The decade in albums, part 4

So this is taking me forever. I'm going to lighten up on the self-indulgent descriptions and thoughts and get through this before I'm dead. And I've got to get to those movies.

90. Racebannon, Satan's Kickin Yr Dick In (2002)

Simultaneously chaotic and catchy hardcore that sometimes dips into noise rock. The vocalist has a voice unlike any other I've ever heard. His voice is so high and strange, but he looks like a fatter, taller Henry Griffin.

89. Skagos, Ast (2009)

Easily the best metal band of the 2009. Canadians who play very much on the pretty side of black metal. Huge, expansive and twisting songs featuring plenty of acoustic and piano passages.

88. Army of Ponch, So Many You Could Never Win (2002)

Heavy, fuzzy emo punk from Florida. Clean vocals wail over loud guitars in what was easily one of the best releases from No Idea Records this decade. Amazing standout track with "Those Old Hurts".

87. Madvillian, Madvilliany (2004)

A bonafide, undeniable hip-hop masterpiece. Madlip's production is staggering. MF Doom's lyrics, humor, wit, voice, and vocabulary all floored me the first time I heard this. That dude is crazy. What the fuck is that mask about?

86. Madeline, Kissing and Dancing (2004)

She says she was born in Louisiana, but this beautiful folk singer writes everything from Georgia. It's too bad. She's so friendly. Oh, and her music is honest, so innocent on the surface, yet layered to reveal more with repeated listens.

85. Natural Snow Buildings, The Dance of the Moon and the Sun (2007)

The French drone master's greatest work to date. Two and a half hours of beautiful sounds brought together by slow, building chants. It requires patience at first, but it's awe inspiring.

84. Arcade Fire, Funeral (2004)

This obviously requires no description. It's at the top of everyone's list. I'll just say that "Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" is a flat out undeniable masterpiece.

83. Raein, Il n'y a pas d'orchestre (2003)

Featuring members of La Quiete, it's all about the short and fast sceamo featuring heavy use of clean guitars. The title comes from Mullholland Dr. (No hai banda! There is no band!), so you know they're cool. The album reaches its apex at track 8 when they all start yelling "THIS IS MY TIGER SUIT!". I'm still not sure what it means.

82. Wolves in the Throneroom, Diadem of 12 Stars (2006)

They're the band to listen to to transition into metal, with they're noticeable influences of post-rock and shoegaze, but that doesn't make them any less legit. They go for the whole European pagan thing, but it works for these Olympia, Washington born hairy men.

81. M83, Before the Dawn Heals Us (2005)

M83's masterwork is his most emotionally stirring. The dialogue samples can be a bit melodramatic, but it doesn't detract too much. I've heard no other electronic music to move me as much as this does.

80. Alcest, Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde (2007)

French black metal veteran Neige decided to embrace the fact that modern black metal is very similar to shoegaze and just rolled with it. You could call this a My Bloody Valentine rip off, but why? It's so good on its own. These are dense, beautiful tracks.

79. Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass (2007)

He's always preaching some life lesson, but it's okay. He hides the messages in his enigma style lyrical imagery, and it's brilliant. I don't feel like I'm being taught to. His metaphors are smart, but they don't try so hard as to be distracting. The title track is the real keeper here. Oh, and he can spit faster than anyone alive not named Doseone.

78. Fear Before the March of Flames, Odd How People Shake (2004)

When metalcore was ruled by bros toughing up the genre (fucking Bury Your Dead), Fear Before decided to redefine the genre with their debut. They ripped apart the toughness, ditched the breakdowns, and created an aggresive, yet vulnerable album that has stumped any metalcore listener to ever hear it. Metalcore for pretentious, artsy fartsy kids, I guess.For whatever reason, they quickly disintegrated into a shitty, run of the mill band, but this album is a testament to a truly original sound.

77. Bright Eyes, Fevers and Mirrors (2000)

The most accessible Bright Eyes album featured Conor before he got too political, but after he had learned how to really right an emotionally devastating song. He wrote a whole album's worth here. "Haligh, Haligh, a lie, Haligh." Jesus, that song hurts. This is not pussy emo, it's emotionally honest, bitter folk from a young poet.

76. Brand New, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me (2006)

The second successful reinvention of one time pop punkers Brand New is a frustrating, anticlimactic, slow album about one man's frustrating, anticlimactic relationship. She never would marry him, but he'd write a few indie/emo masterpieces while he suffered. This is the angriest, most adult album ever made by a band that routinely sells out shows to 15-year-old teenage girls.