I was drunkenly talking with a buddy of mine the other night about our favorite albums from the last decade. It was very hard for me to do because of alcohol and an extreme decline of music quality IMO. I went through my cd collection and came up with this list while bored. I'm only using 1 album per artist and the rankings are pretty volatile but here is what I came up with. I wanted to do a top 10 but pulled 20 discs and don't feel like narrowing them all down so I'll just rank 'em all with 10 Honorable Mentions and 10 ranks. I'm a punk/roots/classic rock guy so the list is pretty reflective of that. Some are not that well known and most are from earlier in the decade, it must take me a while to fully appreciate newer albums.
Honorable Mention:
Rolling Stones: Bigger Bang (2005)- Their best album in many years.
Bruce Springsteen: The Rising (2002)- The subject matter and timing was perfect for an E-street band reuinion.
Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)- I like "Being There" better but that was in the 90's.
Pulley: Matters (2004)- These guys are a great pop-punk band, "Matters" is my favorite of their albums. Former baseball player Scott Radinsky is ther singer.
The Hold Steady: Almost Killed Me (2004)- All their albums are great but this one wins out for me due to how well it flows.
The Methadones: Not Economically Viable (2004)- Chicago pop-punk at it's finest. Plus it's a loose concept album based on Michael Douglas' character in Falling Down.
The Slackers: Peculiar (2006)- The best traditional ska band in business today. This is their most concise album.
Rise Against: Revolutions Per Minute (2003)- They've become fairly popular the last few albums but this earlier one is my favorite. It's got a harder edge to it and has a pretty rockin but ironic Journey cover. (I hate fvckin' Journey)
Social Distortion: Sex, Love and Rock 'n' Roll (2004)- I wish they were more prolific because I love Social D. This might not be their best album but it's their only one this decade.
Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers: Americano (2004)- My favorite RCPM album, a great example of really solid roots rock.
10. Andrew W.K.: I Get Wet (2002)- The loudest, dumbest/smartest album of the decade. I love it most will likely hate it. Party Hard!
9. Mad Caddies: Just One More (2003) - The most eclectic album on this list. A ska band at it's core, they play punk, ska, reggae, soul, latin and dixieland jazz and mix it all up beautifully.
8. Green Day: American Idiot (2004) - If it wasn't for overexposure this would surely be higher on my list. It's still a very ambitious and fantastic album, I just don't need to hear Blvd of Broken Dreams ever again.
7. Dillinger Four: Vs. God (2000)- Either the heaviest pop punk album or the poppiest hardcore album I've ever heard. This one took a few years to grow on me but it's really amazing, even if the songs all sound the same. Bonus points for being from Minneapolis and for a member owning the Triple Rock.
6. Pearl Jam: Pearl Jam (2006)- A return to hard rock = best PJ album since Vs. There are some great ballads on there as well.
5. Drive-By Truckers: The Dirty South (2004)- It was hard to pick one DBT album but I went with this. 3 Singer/songwriters/Guitar players at the top of their game, not to mention how much it rocks.
4. The Gaslight Anthem: The '59 Sound (2008)- Working class punk. I love this band and specifically this album. I've listened to it so many time in the past year it's ridiculous.
3. The Black Keys: Rubber Factory (2004)- With apologies to the White Stripes these guys are the best 2 person blues-based rock band around. This album is their most consistent. A few acoustic songs balance the album that is otherwise full of ass-kickin songs with surprisingly good production values for being recorded in a basement.
2. Bob Dylan: Love and Theft (2001)- This is in my top 5 Dylan albums of all time which is really saying something. Every song is fantastic and lyrically Dylan still makes me laugh and think better than almost anyone.
1. Ike Reilly Assassination: Sparkle in the Finish (2004)- If I wasn't limiting myself to 1 album per artist Ike would have 3 in this list. He's a more rockin' version of Dylan and just as good a lyricist and songwriter. If you've never heard of Ike I would strongly recommend checking him out. It helps that he plays in the Twin cities about 4 times a year and his shows are always amazing.
I discoverd this gem while shitfaced after yesterday's tOSU loss...when is the next entry?
ReplyDeleteI love the list. I would put GA#1 and I think RCPM should have been more than an HM. I was surprised DBT wasn't higher, but I like where you put them. Job well done.