The decade in albums, part 9

This is the end.

Of this list.
A new one is about to start.

15. City of Caterpillar, City of Caterpillar (2002)

Another band created from collective Pageninetynine, City of Caterpillar made music less chaotic and heavy, in favor of huge, sprawling, meditative screamo songs more in the vein of post-rock. The song titles alone are worth the listen. "And You were Wondering How a Top Floor Could Replace Heaven".

14. At the Drive-In, Relationship of Command (2000)

This legendary post-hardcore group released one of the most important albums of the decade before breaking up, and some members going on to form the progressive The Mars Volta (whose Deloused has been criminally excluded from this list). That band has nothing on Relationship, a hardcore game-changer. They managed to turn this into a critical and mainstream success, but it isn't like anything made before it. Each song is constructed quite differently than the next. From the non-stop ferocity of "Cosmonaut" to the contemplative vengeful malice of "Invalid Litter Dept", to the hit single "One-Armed Scissor", which reveals a poppy side of the band, this album is as close to perfection as this kind of music could get.

13. Bear Vs. Shark, Right Now, You're in the Best of Hands. And if Something isn't Quite Right, Your Doctor will Know in a Hurry (2003)

I couldn't tell you what this is. It's part danceable indie, part pop/punk, tiny part hardcore. The vocalist doesn't really scream, but his voice is very strange, and when he yells it sounds pretty close. These songs are loud, upbeat and fun, but always with a nice emotional punch, and enigmatic lyrics. When "Ma Jolie" slows down at the end, it becomes absolutely beautiful. "Kylie" is a longing, angry masterpiece. "MPS" is the most enigmatic of all, but slowly reveals itself to be a beautiful balad to the disease of the same name.

12. Circle Takes the Square, As the Roots Undo (2004)

With lots of weed comes great music. So proves Circle takes the square, a young band from Georgia who obviously smoked their brains out. Technically, this music is a bit unbelievable, it's so chaotic at first, but reveals itself to be some of the most calculated and precise musicianship I've ever heard. The vocals are harsh and raspy, and the lyrics nonsensical in their poetry. Each song tells a different, drugged out style story, all sounding very different, yet tied together as a whole. It's hard to listen to these songs by themselves. The climax of the album is in track 7, "Kill the Switch", a 10 minute magnum opus.

11. Murder By Death, Who will Survive, and What will be Left? (2003)

A lone shooter drunkenly fires on the devil in a saloon in Mexico. He flees as the devil starts to take revenge on the town. The gunman fights with his conscience until he comes back to set what he did right. But is it too late? The children have already been turned into zombie henchmen for the devil. People are hanging themselves. The devil has literally set the fields ablaze. But with few survivors, he'll make a desperate last stand, praying to God, "I'll be waiting for him, let the devil come".

The cello player is also really attractive.

10. cLOUDDEAD, Ten (2004)

We all knew the end was coming, each tiny cLOUDDEAD release was numbered 1 through 9. Then came their only proper full length, a pop/hip-hop masterpiece with vocals from Doseone and Why? and production from Odd Nosdam. It's the best Anticon effort to date, and Why? and Doseone are absurdly entertaining together. The lyrics are surreal, and the music dream like, as in "Dead Dogs Two", which plays like a summer mirage. They even add some Marry Poppins homage into a couple of tracks.

9. The Mountain Goats, All Hail West Texas (2002)

Darnielle's last self-tape-recorded album is his career masterpiece. Each little story, set in Western Texas, is told lovingly and emotionall by John and his guitar. "The Best Ever Death Metal Band out of Denton" is one of his greatest songs, and an anthem to rebellious youth and the power of dreams. These songs are funny, sardonic, sometimes cheesy, and always from the heart.

