40 albums that defined the decade

I think that I only have 4-5 of these albums so I must be getting old....
Dave

40 albums that defined the decade


By Phil Gallo LiveDaily Contributor


Ten years, 40 albums. Not necessarily the biggest sellers, the best-reviewed or year-end list-toppers, but the ones that had an impact on music, the business or culture. These are the albums of the '00s that signified the arrival of new voices, new ways to get music to listeners or new paths to take when crossing boundaries. A few familiar faces are in there as well. In the decade of digital and the dawn of an era in which music is consumed by cherry picking songs, these are albums, listed in alphabetical order, that played the role of game changers.


Ryan Adams, "Gold" (2001) The former leader of Whiskeytown followed his acoustic solo debut, "Heartbreaker," with an album that shed his alt-country kin and established him as a vital, independent voice whose vocabulary came straight from the classic rock of the mid-'70s. A triumph of technique, it set the table for Adams' prodigious output: 10 albums and two EPs in nine years.


Arcade Fire, "Funeral" (2004) Theatrical indie rock--at one time an oxymoron--became the Montreal band's stock in trade. The album was the first to make fans of intelligent, guitar-driven rock look north to Canada, where they found a superb band with a unique sound and a business model that shunned the traditional industry paradigm.

Arctic Monkeys, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (2006) The fastest selling debut album in UK history, it was released after the band had become an Internet sensation via the online release of MP3s. The group was the first to successfully circumvent the traditional label system--but certainly not the last.

The Beatles, "Mono Box" (2009) More than just a sonic improvement from the late-1980s releases, the mono editions of The Beatles' albums bore the Fab Four's stamp of approval as opposed to the stereo versions. In mono, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and the white album provided the dramatic revelations in the reissue project.


Beyonce, "Dangerously in Love" (2003) Destiny's Child was as big an R&B act as existed when its lead singer stepped forward with a solo debut that broadened her sound and increased her fan base. The singles "Crazy in Love," "Baby Boy," "Me, Myself and I" and "Naughty Girl" were Top 10 staples in 2003 and '04.


Bright Eyes, "Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground" (2002) The first album to attract comparisons between Conor Oberst and Bob Dylan. A dramatic and sweeping--even epic--work, it announced the arrival of a significant talent who was only 22 at the time.


Johnny Cash, "American IV: The Man Comes Around" (2002) By the time Cash died on Sept. 12, 2003, his rebirth was so complete that acts in every genre--from gangster rap to Justin Timberlake--respected the Man in Black. "American IV" was producer Rick Rubin's finest production effort and included Cash's dramatic reading of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt."

Cafe Tacuba, "Cuatro Caminos" (2003) The single most important band to rise out of the Spanish-language rock movement of the 1990s, "Cuatro Caminos" was the Mexican act's most significant--and most accessible--work to date. Few bands merge as many elements as Cafe Tacuba and maintain such a raw edginess to their sound.

Bob Dylan, "Love & Theft" (2001) Released on Sept. 11, 2001, album sales never hit the mark that was expected. Still, the album stands as Dylan's finest in decades and, upon release, played significantly in the revitalization of the singer's career.

Eagles, "Long Road Out of Eden" (2007) By being available at only one retailer--Walmart--and selling more than 700,000 copies in its first week, the first Eagles studio album in 28 years established the viability of exclusive releases.

Eminem, "The Marshal Mathers LP" (2000). It is arguable that the decade's rap masterpiece was released three months into the new millennium. With the massive global hits "Stan" and "The Real Slim Shady," Eminem emerged as the first polarizing rap artist whose support stretched across the ethnic and musical spectrum.

Feist, "1, 2, 3, 4" (2007)/Flaming Lips - "Do You Realize??" (2002) OK, so they're not albums--but they represent the power of a television commercial to drive album sales. Apple used Feist, Hewlett Packard turned to the Lips. And both acts not only survived claims of selling out, but her "The Reminder" and their "Yoshimi Battles the Oink Robots" saw sales spikes.

"Garden State" soundtrack (2004) A rare example of a soundtrack of pre-existing music that becomes a character in a film. Most of the music highlighted the vulnerability and indecision of the characters, which in turn made not only the music important, but the order in which it is played. The Shins, Zero 7 and Thievery Corporation gained new fans and Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" was given a new life.


Gnarls Barkley, "St. Elsewhere" (2006) "Crazy," the best of the decade's ubiquitous records, seemingly made its way on nearly every radio format. Nothing else on the album sounds like "Crazy," a testament to the varied talents of Danger Mouse and Cee-lo Green, and the label realized it by refraining from releasing a second single until "Crazy" was out for nine months--a rare strategy.


Green Day, "American Idiot" (2004) After a few efforts that suggested Billie Joe Armstrong had matured, the Bay Area trio delivered this impressive concept album that pushed their songwriting to a new level. A punk-song cycle, the album has been turned into a stage musical that is likely to land on Broadway in 2010.

Keith Jarrett Trio, "My Foolish Heart" (2007) Jarrett celebrated the 25th anniversary of his trio with bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette by releasing this 2001 concert appearance in Montreux, Switzerland. Most bands don't stay together that long in any genre, and the ones that do rarely achieve the level of musicianship and communication that this trio, which only performs standards, has done for decades.

