(This post is part of Frequency’s coverage of the best music of the past decade. You can see all of that coverage in one place by clicking here. And be sure to tune in Dec. 18, when I’ll post “Near/Far,” our annual, downloadable MP3 compilation of the best music of 2009, to go along with our year-in-review package in that day’s GO! Magazine.)
(Note: I messed up. I had The Postal Service’s “Give Up” on my 2002 list, but it was actually released in 2003. So I have removed it from the 2002 post and placed it here.)
I have long believed that 2003 was the best year for recorded music in the 2000s. Only time will tell if that’s true, once the sounds of the decade’s later years have settled into their legacies.
But 2003 will be hard to beat. In my book, about half of the albums listed below are undeniable classics that I continue to reach for frequently in 2009. This is the 1983 NFL Draft quarterback class of music in the new century.
Just look. We have amazing debuts from Kathleen Edwards, Jose Gonzalez and Damien Rice, plus sweeping epics by Death Cab for Cutie, Sufjan Stevens and Sun Kil Moon. We have Fountains of Wayne, Nada Surf and The Shins at the peak of their powers. For variety, there’s hip-hop from U.K. grime pioneer Dizzee Rascal and twitchy, German electro-pop from The Notwist. Brad Paisley and Switchfoot both released excellent albums that earned them oodles of mainstream success.
There’s even tragedy here. Click on The Exploding Hearts album to read about the late, great Portland pop-punk band.
Add in great EPs from The Decemberists, Benjamin Gibbard, Ben Folds and The Morning After Girls and a roster of pop singles that remain some of the defining songs of the decade (Outkast, “Hey Ya!” / Beyonce, “Crazy In Love” / 50 Cent, “In Da Club” / Justin Timberlake, “Rock Your Body” and “Cry Me A River”) and you have a year of music that can pummel your ears with wave after wave of great stuff.
Death Cab for Cutie, “Transatlanticism”
The Decemberists, “Her Majesty the Decemberists”
Kathleen Edwards, “Failer”
The Exploding Hearts, “Guitar Romantic”
Fountains of Wayne, “Welcome Interstate Managers”
Jose Gonzalez, “Veneer”
Damien Jurado, “Where Shall You Take Me?”
The Long Winters, “When I Pretend To Fall”
Nada Surf, “Let Go”
The New Pornographers, “Electric Version”
The Notwist, “Neon Golden”
Brad Paisley, “Mud On the Tires”
The Postal Service, “Give Up”
Dizzee Rascal, “Boy In Da Corner”
Damien Rice, “O”
The Shins, “Chutes Too Narrow”
Sufjan Stevens, “Greetings From Michigan”
The Strokes, “Room On Fire”
Sun Kil Moon, “Ghosts of the Great Highway”
Switchfoot, “The Beautiful Letdown”
Tags: Best of the 2000s
So awesome you chose the Notwist, Damien Jurado, and the Exploding Hearts. So good.
Everyone should hear all three of those albums asap.
I was in Green Noise Records on SE Clinton in Portland a few months ago — also the headquarters of the Dirtnap label — and they were cranking “Guitar Romantic.”
It sounded absolutely vital. I guess I had forgotten just how great that record was, but that day, it jumped out of the speakers.
And I think that’s my favorite Jurado record, top to bottom … by a hair over “Rehearsals for Departure.”
Thought you’d be proud to know your sister actually owns of these 2 CDs. (I’m sure you can guess which two.)
Good catch on The Long Winters! I can’t believe how many of these I’ve never heard of before… guess I need to spend more time on music blogs.
I’m also glad to see you mention Mr. Timberlake. It seems like once a week I’m arguing with a friend about how they don’t give GOOD pop music (yes, there is some) enough credit. Rock Your Body is one of the most danceable songs of all time.
Wow. This was a good year. Kathleen Edwards and Jose Gonzalez in the same year. I still can’t get enough of either one. It’s hard to believe that all these albums came out so many years ago. I still reach for many of them often.
Pilot by The Notwist is such a rad song.
Ah … Dizzee’s Fix Up Look Sharp is bonkers.