Paul's Top 75 Albums of the Decade

I remember having a conversation with one of my sister's friends when I was in high school. Pegging me as the sort of fan who enjoyed monitoring trends and taking the pulse of popular music, he sounded a sort of death knell to my obsessive tendencies, predicting that as I got older, my interest in such things would wane and all new music would ultimately be lost on me. I think I spent the entirety of this decade waiting for that to happen; it never did. If anything, my appreciation for pop music intensified during the past ten years, whether it was the 40-hour drives to and from Nashville ("Turn on the Bright Lights" during a May sunset approaching Gallup, New Mexico), long runs (a steady diet of DFA Records and Dismemberment Plan), and spinning picks with the Westside Record Club. And I count some of my favorite experiences of the past decade to be pop music-related, whether it be playing in Spanish Archer, writing music reviews for the Graphic, djing law school parties, or annual trips to Coachella with Thom. It's only in the last year that I've stopped purchasing as much new music as I had in the past. Although this is somewhat a product of being overwhelmed by the glut of bands and blogs that have crowded the airwaves for the latter half of the aughts, there's a more practical reason: I got turntables and have simply been purchasing older vinyl. This might explain why my list of the favorite albums of the decade is almost devoid of albums from this year.

My criteria for this list is somewhat objective. Not objective in the sense that these are, in my opinion, the "best" records of the past decade, but objective in the sense that it is meant to track which albums I, in fact, listened to the most, from purchase to present. This might explain why an album such as Belle & Sebastian's "Dear Catastrophe Waitress," which I actually think is inferior to "The Life Pursuit," ranks ahead of it; I just happened to listen to the former almost obsessively when driving home from Pepperdine during the winter of 2003. And that naturally speaks to the subjective nature of the list, namely, some records, despite their flaws or their missed opportunities or even their shitty songs, just strike a nerve, and, from that moment on, are indelibly associated with a memory or a feeling. I used to think that phenomenon - treasuring music for its associations - was feminine, so I was either wrong or I've spent a decade getting in touch with my feelings. Obviously, all of the albums listed below are, in my opinion, phenomenal, but to read the list as my critical take on what was "best" or "most important" from the decade would be missing the point entirely. To that end, I still haven't even heard any Wolf Parade records, so my knowledge is woefully incomplete.

So, without further adieu, here are my 75 favorite albums of the past decade. Next to some of the higher-ranking entries I've written blurbs reflecting on my experiences with those albums and, perhaps, why they meant and, in most cases, continue to mean so much to me. I know this is indulgent, but it's too fun for me not to indulge when I actually have the opportunity to write about something I care about. There are about 100 more records that, depending on the week, could have made this list; I love them no less.

1. of montreal - Satanic Panic in the Attic -- Oddly, the list begins with an album that I don't have particularly strong associations with but was, plain and simply, the album I listened to the most over the past decade. This album very clearly serves as a milemarker in the of montreal catalog, the album where the band's twee sensibilities started taking a back seat to their Erasure inclinations. I still can't believe they encored with "Alright" by Supergrass at a 2005 concert I attended; had they played "Girl Don't Tell Me" next, I would've expected they had designs on converting me, and me specifically, to their cause.
   
2. Jenny Lewis & the Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat -- I bought this album for a friend, and the night I gave it to her, her ex-boyfriend's uncle passed away. I remember that we didn't listen to it but instead drank beer outside her apartment. Had she played the album after I left, I think it would have fit the moment. I didn't buy the album until years later, instead borrowing her copy and burning it to my computer. I still find it to be one of the saddest and funniest albums I regularly listen to (often simultaneously, such as in "Rise Up With Fists!!").
   
3. Yo La Tengo - And then Everything Turned Itself Inside Out -- Ever since I purchased this album the day it came out in Heidelberg, Germany, "Tears Are in Your Eyes" has been a mixtape staple of mine. This album evokes the steadiness and resolve of two people who have gone through it all together (kind of like the couple in Stegner's "The Spectator Bird") and are committed to staying the course. It's probably unfair to hoist that upon Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley but I must admit that if their relationship ever ends, I will look at this album and think, "You lied to me."
   
4. Broadcast - Tender Buttons -- I had been listening to this album in my car for a good month when I decided it would be good background for a game of scrabble with a girl. It was only then, in that silent, pensive environment, that I heard the ghost in the album, the haunting presence that begins with the descending scale in "I Found the F" and continues until the end. You know how horror movies often trot out a little girl to sing nursery rhymes or something to contrast innocence against depravity? This album conjures that vibe without being trite.
   
5. Dr. Dog - Easy Beat -- Kind of like Satanic Panic, this one firmly implanted itself on one listening; I couldn't pry it away for months.
   
