My Albums Of The Noughties (2000-2009)

6:09p.m., Fri 23 Oct 2009

This isn't a carefully considered, endlessly evaluated list aimed at pinpointing the absolute best albums of the last nine years. If you want one of those, everybody else is compiling them.

This is more a list of those albums released betwen 2000 and 2010 that I've spent the most amount of time with during the last nine years. To my mind, that makes it a more honest list. I'm not trying to be cool or to make some sweeping statement. This is what I listened to. Some of these albums I'm never going to listen to again. Some represent a massive lapse of judgement, some I tried and tried and tried to love, but despite burning them into my brain, I never quite managed to burn into my heart. As I grow older I'm less inclined to persevere with those worthy but (initially) dull releases that demand an investment of time. Life's too short, quite frankly.

There's more from the first half of the decade and that's down to two reasons. Firstly, it takes me a while to get round to listening to new stuff. Secondly, my thirst for "new" stuff is getting increasingly out-stripped by my thirst for "good" stuff. Good is way better than new. It's only in the last ten years, for example, that I've got around to listening to Cat Stevens, Led Zep and Roxy Music (promising whipper-snappers - you should check 'em out. Don't forget you heard it here first ;)

2000

• Eels - "Daisies Of The Galaxy"
• Ween - "White Pepper"
• Smog - "Dongs Of Sevotion"
• The Ark - "We Are The Ark"
• The Apples In Stereo - "The World Inside The Moone"

2001

• James - "Pleased To Meet You"
• Gillian Welch - "Time (The Revelator)"
• Fugazi - "The Argument"
• The White Stripes - "White Blood Cells"
• Ben Folds - "Rockin The Suburbs"
• Ryan Adams - "Gold"
• Stephen Malkmus - "Stephen Malkmus"
• A Camp - "A Camp"
• The Soundtrack Of Our Lives - "Behind The Music"
• Terrorvision - "Good To Go"
• Ben & Jason - "Ten Songs About You"
• Clem Snide - "Your Favourite Music"
• Clem Snide - "Ghost Of Fashion"
• Seafood - "When Do We Start Fighting?"
• Low - "Things We Found In The Fire"
• The Blacks - "Dolly Horrorshow"

2002

• The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots"
• Brendan Benson - "Lapalco"
• The Vines - "Highly Evolved"
• Badly Drawn Boy - "About A Boy OST"
• Satellite - "Fear Of Gravity"
• Gomez - "In Our Gun"
• Wilco - "Yankeehotelfoxtrot"
• The Hives - "Your New Favourite Band"
• Uncle Tupelo - "89/93 Anthology"
• James Yorkston & The Athletes - "Moving Up Country"
• Ben Kweller - "Sha Sha"
• The Datsuns - "The Datsuns"
• The Vessels - "The Vessels"

2003

• Josh Ritter - "Hello Starling"
• Belle & Sebastian - "Dear Catastrophe Waitress"
• The Broken Family Band - "Cold Water Songs"
• Evan Dando - "Baby, I'm Bored"
• Hawksley Workman - "Lover/Fighter"
• Electric Six - "Fire"
• Cat Power - "You Are Free"
• Clem Snide - "Soft Spot"
• Ben & Jason - "Goodbye"
• Elbow - "Cast Of Thousands"
• The Darkness - "Permission To Land"
• Joy Zipper - "American Whip"

2004

• Graham Coxon - "Happiness In Magazines"
• Ash - "Meltdown"
• Franz Ferdinand - "Franz Ferdinand"
• Rufus Wainwright - "Want ONE"
• Seafood - "As The Cry Flows"
• Ben Kweller - "On My Way"
• Joy Zipper - "The Heartlight Set"
• Air - Talkie Walkie

2005

• The White Stripes - "Get Behind Me Satan"
• Beck - "Guero"
• Clem Snide - "End Of Love"
• The Broken Family Band - "Welcome Home, Loser"
• Ben Folds - "Songs For Silverman"
• Bright Eyes - "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning"

2006

• The Decemberists - "The Crane Wife"
• Matthew Sweet - "Girlfriend Legacy Edition" (cheat! this is a re-release!)
• Silver Machines - "Ten Silver Drops"
• The Broken Family Band - "BALLS"
• Seafood - "Paper Crown King"
• Jarvis Cocker - "Jarvis"

2007

• The White Stripes - "Icky Thump"
• Liars - "Liars"
• The Mae Shi - "HLLHY"
• Bill Callahan - "Awoke On A Whaleheart"
• of Montreal - "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?"
• Silversun Pickups - "Carnavas"

2008

• Primal Scream - "Beautiful Future"
• Flight Of The Conchords - "Flight Of The Conchords"

2009

• A Camp - "Colonia"
• Silversun Pickups - "Swoon"
• Bill Callahan - "Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle"
• Sonic Youth - "The Eternal"