Jay-Z, "The Blueprint" (2001) Rivals "The Marshall Mathers LP" for rap album of the decade. The freshness and inventiveness in the rhymes and the beats are stunning--a dozen tracks, each as good as the next. First single "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" sent a message that rap had a new kingpin; "The Blueprint" reinforced that point.

Norah Jones, "Come Away With Me" (2002) The album that made baby boomers want to buy CDs again, and they did so in droves. Not only did it sell 10 million copies, but it did so gradually--a rarity this decade--before running the table at the Grammy Awards.


Alicia Keys, "Songs in A Minor" (2001) It had all the trappings of hype at first--Clive Davis, who recorded her, could not talk about anyone else--but Keys has proven herself to be the complete artist, a rarity among R&B performers in the '00s. She keeps the focus on the music and away from dramas.


Miranda Lambert, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (2007) The second album from the first star produced by the televised country singing competition "Nashville Star," Lambert proved to be a strong writer as well as singer. Funny thing is, she didn't win on "Nashville Star."


"Light in the Piazza" original cast album (2005) Adam Guettel's inventive score--filled with art songs and tone poems--indicated that musical theater does have an heir to Stephen Sondheim. In the land of "Spamalot," "Hairspray" and "Wicked," this proved Broadway can still succeed with the cerebral and risky.


New Pornographers, "Mass Romantic" (2000) The sprawling debut from the Canadian cooperative that gave us Neko Case, the record is chock full of songs that deserved to be hit singles. As we saw later in the decade, the concept of co-op bands such as Broken Social Scene can be remarkably fruitful.


Outkast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (2003) "Stankonia" is a better, more cohesive album, but this semi-collaboration between Andre 3000 and Big Boi was the disc that crossed over and had a cultural impact. The album gave the world "Hey Ya" and "The Way You Move."


Radiohead, "In Rainbows" (2007) The first major success story for a Do It Yourself project by an established band. They were the first major act to willfully ask each member of their fan base, "What is the financial value of our music?"


Radiohead, "Kid A." (2000) On many levels, the first taste of modern rock in the new millennium. Rich in assimilating influences from rock and dance clubs to create songs that follow few rules of form.


Sigur Ros, "()" (2002) The songs have no titles, the language is inscrutable and the tempos are quite similar to their sumptuous 1999 debut. But there's a power in the Sigur Ros sonic-sphere that's so distinctive, it opened domestic doors for acts recording in countries known for snow cover, 23 hour days of light or dark, and social welfare.


Spoon, "Girls Can Tell" (2001) This album was followed by three more albums in four years. Like an actor that makes four films per year and gets the term "working" attached to the front of their name, Spoon was the decade's ultimate working rock band, touring and recording seemingly endlessly and being rewarded with a bigger fan base after each release.


Bruce Springsteen, "The Rising." (2002) The post 9-11 balm that made believers out of everyone. It was almost against the law to criticize it.


Sufjan Stevens, "Illinoise" (2005) The breakthrough album for the folk-oriented singer-songwriter established his 50 states/50 albums project as more than a lark. Ambitious and earnest, "Illinoise" is a crucial indie-rock document.

Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate, "In the Heart of the Moon" (2005) Guitarist Ali Farka Toure from Mali and kora player Toumani Diabate perform a mix of songs that date back to the 1950s and tunes written for the album to create a West African Buena Vista Social Club. (Not surprisingly, Ry Cooder is in the band.) Stunningly beautiful in places and technically jaw-dropping elsewhere, it's as good as anything produced in Africa this decade.


Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts." (2005) The first "American Idol" winner to be taken seriously out of the box, she quickly became a darling of country radio. Underwood won two Grammys for songs on her debut and has blossomed away from "Idol" controls as a bona fide country star.


Vampire Weekend, "Vampire Weekend" (2008) Ivy League students try their hand at South African township jive and create an indie-rock gem. As debuts go, few arrived so fully formed as this.

Kanye West, "The College Dropout" (2004) The solo debut from the producer, West proved he could create his own hit singles, write compelling rhymes and deliver music that would quickly propel him to superstardom. In a genre with a limited number of "career artists," West deserved that tag the day "Dropout" dropped.


The White Stripes, "Elephant" (2003) The album that established Jack White as a rock star. Dark and gloomy yet laser-focused, it set the bruised and battered tone for The White Stripes.


Brian Wilson, "SMiLE" (2004) Finally. The follow-up to the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" was finished ... and it was magnificent.


Amy Winehouse, "Back To Black" (2006) For about two years, no artist was discussed more than Winehouse. Musically, she was a compelling force of nature; offstage, her private life was a disaster. How many other artists can have a rise, a fall and a shot at redemption within a year and half?


Wilco, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (2002) Warner Bros. tells the band to get lost after turning in the most uncommercial record of their career, so they go to sister label Nonesuch and outsell every other Warner Music act during the week of the album's release. A landmark album to boot.


Neil Young, "Archives: 1963-1972" (2009) Released in three configurations, Young's multi-disc set was the first box to make a compelling case for Blu-Ray as an audio medium. Music's pretty damn good, too.


Warren Zevon, "The Wind." Not sure if a dying person has ever used their last months on earth to make a record besides Zevon. His final statement is divine, especially "Keep Me in Your Heart."