This month's Uncut Magazine has a list of their 150 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century so far (i.e. the best ones of the decade or noughties or whatever), and so far I've been unable to locate the full list online. Therefore I'm going to take the time to type them all out for you, and maybe even provide a little review or opinion piece at the end.
150 - Band of Horses Everything All the Time
149 - Ray Lamontagne Trouble
148 - Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand
147 - The Acorn Glory Hope Mountain
146 - Richard Thompson Front Parlour Blues
145 - Iron & Wine Our Endless Numbered Days
144 - Robert Wyatt Comicopera
143 - Leonard Cohen Ten New Songs
142 - Yeah Yeah Yeahs Fever to Tell
141 - Rahel Unthank and the Winterset The Bairns
Great to see Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention making the list, and the stellar YYYs record, but it's a pity Sam Beam's only entry is OEND and at such a low position. And The Acorns album is one I really must check out.
140 - Espers Espers II
139 - Outkast Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
138 - Wilco Sky Blue Sky
137 - Elliott Smith From a Basement on a Hill
136 - The Strokes Room on Fire
135 - Willard Grant Conspiracy Regard the End
134 - Radiohead Hail to the Thief
133 - Bruce Springsteen We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
132 - Drive-By Truckers Brighter Than Creation's Dark
131 - Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head
When Q Magazine does a similar list later in the year, expect that Coldplay album to be 100 places higher. Great to see DBT's latest proper album on there (although it's a pity no Jason Isbell solo album made it). I'm surprised at all the Wilco love, and Outkast's entry is more inline with this magazine than all Pitchfork's hip-hop loving.
130 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
129 - Yo La Tengo And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
128 - Antony and the Johnsons I Am A Bird Now
127 - The Handsome Family In the Air
126 - Neil Young Prairie Wind
125 - The Hold Steady Stay Positive
124 - Brightback Morning Light Brightback Morning Light
123 - Doves The Last Broadcast
122 - Donald Fagen Morph the Cat
121 - Hot Chip The Warning
Doves' The Last Broadcast is one album I would've forgotteb about, but when they burst on the scene with this, we all expected great things. Antony's debut wasn't for everyone but those who liked it, loved it. Wouldn't have put that Neil Young album in my list though.
120 - MGMT Oracular Spectacular
119 - Scritti Politti White Bread, Black Beer
118 - Super Furry Animals Love Kraft
117 - At the Drive-In Relationship of Command
116 - Sufjan Stevens - Michigan
115 - Steven Malkmus & The Jicks Real Emotional Trash
114 - The Raconteurs Consolers of the Lonely
113 - The Shins Chutes Too Narrow
112 - Beirut The Flying Club Cup
111 - Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins Rabbit Furcoat
Aside from the part that they picked the wrong Beirut album, the glaring error here is the inclusion of MGMT. The album is so-so with just three or four good tunes and a lot of filler. It shouldn't be on any best of list.
110 - Steely Dan Everything Must Go
109 - The White Stripes Icky Thump
108 - Comets on Fire Avatar
107 - Paul Westerberg Come Feel Me Tremble
106 - The Go-Betweens The Friends of Rachel Worth
105 - Steely Dan Two Against Nature
104 - Grizzly Bear Veckatimest
103 - Missy Elliott Miss E...So Addictive
102 - The Felice Brothers The Felice Brothers
101 - Neko Case Blacklisted
What is with the Steely Dan/Donald Fagen love at Uncut? I just don't get it. Nor do I get why all these lists seem to include Missy Elliott! But that Felice Brothers record is fantastic, I recommend everyone check it out.
100 - Jim O'Rourke Insignificance
99 - Babyshambles Down in Albion
98 - The Avalanches Since I Left You
97 - Paul Weller 22 Dreams
96 - Rufus Wainwright Want One
95 - Grandaddy The Sophtware Slump
94 - Devendra Banhart Oh Me Oh My...
93 - The Streets A Grand Don't Come For Free
92 - Tom Waits Real Gone
91 - John Cale HoboSapiens
Being English, they had to include The Streets and Pete Doherty, so I'll forgive that. Huge props to Jim O'Rourke and John Cale though.
