The Best Albums of the 00's: PD Version

When one looks back on the '00s, the music scene has changed dramatically. For the 2 decades prior ('80s and '90s), music, popular music for that matter, had been dictated by MTV. This is no longer the case. MTV has become obsolete unless you're into "reality" programming. The music scene has become more accessible with the internet and blogging, however we have to search out for music that we like as opposed to having pop shitte shoved down our throats. Trust me, this is a good thing. Consider adding any of the following albums to your music collection.

My top 30 albums of the 2000's:

30. Justin Townes Earle - "Midnight At The Movies" [2009]
-Choice track: They Killed John Henry
29. David Gilmour - "Live In Gdansk" [2008]
-Choice track: Take A Breath
28. Howe Gelb - "'Sno Angel Like You" [2006]
-Choice track: Robes Of Bible Black
27. Mew - "And The Glass Handed Kites" [2005]
-Choice track: Chinaberry Tree
26. Beck - "Sea Change" [2002]
-Choice track: Lost Cause
25. Iron Maiden - "Brave New World" [2000]
-Choice track: Out Of The Silent Planet
24. Wellwater Conspiracy - "The Scroll and Its Combinations" [2001]
-Choice track: Now, Invisibly
23. Band Of Horses - "Everything All The Time" [2006]
-Choice track: The Great Salt Lake
22. Gov't Mule - "The Deep End, Vol. 1" [2001]
-Choice track: Banks Of The Deep End
21. Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - "Raising Sand" [2007]
-Choice track: Sister Rosetta Goes Before Us
20. Kings Of Leon - "Youth And Young Manhood" [2003]
-Choice track: Red Morning Light
19. Andrew Bird - "The Mysterious Production Of Eggs" [2005]
-Choice track: A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left
18. Tim Fite - "Gone Ain't Gone" [2005]
-Choice track: Away From The Snakes
17. 3 Inches Of Blood - "Fire Up The Blades" [2007]
-Choice track: The Hydra's Teeth
16. Lovage - "Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By" [2001]
-Choice track: Anger Management
15. Maktub - "Khronos" [2003]
-Choice track: No Quarter
14. Ray LaMontagne - "Till The Sun Turns Black" [2006]
-Choice track: Till The Sun Turns Black
13. Les Claypool's Frog Brigade - "Live Frogs: Set 1" [2001]
-Choice track: Riddles Are Abound Tonight
12. Spoon - "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" [2007]
-Choice track: Don't Make Me A Target
11. Battles - "Mirrored" [2007]
-Choice track: Tonto
10. Tom Waits - "Orphans" [2006]
-Choice track: 2:19

9. Bonerama - "Bringing It Home" [2007]
-Choice track: Cabbage Alley

8. The Mars Volta - "De-Loused In The Comatorium" [2003]
-Choice track: Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt

7. Black Mountain - "In The Future" [2008]
-Choice track: Tyrant

6. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - "Once: Music From The Motion Picture" [2007]
-Choice track: When Your Minds Made Up

5. Mastodon - "Blood Mountain" [2006]
-Choice track: Sleeping Giant

4. Man Man - "Six Demon Bag" [2006]
-Choice track: Black Mission Goggles

3. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - "Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orpheus" [2004]
-Choice track: Cannibal's Hymn

2. Opeth - "Ghost Reveries" [2005]
-Choice track: Reverie/Harlequin Forest

1. William Elliott Whitmore - "Song Of The Blackbird" [2006]
-Choice track: Red Buds


As it seems, the best years for music this decade (in my mind) were 2006 and 2007 and the poorest were at the beginning, 2000, and end, 2009. My #1 album for the decade, WEW's "Song of the Blackbird" is truly a classic. I have yet to hear any complaints from those I have recommended it to. It may not seem like an obvious choice for #1 as a lot of people have never heard of this album let alone this artist. However, this farm boy from Iowa has easily crafted an album that is among my favorites of all time. It is a brilliant "Folk Opera" dealing with rural life, death, drought and flood. Seeing his live performance a year ago only solidified this album as my overall pick. The rest, regardless of the genre, are top notch to say the least. Some albums did not make the list because I did not want to duplicate artists; William Elliott Whitmore's 2009 release "Animals In The Dark" could have easily been among the top 20 as well as Nick Cave's 2008 album "Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!" Honorable mentions include Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot", Radiohead's "Kid A", Iced Earth's "The Glorious Burden", Jurassic 5's "Quality Control", TV On The Radio's "Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes", The Word's self-titled album, Fantomas' "The Director's Cut", Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below", Megadeth's "United Abominations", Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois", Trivium's "Ascendency" and Blackalicious' "Blazing Arrow." The '10s have a lot to live up to.