6. Spoon - Kill the Moonlight -- No fat on this record.
   
7. Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood -- I've always believed this record was influenced by Carl Newman (see infra) lyrically. Truth is, though, as abstract and intriguing as the lyrics are, it just comes down to the voice. This is Cocteau Twin territory where, to me, it could just be syllables and it wouldn't change a thing.
   
8. Dntel - Life is Full of Possibilities -- I picked this record up at Other Music in the early spring of 2002 and immediately listened to it on a long walk in the snow to the Whitney. I forgive Mia Doi Todd for all of her boring performances solely for contributing to "Anywhere Anyone."
   
9. The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic -- I remember hearing "The Body Says No" on KXLU in the fall of 2001 from my on-campus apartment. Having been a huge Zumpano fan since high school, but never having any reason to believe the obscure band or its members would re-enter the musical landscape, I lost it. I was totally swept up with emotion that Carl Newman, the songwriter and singer I admired so much, had a new project coming out. I can't imagine having this feeling nowadays. With the proliferation of blogs and Pitchfork chronicling indie rock like it was global affairs, the only surprise is the headline, never the actual song or album. I mean, no Dave Grohl fan just happened upon a Them Crooked Vultures song on the radio and lost his shit; that just doesn't happen any more.
   
10. The Walkmen - Bows & Arrows -- I probably saw the Walkmen live more than any other band this decade. I remember the first time - late January 2003 at the Troubadour with Hot Hot Heat. HHH had the radio hit but the Walkmen headlined and seemed committed to stopping all the frivolity. Hamilton Leithauser stalked the stage like a prep school bully, and for some reason (probably b/c I had seen my fair share of effeminate indie rock dudes) it really appealed to me. I think the drumming on this record is phenomenal.
    
11. Radiohead - Kid A
    
12. Gonzales - Solo Piano
    
13. Beachwood Sparks - Beachwood Sparks
    
14. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born -- As much as I love Wilco, I believe this is their only album where the great songwriting isn't compromised by the production. "Sky Blue Sky" sounds great, but not all the songs are there. On the other hand, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" has the songs but Jim O'Rourke's production is cold and sterile; I always prefer "Jesus, Etc." live with the warm organ backing instead of the Quaker strings. "A Ghost Is Born" marries both.
    
15. Cass McCombs - Dropping the Writ
16. Stephen Malkmus - Pig Lib and bonus e.p. -- My favorite Malkmus solo record and, sadly, the last with John Moen on drums. Why does everyone think Janet Weiss is such an upgrade? Listen to "Do Not Feed the Oyster;" Weiss' busyness would've ruined that shit, while Moen does his best Bill Ward and comes out victorious.
    
17. Bossanova - Hey, Sugar
    
18. Kanye West - Late Registration
19. Cass McCombs - Catacombs
20. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress
21. Low - Things We Lost in the Fire
22. The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love -- I really only listen to the first half of this record, which I believe stacks up against the first half of any record this decade.
    
23. The Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone
24. The Shins - Oh, Inverted World
25. Blur - Think Tank
26. The Strokes - Room on Fire
27. Deerhunter - Microcastles
28. The Futureheads - S/t
29. Outkast - Stankonia
30. Blood Brothers - Crimes
31. Joanna Newsom - The Milk-eyed Mender
32. Madvillain - Madvillainy
33. Elliott Smith - Figure 8
34. Reigning Sound - Too Much Guitar
35. Neko Case - The Tigers Have Spoken
36. Sloan - Never Hear the End of It
37. A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder
38. Daft Punk - Discovery
39. The Clientele - God Save the Clientele
40. Field Music - Tones of Town
41. Hot Snakes - Suicide Invoice
42. Shelby Lynne - I Am Shelby Lynne
43. Lambchop - Is a Woman
44. Spoon - Girls Can Tell
45. Animal Collective - Meriweather Post Pavilion
    
46. Nobody & Mystic Chords of Memory - Tree Colored Sea
47. Out Hud - Let Us Never Speak of it Again
48. She & Him - Volume 1
49. The Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
50. Enon - Hocus Pocus
51. Impossible Shapes - Horus
52. Love Is All - 9 Times the Same Song
53. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
54. Lambchop - Nixon
55. Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
56. Tortoise - Standards
57. Deerhoof - Milkman
58. Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic
59. The Game - The Documentary
60. The Decemberists - Her Majesty, The Decemberists
61. Destroyer - This Night
62. Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
63. Clipse - Lord Willin'
64. Jay Reatard - Blood Visions
65. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
66. Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights
67. Dungen - Ta De Lungt
68. Metro Area - Metro Area
69. Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
70. Delays - Faded Seaside Glamour
71. Air - Talkie Walkie
72. The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened . . . and Here Are 11 Songs About It
73. Old 97s - Satellite Rides
74. Dungen - 4
75. Gorillaz - Demon Days