90 - Bright Eyes I'm Wide Awake, it's Morning
89 - Neil Young Living With War
88 - The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan
87 - Queens of the Stone Age Rated R
86 - PJ Harvey White Chalk
85 - MIA Arular
84 - David Bowie Heathen
83 - Outkast Stankonia
82 - Drive-By Truckers The Dirty South
81 - Okkervil River The Stage Names
Here it starts to get good. Really good. Bright Eyes' highpoint and DBT's highpoint. I think you're on to something. Especially with that White Stripes album and Okkervil River's splendid Stage Names.
80 - Levon Helm Electric Dirt
79 - Kings of Leon Only By the Night
78 - Johnny Cash American III: Solitary Man
77 - Kanye West The College Dropout
76 - Beck Seachange
75 - Gorillaz Demon Days
74 - Elbow Asleep in the Black
73 - Elliott Smith Figure 8
72 - Emmylou Harris Red Dirt Girl
71 - TV on the Radio Dear Science
Levon Helm's newest hasn't had time to grow on me yet, must give it another listen. KoL and TVotR were two of last year's biggest albums, and that Johnny Cash album is his finest 00s work in my opinion.
70 - The Good, The Bad & The Queen The Good, The Bad & The Queen
69 - Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare
68 - D'Angelo Voodoo
67 - Midlake The Trials of Van Occupanther
66 - Jay-Z The Blueprint
65 - Rufus Wainwright Poses
64 - Lift to Experience The Texas-Jerasulem Crossroads
63 - The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang
62 - Ghostface Killah Fishscale
61 - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds The Lyre of Orpheus/Abbatoir Blues
Whatever happened to D'Angelo anyway? That album wasn't too bad now that I remember. Although I don't know much about Lift to Experience, and I never thought that Stones album was all that fantastic.
60 - Loretta Lynn Van Lear Rose
59 - The White Stripes De Stijl
58 - Bob Dylan - Together Through Life
57 - Robert Wyatt Cukooland
56 - Sonic Youth Murray Street
55 - Bjork Vespertine
54 - Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs
53 - Interpol Turn on the Bright Lights
52 - Dizzee Rascal Boy in Da Corner
51 - Warren Zevon The Wind
That was the album Dizzee won the Mercury with, so a shoe-in. Great to see Loretta and Warren, as well as another Robert Wyatt album getting the credit they deserve.
50 - Cat Power The Greatest
49 - PJ Harvey Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
48 - Ry Cooder Chavez Ravine
47 - The National Alligator
46 - Drive-By Truckers Souther Rock Opera
45 - Solomon Burke Don't Give Up on Me
44 - The Libertines Up the Bracket
43 - The Streets Original Pirate Material
42 - Richmond Fontaine Post to Wire
41 - Bruce Springsteen Magic
Surprising that this is the only Libertines album to make it, as I think the self-titled follow-up is just as worthy. Also, no sign of Boxer which is equal to Alligator.
40 - Boards of Canada Geogaddi
39 - Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend
38 - Ryan Adams Gold
37 - The Raconteurs Broken Boy Soldiers
36 - Johnny Cash American IV: The Man Comes Around
35 - Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
34 - Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago
33 - Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion
32 - Calexico Feast of Wire
31 - My Morning Jacket It Still Moves
With lists like this, it's hard to fit newer albums into a whole decade. Thus Animal Collective's new one appears this high, as do Vampire Weekend and Bon Iver, but I feel in decades to come, Bon Iver is probably the only one any of us will still be listening to.
30 - Sufjan Stevens Illinois
29 - Neil Young Chrome Dreams II
28 - Queens of the Stone Age Songs for the Deaf
27 - The Hold Steady Boys and Girls in America
26 - Lambchop Nixonland
25 - Radiohead Kid A
24 - Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
23 - Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man Out of Season
22 - Blur Think Thank
21 - Joanna Newsom Ys
Far too much Neil Young on here (those albums are only good, not great), and Hold Steady hardcore fans would argue for their second album Separation Sunday, but the sore thumb here is that awful Beth Gibbons album. Nowhere near as good as anything Portishead have ever done. Joanna Newsom is fantastic though.
