinosaur Jr. – Beyond (2007)
Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)
Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001)
The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001)
Manchester Orchestra – Mean Everything to Nothing (2009)
Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (2005)
A few random thoughts:
- You can tell I was big on the indie rock train in the late 2000s
- There are actually 41 albums here, ha
- I have Kid A #1, which is the general consensus out there. It gets bonus points for being groundbreaking, trendsetting, etc. But these days I actually listen to In Rainbows more.
- I look forward to revisiting all the lists from individual years (if I can find them), but based on this list, here are my power rankings:
- 2008: 3 top tens, 7 overall including debuts from Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, and Vampire Weekend
- 2000: 3 top tens, 5 overall. Radiohead and Outkast, not much left to say.
- 2004: 2 top tens, 4 overall. Debuts from Kanye and Arcade Fire.
- 2007: 3 in the top 15, 5 overall. Classic Radiohead and LCD albums.
- 2006: 6 overall, although highest is Jay Reatard at #16
- 2002: 4 overall, classics from the Flaming Lips, Wilco, and Beck.
- 2003: 3 overall, carried by Songs:Ohia at #3
- 2001: 4 overall, highest is MMJ at #13
- 2009: Just 2, with Grizzly Bear at #20
- 2005: Just 1, at #41. Rough year.