8. The Weakerthans, Left and Leaving (2000)

Before they evolved into their country tinged rock, The Weakerthans were busy leaving their punk rock past behind. This is their first album away from said past. It's a terribly sad and thoughtful album, reminiscing on good times gone, and loves that past him right by. The opener is ballsy in its refusal to build to anything more than the quiet reflection of the things he's lost that it is. "Watermark" might be the only uplifting moment, but it doesn't last, and it also reveals a longing for a time that got away. The title track is the one that gets my vote for best Weakerthans track, with its beautiful guitar and meditation on the geography of a changing city and how it affects a man.

7. Fugazi, The Argument (2001)

Fugazi is one of the greatest bands of all time for a reason. They shaped emo, made punk evolve, and write some of the most deceptively complex songs to grace either genre. Their (most likely) final album is a wonderful swan song, showing the ever changing sound of the band at a great balance between heavy ("Epic Problem") and quieter, more meditative ("Argument"). It's still as socially conscious and angry as ever, just more mature than it used to be. "Cashout" is a stand out among many masterpieces with its infectious "rock out" guitar riffs.

6. Daft Punk, Discovery (2001)

Need I say anything else, other than:

ONE MORE TIME!!!



5. Envy, A Dead Sinking Story (2003)

No screamo band is more epic, more emotional than Japanese group Envy. This is their greatest work. 9 impossibly huge and heart-wrenching tracks built to make you cry. Seriously. Cry. They became a post-rock band after this, confirming my suspicions that they drew a lot from that genre. If there was ever one screamo/hardcore record to listen to in your life, I'd say this is the one. It's undeniably beautiful, and the vocal screams are so clean and crisp as opposed to the usually ugly style.

4. Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism (2003)

Death Cab's gretest is an emotional event. Ben Gibbard knows how to make you sad, and exploits that to great rewards in this album. "Tiny Vessels" is a cold rock song, about loveless sex. "Expo 86" is folk like in its despair of a relationship that will always fail. "Passenger Seat" is a beautiful piano ballad about long nights with best friends. But the greatest acheivement is the 8 minute title track about love and distance. Ben Gibbard puts his sould into every word, and it's heartbreaking.

3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven! (2000)

4 tracks. 80 minutes. Building crescendos, haunting feild recordings, crushing guitars, penetrating strings. powerful percussion. This album is a miracle. There will never be anything like it again.

2. Against Me!, Reinventing Axl Rose (2002)/Acoustic EP (2001)/Crime as Forgiven by... (2001)

Against Me! have changed so many times it's ridiculous. Every album has a fan base ready to cry "SELL OUT" for each new album. These two EPs were acoustic offerings that led to the electric album in 2002, featuring most of the EPs' songs, plus some new ones. Each sound is different, but all equally as powerful. Against Me! play punk rock in a very expressive way, and Tom Gabel's voice is a force of nature. "Those Anarcho Punx are Mysterious" is one of the most emotional songs ever crafted, and it's a satire on the punk lifestyle these guys live, how knowingly absurd it can all get.

1. Cursive, Domestica (2000)

Tim Kasher's rendition of his own divorce in concept album form is as ugly and beautiful as relationships can be. With its repeating imagery, and musical motifs, it's one of the most well written albums ever made, and features some of the most complex emotional material I've ever heard in song. It's all very drunken, and Kasher's out of tune guitar is perfectly suited to the sometimes puposefully ugly material. Seeing this band twice in the past 2 weeks has only reconfirmed what I've always thought of them. They are the greatet artists of conveyed emotion in every facet of their music; lyrics, vocals, music. It's my perfect album. And I love how Kasher considers this the fantasy ending of his own relationship. The album couple doesn't break up. They stay together in what has to be the worst happy ending ever. In a monster confrontation in the final track. The man breks down, and screams "I LOST THE WILL TO FIGHT". Good reason to stay together.


So with the list being done, there is one more musical release I must mention that isn't actually an album.