20 - Amy Winehouse Back to Black
19 - Bruce Springsteen The Rising
18 - Kate Bush Aerial
17 - The White Stripes - Elephant
16 - LCD Soundsytem Sound of Silver
15 - Radiohead In Rainbows
14 - Primal Scream XTRMNTR
13 - Gillian Welch Time (The Revelator)
12 - Portishead Third
11 - The Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots
Great selection all-round, especially ranking In Rainbows ahead of Kid A. Aside from all the price fanfare, that's a phenomenal album, as is Kate Bush's Aerial. Got to love the inclusion of Gillian Welch too.
10 - Fleet Foxes Fleet Foxes
9 - Ryan Adams Heartbreaker
8 - Bob Dylan Modern Times
7 - The Arcade Fire Funeral
6 - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raising Sand
5 - The Strokes Is This It
4 - Brian Wilson Smile
3 - Wilco A Ghost is Born
2 - Bob Dylan Love and Theft
1 - The White Stripes White Blood Cells
Two Bob Dylan albums in the top ten? Now that's just wrong, and do the Fleet Foxes deserve to be there? probably not. But when it comes to the number one album, I'm hard pressed to find a real reason to disagree. It's one of the defining records of the decade (along with #5) and is definitely a worthy chart topper.
I recommend you buy the magazine itself, the album blurbs are fantastic, and the piece on Jack White is wonderful. (P.S. that's issue #1 in the picture above)
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15 comments:
Great post Ronan! Am delighted that Calexico, Yo La Tengo and The Hold Steady were on the list. Am too baffled by the lack of Iron & Wine! Think the lack of a Josh Rouse album is almost criminal! Pleased about Elliot Smith Figure 8 being so high up on the list! Also who the hell is Loretta Lynn?
it pretty much sums up Uncut that you have to point out the issue pictured is the first issue and not the latest one. Dinosaur worshippers, epitomised by Dylan at number 2..
I've only heard 11 of those albums. Maybe one of them would make my top 20 of the 2000s. Just goes to show.
Loretta Lynn is an old-time country singer, the album is produced by Uncut's Man of the Decade Jack White. That said, it's a damn good country record, and definitely one of the best country albums of the 00s.
Bob Dylan definitely should not have been at number 2, maybe 22, but not 2.
Did they completely ignore modest mouse's existence or did i just miss it? Also, Okkervil River at 81 isn't fair at all. Nothing The White Stripes or the Raconteurs have ever done is anywhere nearly as good as anything by Okkervil River or Shearwater... Admittedly it might be a bit shocking to see Will Sheff looming over that man of the decade banner.
That said, Moon and Antarctica deserved top spot.
Alright I'm definitely not going to claim to have even listened to half those LPs but there are some stupid positions.
Firstly I totally agree with what has been said about Bob Dylan, I haven't heard either and hell they'll probably be alright but people won't remember him for those albums and they won't remember this decade for those albums.
Where's: TV on the Radio's Return to Cookie Mountain? Bloc Party's Silent Alarm?
Babyshambles' debut demo tape over Franz Ferdinand's debut LP?
Macca had Chaos...how did that not make it?
Another artist I didn't see on the List...MUSE
Thanks for taking the time to put the full list. I love Uncut, they have totally changed my music-listening life. I ain't arguing with any lists they choose to publish, but was surprised not to see any Josh Ritter...
I would agree that Dylan's "Love and Theft" belongs in the top 10, but I wouldn't have included the other two at all. I only managed to get through Wilco's "Ghost is Born" once all the way - sold it after few more tries... and where is Feist?
Demon Days should be higher. At least top 50.
brian wilson? ryan adams? bruce springsteen? what kind of dope are you using, man?
To the last poster: it's the critics at Uncut, not me that made this list. Mine will have a lot more Ryan Adams on it. :D
No Elvis Costello? I can think of 3-4 of them. "When I was crule" is fantastic. Really modern music.
Fleet foxes, Plant & Brian Wilson - all worthy but not great - in fact the FFs are annoying.
Where are Jayhawks, Lucinda Williams, Candi Staton, RIchard Hawley?
Lambchop's Nixon is my cd of the decade. Dylan's Love & Theft comes close 2nd. Kings of Leon 1st 2 cds are their best. Both should be in top 10.
Where is No Line On The Horizon by U2? I know they're a supergroup, but Uncut gave it a glowing review.
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