10) “The College Dropout”-Kanye West (2004)The second appearance Kanye West makes on the list. This was Kanye’s debut, and it’s been widely hailed as a “game-changer” in the world of hip-hop, and an album responsible for bringing the genre to an even wider audience than could previously be imagined. I, for one, can attest to this fact. Prior to Kanye West, I was just an occasional listener of hip-hop, and I would rarely bother listening to an entire hip-hop album. Not so after this album. The skillful crossing of genres and masterful production by West made this the first album that could grab the attention of a more indie-rock inclined listener, like myself, and force them to listen with rapt attention to every single track over and over again. With standouts like “We Don’t Care,” “School Spirit,” and “Slow Jamz,” this album was the confluence of the right songs and the perfect age at which to hear them, which was my freshman year of college. And while other songs on this album have become the stuff of legend (i.e. “Jesus Walks” and “Through the Wire,” which West recorded while his jaw was still wired shut after a car crash), my personal favorite to this day is “Never Let Me Down,” a song that still manages to give me goose-bumps when J. Ivy dives into his gospel inspired verse. Kanye’s emergence this decade shattered everyone’s preconceptions about how a hip-hop star should behave, talk, and dress, and opened the door for the success that artists like Drake and Kid Cudi are currently having.
9) “Oracular Spectacular”- MGMT (2008) MGMT was formed by two college friends at Wesleyan University, who just wanted to share with each other their eclectic musical interests. Before long they started playing shows, got picked up by a record label and released “Oracular Spectacular” in early 2008. By the end of that year, you simply couldn’t escape hearing such infectious songs like the Beegees-esque “Electric Feel,” the ode to rock-star lifestyles in “Time to Pretend” and “Kids,” which in my opinion might be the song of the decade. The album itself eschews any sort of common theme or sound, and instead goes for a widely varying mish mash of different musical styles and genres. Normally this would be a recipe for disaster, but MGMT makes this formula work on this the surprise hit of the latter part of the decade. Just when you think that you have the band pegged in one type of genre, the next song kicks in and totally wipes away whichever assumptions you might have been working on. Years and years from now when someone decides to make a documentary trying to capture the spirit of the later part of the 2000s, I have to believe that “Oracular Spectacular” will be sampled heavily.
8) “The Blueprint”- Jay-Z (2001) “Gather round hustlers, that’s if you still livin, and get on down to that ol’ jig rhythm.” I think we can safely say that Jay-Z is the best mc alive, if not of all time. During his illustrious career that’s spanned two decades, he’s released a slew of great albums, but “The Blueprint” may be his best. Unlike his most recent “Blueprint 3” release, which seems to have a different guest vocalist on every track, the original blueprint was pretty much just Jay and the mic, spitting some of the best rhymes of his career (it’s also been claimed that he wrote all the lyrics in two days, which is unbelievable if true) To say he did it all by himself, though, would be a little misleading, because he did get a huge assist from a young up and coming producer by the name of Kanye West (whose influence you can certainly discern on “H to the Izzo,” the album’s biggest hit). Without a doubt, this album is firmly entrenched in rap’s canon of all-time great albums, and will stay there for years to come. Standouts on this album include (besides “Izzo”) “Takeover,” “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love).”
7) “In Rainbows”- Radiohead (2007)By now the story of this album has been well documented. Late in 2007 the band announced that their 7th studio album was complete, and that it would be released in a matter of days. However, rather than being sold in stores, (itunes or otherwise), the band would be distributing the album themselves, on their own website, without the help of a major record label. More importantly, they would let the buyer decide what they wanted to pay for the album. I personally chose to pay $10, out of respect to the band, but there was no doubt thousands that were downloaded for free. This move was hailed as revolutionary by observers, and positioned the band as heroes in the eyes of music fans, who have long hated the major record labels for getting in between artists and their fans.
But what about the music? Rest assured that beyond all lore surrounding this album, “In Rainbows” is an absolutely brilliant collection of songs. Driven less by the need to innovate and test musical boundaries, this is by far the most relaxed Radiohead albums, and the most accessible and fan-friendly the band has made since the 1990s. Pretty much just 5 amazingly talented musicians playing extremely well off each other, and creating 10 stunningly beautiful songs, including “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi,” “House of Cards” and “Jigsaw Falling into Place.”
6) “Is This It?”- The Strokes (2001)I mentioned in my commentary on “White Blood Cells” that there were two albums from the early part of this decade that helped save modern rock music for me. Well, this would be the other one. Like “White Blood Cells” this debut album from The Strokes was characterized by some very obvious 1970s garage rock influences. The difference, and this is no insult to The White Stripes, who purposefully chose to record their album with only two instruments, is that “Is This It?” just sounds richer and more melodic. Throw in some great lyrics from front-man Julian Casablancas (“I say the right things, but act the wrong way, I like it right here, but I cannot stay…” love it.) and you have all the ingredients for an almost flawless classic.
Plus, everyone talks about what a game-changing album this was, but you’d really have to look back at the most played artists of 2001 to realize just how much so. I mean, Staind? Creed? Limp Bizkit!?!? Geeze, no wonder I was ready to give up on modern music at the time. Luckily, The Strokes came along at just the right time, and helped to open my mind to a decade’s worth of outstanding music. Standouts from the album include “Barely Legal,” “Last Nite,” and the above-referenced “Hard to Explain.”
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