Against Me!, Disco Before the Breakdown EP (2002)

Against Me!'s finest EP came after Reinventing Axl Rose, and featured 3 new brilliant tracks. It's their best all around release. Each song being something of a masterwork. The title track is a horned out punk anthem to homosexual love and secrecy. It's easily one of their most emotional songs. "Tonight We're Gonna Give it 35%" is a '70s style rock songs about life and faith. "Beginning in an Ending" is a return to folk style music. It's a lo-fi acoutic song that is probably actually a verbal abandon of om's anarchist ideals, but is also a beautiful meditation on what is actually important. It's also a beautiful end of an Against Me! era, as their music would never be as raw or powerful again. Goodbye No Idea, DIY, folk punk forever.



Wow. It's actually over. Next is films of the decade. Then the year's best albums and films.

I'm a list man!

The decade in albums, part 8

30. Against Me!, ...As the Eternal Cowboy (2003)

Against Me! have changed their formula up several times. For their Fat Wrechords debut, they dropped a lot of the folk roots and screamy vocals, and used a lot of clean guitars to make a great rock album. The songs are short, blistering, and clever. "T.S.R." is a short mission statement opener, and "You Look Like I Need a Drink" is a sad look into sexual politics, with a catchy, great chorus.

29. Blood Brothers, Burn, Piano Island, Burn (2003)

Chaotic, sassy, and smart. These guys tried very hard to make a hardcore album that no one had ever heard before, and they succeeded. Too bad they couldn't play it live and they went back to making boring music, but this album is something special. It's loud, fast, and ugly. It's perfectly summed up in the track "Cecilia and the Silhouette Saloon", a rollercoaster of sounds and dissonance with two very manic vocalists spewing bile all over it.

28. Kodan Armada, Collections (2004)

This screamo/punk band wrote mostly about friendships that could never be broken, and then they broke up. Collections collected all of their 7''s, plus lots of random show banter into one powerful release. These guys have almost no talent, but they exude emotion with every syllable and guitar stroke.

27. Pageninetynine, Document #8 (2001)

One of the most influential punk bands of this decade, Pageninetynine splintered into many other great bands soon after this release. This is their crowning acheivement. Brutal, crushing punk with about nine dudes playing and singing their heads off. Intensity ensues.

26. Trophy Scars, Alphabets. Alphabets. (2006)

Trophy Scar's first album defies any sort of genre tag. It's rooted in hardcore but has so many influences, ranging from jazz to hip-hop, I can never pin a single name down on it. Not all these songs are great, they were obviously experimenting with a lot of different sounds, but the good songs are absolutely flooring.

25. Broken Social Scene, You Forgot it in People (2002)

I wasn't for this band when I first heard them. The Canadian collective knocked me over the first time I heard "Anthem for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl". I cried when they played it live. I think it's one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. And, oh yeah, the rest of the album is amazing also. The textured walls of sound they build are breathtaking.

24. Minus the Bear, Highly Refined Pirates (2002)/They Make Beer Commercials Like This (2004)

Minus the Bear have made a career out of highly technical dance indie pop rock, but this album and subsequent ep are something special. Almost all these songs are about getting drunk and swimming in a lake. It's probably the greatest subject matter ever. I can't help but dance everytime I listen, which has been a lot of fucking times.

23. Brand New, Deja Entendu (2003)

Brand New all about their pop/punk status when they released an album with a title meaning "heard again", but it turns out no one had heard this before. In a ridiculous about face from their debut album, Brand New crafted an 11 songs of sad, longing genius. From taking advantage of drunk girls to Jesse's dying grandfather, to hating your fans and being on tour. It's one of the most open and honest albums of the decade from a band that was just another New Found Glory rip off only two years before.

22. Pretty Girls Make Graves, Good Health (2001)

This girl led indie punk band were one of the best live acts I've ever seen. Their debut album was a real force to be reckoned with. It had all the youthful energy and emotion needed to make a great punk record, but with an added sense of pop awareness and danceable guitar riffs and dueling solos. These guys wrote powerful music. Just hear opener "Speakers Push Air" when all the members sing in the chorus "Do you remember what the music meant?". It's just too good. It's uplifting and inspiring, even.

