Here are my favorite albums of the decade, listed in chronological order.
“Kids in Philly,” Marah (2000). This Philadelphia band put itself on the national map with this album, echoing the larger-than-life ambition and soul-drenched, street-smart romanticism of early Bruce Springsteen, but also creating a unique, joyous sound.
“Toxicity,” System of a Down (2001). Rhythmically thorny, lyrically smart, and urgent in every conceivable way, this alt-metal masterpiece showcases the kind of depth and creativity that few other rock albums of the decade could approach.
“Welcome Interstate Managers,” Fountains of Wayne (2003). Surprise hit single “Stacy’s Mom” was actually one of the least interesting tracks on the power-pop song cycle about the big heartbreaks and little triumphs of suburban life.
“Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” OutKast (2003). Many of the duo’s fans prefer 2000’s “Stankonia,” but Andre “Dre” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton topped themselves on this double album — a restless, exhilarating ride that draws from virtually every form of modern popular music without ever sounding contrived.
“Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2,” Jill Scott (2004). There were lots of great neo-soul albums this decade, but this was the best. Scott makes every word count, whether she’s singing about romantic infatuation and sexual temptation, or lying politicians and inner-city tragedies.
“Blinking Lights and Other Revelations,” Eels (2005). A wide-ranging alt-pop double album, full of odd, ingenious songs and gorgeous orchestrations. Singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett is an impressive pop craftsman, but also came off as a real person, trying, in his own strange way, to make sense out of life’s mysteries.
“I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning,” Bright Eyes (2005). Singer-songwriter Conor Oberst turned out consistently strong work throughout the decade, but was at his best on this rootsy album, full of scruffily poetic lyrics and emotional epiphanies.
“The Black Parade,” My Chemical Romance (2006). This Essex County-based rock band attempted to do something grand on this album, and succeeded. Influenced by Queen, and Green Day’s “American Idiot,” they piled layers of instrumentation on top of their explosive punk-emo songs without losing focus.
“Neon Bible,” Arcade Fire (2007). The Montreal band’s 2004 album “Funeral” created a huge buzz, but this followup was even better, with a big sound (utilizing a choir, strings and a pipe organ), a jittery energy to the rock songs, and priceless moments of transcendence in the ballads.
“808s & Heartbreak,” Kanye West (2008). Immensely talented but almost as foolish, at times, West did away with his usual bluster and the boasting and looked inward on this low-key but consistently gorgeous album.
Here are ten other albums that helped to define the decade, in some way. They’re also listed in chronological order.
“Kid A,” Radiohead (2000). Arguably the most important rock band of the decade, Radiohead took a bold step forward with this album. The songs don’t have traditional rock structures, but ebb and flow in their own peculiar way. A rare example of an utterly uncompromising album that was still a No. 1 hit.
“No Strings Attached,” N’ Sync (2000). The teen-pop craze peaked in 2000, with the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and many others having big years, and N’ Sync outdoing them all.
“O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Various Artists (2000). It was good decade for roots music, and this soundtrack, featuring artists like Alison Krauss, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, John Hartford and Ralph Stanley, led the way.
“Is This It,” The Strokes (2001). This New York band built a worldwide following via the spiky, melodic brand of alt-rock it played on this album. Bands like Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and the Kaiser Chiefs would help turn the sound into a movement.
“Come Away With Me,” Norah Jones (2002). Jones’ simple, unadorned songs didn’t have much in common with the more frantic sounds that dominated the decade, but were catnip for mature pop fans.
“The Black Album,” Jay-Z (2003). His retirement didn’t stick, but Jay-Z waved goodbye to rap with this tour de force, a stylistically diverse rap album with notable contributions from a Who’s Who list of producers (including the Neptunes, Rick Rubin, Timbaland and Kanye West).
“American Idiot,” Green Day (2004). Its puerile past a distant memory, Green Day resurrected the rock opera concept, and reinvented itself, with this epic.
“The Grey Album,” Danger Mouse (2004). Though never officially released in CD form, this mashup album — utilizing new technology with an old-fashioned sense of fun — combined songs from “The Black Album” and the Beatles “White Album,” and was widely heard via the Internet.
“Rappa Ternt Sanga,” T-Pain (2005). Auto tuned vocals become commonplace in hip-hop — and popped up in other genres as well — over the last half of the decade, and no one did more to popularize this effect than T-Pain, who debuted with this album.
“Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus,” Miley Cyrus (2007). For a generation of kids, Miley Cyrus (and/or her Hannah Montana character) is as big as the Beatles or Michael Jackson ever were.
Finally, here are my Top Ten lists for the 2000-2009, as published in each of those years (albums are listed in order of preference):
2000: “Kids in Philly,” Marah; “Daisies of the Galaxy,” Eels; “Relationship of Command,” At the Drive-In; “Wires and Wood,” the Johnny Staats Project; “Kid A,” Radiohead; “Voodoo,” D’Angelo; “The Green World,” Dar Williams; “All That You Can’t Leave Behind,” U2; “Transit,” A.J. Croce; “Covenant,” Greg Brown.
2001: “Love and Theft,” Bob Dylan; “Live at the Wetlands,” Robert Randolph and the Family Band; “Is This It,” the Strokes; “Last Man On Earth,” Loudon Wainwright III; “Tenacious D,” Tenacious D; “Acoustic Soul,” India.Arie; “City High,” City High; “Amnesiac,” Radiohead; “Stay What You Are,” Saves the Day; “Fome Is Dape,” Little T and One Track Mike.
2002: “Phrenology,” the Roots; “Jerusalem,” Steve Earle; “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,” Flaming Lips; “The Rising,” Bruce Springsteen; “Come Away With Me,” Norah Jones; “Don’t Give Up On Me,” Solomon Burke; “Redemption’s Son,” Joseph Arthur; “When the Roses Bloom Again,” Laura Cantrell; “Bury the Hatchet,” Anders Osborne and Monk Boudreaux; “Hard Candy,” Counting Crows.
2003: “Welcome Interstate Managers,” Fountains of Wayne; “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below,” OutKast; “The Wind,” Warren Zevon; “Polaris,” North Mississippi Allstars; “Comfort Woman,” Meshell Ndegeocello; “Hail To the Thief,” Radiohead ; “Unclassified,” Robert Randolph and the Family Band; “World Without Tears,” Lucinda Williams; “Get Born,” Jet; “North,” Elvis Costello.
2004: “Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2,” Jill Scott; “Good News For People Who Love Bad News,” Modest Mouse; “Van Lear Rose,” Loretta Lynn; “Get Away From Me,” Nellie McKay; “The College Dropout,” Kanye West; “Real Gone,” Tom Waits; “Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge,” My Chemical Romance; “More Adventurous,” Rilo Kiley; “New York Town,” Black 47; “20,000 Streets Under the Sky,” Marah.
2005: “Blinking Lights and Other Revelations,” Eels; “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning,” Bright Eyes; “Late Registration,” Kanye West; “Employment,” Kaiser Chiefs; “Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike,” Gogol Bordello; “Guero,” Beck; “Live @ the Fillmore,” Lucinda Williams; “Ahead of the Lions,” Living Things; “Hope and Desire,” Susan Tedeschi; “If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry,” Marah.
2006: “The Black Parade,” My Chemical Romance; “From A Late Night High Rise,” Matthew Ryan; “Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards,” Tom Waits; “Loose,” Nelly Furtado; “Food and Liquor,” Lupe Fiasco; “Pretty Little Head,” Nellie McKay; “At War With the Mystics,” Flaming Lips; “Eye To the Telescope,” KT Tunstall; “Idlewild,” OutKast; “Under the Covers, Vol. 1,” Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs.
2007: “Neon Bible,” Arcade Fire; “Back To Black,” Amy Winehouse; “Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool,” Lupe Fiasco; “The Scene of the Crime,” Bettye LaVette; “Favourite Worst Nightmare,” Arctic Monkeys; “This is Ryan Shaw,” Ryan Shaw; “Versatile Heart,” Linda Thompson; “Cassadaga,” Bright Eyes; “Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace,” Foo Fighters; “Neptune City,” Nicole Atkins.
2008: “808s and Heartbreak,” Kanye West; “The ‘59 Sound,” the Gaslight Anthem; “New AmErykah, Part One (4th World War),” Erykah Badu; “Lay It Down,” Al Green; “Stay Positive,” the Hold Steady; “Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings,” Counting Crows; “Little Honey,” Lucinda Williams; “The Loner — Nils Sings Neil,” Nils Lofgren; “Just a Little Lovin’,” Shelby Lynne; “Un Dia,” Juana Molina.
