From the original post: I was browsing the internet the other day and came across an article that was titled "Best
(so-and-so's) of the Decade". I realized that, as crazy as it seems, with this coming New Years the
00's decade was coming to a close! Well every year me and Easton like to write a little blog naming our favorite 10 albums of that year. So I thought why not throw together a list of my favorite and most influential (on me!) albums of the past 10 years! Narrowing my favorite albums from the past 10 years down to just 10 albums was ridiculously hard, so I decided to expand the number to 50. So in 5 parts, I'm going to try and list the top 50 albums that have been my personal favorites and have influenced my music the most that were released in the past decade (2000 - 2009).
I personally love reading these types of lists because whenever I do I tend to find really awesome music. So hopefully by checking out my personal favs you will find something that you love that maybe you haven't had the chance to check out yet! With each album I'll throw in a stream from grooveshark.com of a song that I think is particularly interesting. As well as some quick notes from me telling why I like each album so much.
Here are albums 20 - 11 I chose for my list:
Favorite Albums of the 00's
(Albums 20 - 11)
20. Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Released on February 7th, 2006
More info at Last.fmIf you've never listened to Belle and Sebastian or The Life Pursuit expect to be fully addicted by the time this album is through. There's something about it that is infectious and there is undoubtedly a great amount of influence on the early Dreamer and the Sleeper songs. I think this album can officially be dubbed the happiest sounding album on this list. Definitely give this one a listen!
19. Matchbox Twenty - More Than You Think You Are
Released on November 19th, 2002
More info at Last.fmOkay, so... there is definitely some songs on this album that some people may find... hmm, what's the word I'm looking for here...
annoying, I think is a good way to put it. I mean, lets be frank, did any of us really
need to hear Rob Thomas crooning "you left a sh-tain!" every half hour on the radio for a year straight? No, no we didn't. But with the song 'Disease' set aside this album is an incredible collection of epic sounding, pop-rock songs. Bright Lights, Hand Me Down, The Difference... There is so many really good, slower tempo-ed songs on this album it's sick. As I think I said with the first Matchbox Twenty album on this list, it's not the songs you hear on the radio that carry this album. It's everything in-between that really makes this a great pop-rock album.
18. Third Eye Blind - Out of the Vein
Released on May 20th, 2003
More info at Last.fmAlright, so if you know us at all you know that we are huge fans of Third Eye Blind. I'm sure there are some people who are thinking "
ew" because of the impression they have gotten from certain Third Eye Blind radio singles.
Third Eye Blind is fucking good. If you don't think so then I will fight you in a dark alley. Mmmm-okay so not really... but this album is disgustingly underrated, along with the rest of 3eb's catalogue.
17. Boys Night Out - Trainwreck
Released on July 26th, 2005
More info at Last.fmI'm really not sure how widely listened to this album is. I was sort of a quasi-listener of Boys Night Out before this album was released.
Make Yourself Sick was a fun album to listen too but when the concept album
Trainwreck was released it bumped Boys Night Out up a few rungs in my book. It's an amazing rock album that tells the story of a man who, during a crazy nightmare induced rage, accidentally murders his wife. Heavy? Yes. But putting the lyrical content and concept story aside the songs are super catchy pop/rock songs that will stick in your head for days. This is a great album that I highly recommend especially for a road trip or sometime when you can focus on the story that is told, because it also makes for a pretty interesting listen.
16. Cartel - Cartel
Released on August 21st, 2007
Listen at Last.fmThis album got an amazing amount of
hate from fans of the band. Yes, it was recorded in a Dr. Pepper inspired bubble somewhere. Yes, it was all broadcast on "Mtv 5". Yes, it has been consistently labeled as a "huge let down" on message boards everywhere. But I cannot dislike this album. In fact I love it. I lived in San Diego for about 18 months right about the time this album came out and this disc wasn't far from my car stereo the entire time I was there. I'm really not certain how I feel about Cartel as a band. The Ransom EP was great, I could never fully get into Chroma (which if my memory serves me correct was loved by most fans of the band), and the new album Cycles just hasn't done it for me yet. Anyways, I guess my advice would be: if you have enjoyed most of the albums so far on this list, you may have similar taste to me. In this case definitely check this album out.
15. The Early November - For All of This EP
Released on November 5th, 2002
Listen at Last.fmWhen this album came out I was a freshman in college. At the time it was something completely new for me. I had listened to New Found Glory, Fenix TX, and Blink 182 consistently in high school and even though there was a lot of similarities to these bands, The Early November brought something new. Even now when I listen to this album there is something really genuine about it. It isn't ultra-polished, which was the direction that pop-punk style music had gone at that time. To me this is just a really honest album that doesn't try to be anything it's not, and I loved it for that.
14. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Released on July 24th, 2001
Listen at Last.fmI really didn't know what a huge Jimmy Eat World fan I was until I started going through my CD collection to put together this list. As with the album above, this album (although very polished itself) brought something new to the table. Something completely different than what I had been listening to.
13. New Found Glory - Sticks and Stones
Released on June 11th, 2002
Listen at Last.fmSo with the last few albums on this list you have heard me say stuff like "something different". This album, along with a few others, weren't exactly something different. They were the norm. The
standard. A great pop-punk album by one of my favorite bands of all time.
12. Coldplay - Parachutes
Released on November 7th, 2000
Listen at Last.fmI really didn't start listening to this album until well after it was released.
Yellow was all of the radio in high school, kids were obsessed with the song
Spies in my college dorm, and
Sparks had a standout spot in the movie Wedding Crashers. Once I finally realized that all of these great songs came from the same album I was hooked. From first song to last, this album is fantastic.