21. A Silver Mt. Zion, Born Into Troubles as the Sparks Fly Upward (2001)

This post-rock band, featuring Godspeed members, has never tried to outshine their former band, but they were fully capable of writing memorable and moving music, as this album proves. They build with strings, and explode with powerful guitars. There's even some strange vocal work here that really adds to the mix.

20. Cursive, The Ugly Organ (2003)

Cursive's only album with a cello is an ugly concept album about the Ugly Organist as he suffers, love, murder, sex, and many other ugly things before hopelessly praying "the worst is over" at the end. Every song is moving and imbued with Tim Kasher's longing vocal chords and permenantly out of tune guitar. "Sierra" is, no question, Tim's greatest acheivement.

19. Cannibal Ox, The Cold Vein (2001)

My favorite hip-hop album ever. These guys write cold, calculated beats with cosmic production. I love every song so much. Two guys with very distinct voices and styles rapping about social unrest, Asgard, friendship, bitches, with an obvious affection for math and chemistry. It's all so good.

18. The White Octave, Style no. 6321 (2000)

The masterpiece from former Cursive guitarist is unabashedly emo, and you can suck it. He'll cut his wrists for some girl, and it might be cheesy, but not before he cranks out 13 tracks of indescribably emotional rock songs. Bookended by its two most powerful songs, this might be as great as cheesy emo gets.

17. The Mountain Goats, The Sunset Tree (2005)

The obvious high point of John Darnielle's studio albums, Tree is his first autobiographical work. Filled with love, nostalgia, and bitter hate for his past, the album also features some of his most catchy songs. "This Year" is an obvious example of one. But it's the quiet songs like "Love, Love, Love" and "Pale Green Things" that really make this release special.

16. Frightened Rabbit, The Midnight Organ Fight (2008)

This Scottish emo/rock band came out of nowhere for me. They play some of the most emotional music I've ever heard. The singer's voice is so effortlessly sad, while the drums are powerful in an almost tribal, chaotic way. "Modern Leper" is something of a masterpiece, but it's really hard to pick a favorite here. Every song is so different, and each showing a man on the brink of breaking apart, while maintaining a wry sense of humor about it all.

The decade in albums, part 7

45. Thursday, War All the Time (2003)

I was never a fan of Thursday's hit album Full Collapse, but this with this album, they toned down the melodramatic back up screaming, improved their musicianship, and hit me full force with an incredibly emotionally potent album. The title track is a certainly something to behold.

44. The White Octave, Menergy (2001)

The White Octave's sophomore effort is a toned down emo sound, with more rocking out and catchy hooks. The change of pace is great, and shows a great band that could have been. They of course broke up immediately after the release of Menergy.

43. Tom Waits, Alice (2002)

Tom Waits is perfect. He'll never release anything less than great. But Alice is something of a standout in his career, maybe his most emotional effort. The title track is one of the most heartbreakingly beautiful songs I've ever heard.

42. The Mountain Goats, Tallahassee (2002)

The first Mountain goats album recorded in an actual studio was something of an abrupt change at first. Repeated listens revealed it to be a concept album of great depth, showing songwriter John Darnielle as a very versatile artist for the first time.

41. The Lawrence Arms, Apathy and Exhaustion (2002)

The best from these drunken depressives from Chicago is what you might expect-- drunken, dark, witty, and catchy as fuck. Their simple riffs are infectious, and the sing a long choruses feel darn right wrong to be singing, as most have something to do with pissing yourself drunk, or killing yourself, or some such depressing nonsense,

40. The Lord Weird Slough Feg, Traveller (2003)

Slough Feg play an indescribable style of metal. Heavy, yet folky, but mostly just fucking ridiculous. The solos are great, riffs catchy, and the clean vocals fucking legendary. This is a space opera about a half dog/half man creature. These guys are insane. And it sounds awesome.

39. Aesop Rock, Labor Days (2001)

Aesop being Aesop. The most preachy and wonderful of all his albums. This album features his greatest acheivement in the form of "Daylight". This is a wonder. Not just a hip-hop masterpiece. You must listen.

38. Mihai Edrisch, Un sans l'autre (2004)

The king of all short, fast, and powerful screamo albums. They employ a sly dissonance to their songs that somehow makes the beautiful parts even better. You don't like screamo, fine. But this shit is just fantastic.

37. Streetlight Manifesto, Everything Goes Numb (2003)

Thomas Kalnoky found fame in the late '90s with his Catch-22 ska band before promptly being kicked out. He came back 5 years later with a ska/reggae masterpiece that doubles as a "fuck you" to his former bandmates, as he reuses many lyrical themes and phrases. And it's also so much better. This is a truly mature ska record. Something that is hard to come by.

36. A Day in Black and White, My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys (2004)

A post-rock band in spirit and musicianship, but with a great, mostly clean vocalist, A Day in Black and White are often content to rock the fuck out with their sprawling rock tracks. These five tracks are truly something else, building to insane heights, then punching you in the face.

35. Black Eyes, Black Eyes (2003)

A D.C. band on Dischord, whoopdidoo. But, oh wait, this band mixes a punk spirit with jazzy breakdowns and spastic dual vocals. I don't know exactly what this album is, but I do know there is nothing else like it. And "Deformative" is something of a truly special jazz/vocal masterpiece. It's chilling.

34. Sunset Rubdown, Dragonslayer (2009)

I just can't stop listening to this record. Spencer Krug's vocals are mesmerizing. Each songs ends up so far away from where it started. It's impossible to hear everything going on in just one listen. The epic, 10 minute closer "Dragon's Lair" caps off the album beautifullybegging "Anyway it's time...for a bigger kind of kill!" It's just so majestic.

33. Why?, Alopecia (2008)

Why? is something of an indie/hip-hop legend, but with this album he proved he could successfully navigate the waters of many genres. This album is full of his trademark wit and cynicism, combined with masterfully crafted pop tunes. "The Vowels, Pt. 2" and "The Hallows" show Why? at his hi-hop masterful best, while "These Few Presidents" and "Fatalist Palmistry" reveal his understanding of great pop writing.

32. Death Cab for Cutie, The Photo Album (2001)

Death Cab's 2001 album is an emotional rollercoaster, focusing on old friendships, technology, the past, and the future. Ben Gibbard's writing is in full form here as he reminisces with a lost flame in quiet, heartbreaking opener "Steadier Footing", and he cuts down the town he hates in the explosive "Why you'd Want to Live Here". But the real beauty and pain comes in the autobiographical "Stryofoam Plates", a heartwrenching epitaph to his asshole father.

31. Rapider than Horsepower. Stage Fright, Stage Fright/This is My Big Night (2004)

The vocalist of hardcore band Racebannon branched out and formed a quirky indie dance band. He quit screaming, but his voice is still crazy, singing about ice cream cones, caterpillars, and cowboys. It's all so surreal, and whacky.

the decade in albums, part 6

60. L'Antietam, Family (#1-10) (2006)

Family is a compilation of vinyl and unreleased tracks from the young screamo band, but the first 10 tracks are obviously a cohesive whole album. It goes "Intro to "Outro" of songs that all bleed into each other. Too bad they didnt't release it properly, as it's their best music to date.

59. Malady, Malady (2004)

A group featuring former Pageninetynine and City of Caterpillar members, they play hard rock with screamo influences. Crushing guitars and nasally bellowing singer. The quieter passages within the songs are where the real gold is.

58. Kenmores, Lorpor (2003?)

Lorpor was never released, only passed around on CD-Rs after the greatest local band from Baton Rouge to ever exist broke up. The story of a janitor who accidentally inherits the government secret that the world is about to end. Insane stuff. Brilliant emo rock masterpiece. On track 9, the world ends, it's the greatest sounding apocalypse I've ever heard.

57. Japandroids, Post-Nothing (2009)

Young Canadian rock duo that knows exactly how to convey the need to get away from everything, and the pains of young love. Some people say it's immature music. I say their simple, minimalist songs convey exactly what they're going for. "I Quit Girls" is full of this young energy, and is a wonderful ballad to the hopeless lover.

56. Boris, Flood (2000)

Boris' crowning masterpeice finds them mixing their stoner/doom sound with beautiful, ambient post-rock. It's well over an hour long, but stays engaging the whole way through. Maybe I like it so much because it never dips into the harsh noise that they put into most of their releases.

55. Mclusky, Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)

Andy Flakous (now of Future of the Left) started here, in a punk spirited rock outfit shooting bile all over its dumber-than-them listeners. Mclusky is funny, witty, angry, and you're stupid. "Lightsable Cocksucking Blues" is one the greatest songs ever written.

54. Explosions in the Sky, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Thos Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever (2001)

Definietly the Texas post-rock outfit's greatest acheivement to date. It's all your standard soft-loud-soft-loud modern post-rock formula, but these songs are energetic and beautiful enough to transcend what would normally be just another pretty album in the genre.

53. The Weakerthans, Reconstruction Site (2003)

The Weakerthans dip into a country accented indie rock is remarkable in its emotional scope. John K. Sampson imbues every longing line with a nostalgic sadness for childhood, friendships, lost relatives, and even his hometown. Even though he constantly reminds us how much he hates Winnipeg.

52. Taking Back Sunday, Tell all Your Friends (2002)

Yeah, everybody laugh, but I love this emo/pop punk's debut. It feels more honest than the other bands of the same genre and time (NFG, The Used, Midtown), and a little less cheesey as far as the emo lyrics go. They also get pretty clever with making their adult themes teenage accessible. "Great Romances of the 20th Century" was a great single, and "Head Club" is a wonderful closer. Emo/pop punk can be good, Dammit!

51. Tunes for Bears to Dance to, Tunes for Bears to Dance to (2003)

The happiest screamo band you'll ever hear. They shout things like "We'll stay friends forever", "Where did Waldo go", "Livejournals suck" (back when that was timely), and most amazingly in the closer "Take my hand as dirft towards happiness." All these songs are impossibly fun and uplifting.

50. Gospel, The Moon is a Dead World (2005)

A prog-rock band hiding inside the body of a creamo band, Gospel play huge, operatic songs that are simply flooring. The experimentalism aspect make this a fresh screamo album.

49. Every Time I Die, Hot Damn (2003)

Metalcore that leans heavily on the metal side of the equation. The is fast and chaotic, tinged with a good bit of southern rock. People don't give this band much credit, but they were one of the few innovative metalcore bands before they started to suck. Check out single "Ebolarama" for proof of this.

48. La Quiete, La Fine non e La Fine (2004)

This section of the list has been very screamo heavy. I don't think it lasts, but this entry is easily one of the best of the genre. La Quiete explodes out the gate and never stops with La Fine. This is really just a giant burst of energetic, emotional music.

47. Bright Eyes, Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002)

Conor Oberst's masterpiece is a long epic of folk art about politics, lovers, and the loss of one's way and faith in the world. It's angry, harsh, pretty, and thoughtful.

46. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, No More Shall We Part (2001)

Nick Cave's most contemplative album to date might be a masterpiece in his career, but he's done so much great stuff it's really hard to say. This one's heavy on the piano rock, and it's the most emotional album I've heard of Cave's, although I've not heard them all.

The decade in albums, part 5

75. Moonsorrow, Verisakeet (2005)

5 huge tracks delivering the most epic, blackened folk metal you could ever imagine, sprinkled with mesmerizing interludes of crackling wood and crowing birds. It all flows so organically.

74. Sine Nomine, This Machine is Malfunctioning (2003)

Grind is something I usually hate. It sounds to me like short, cold exercises in calculated speed, with horrible vocals screamed indiscernibly over the music. Sine Nomine proved grind could be more. Instead of quick songs, they play lengthy grind that incorporates elements of screamo, making for a much more pleasant sounding grindcore.

73. Future of the Left, Travels with Myself and Another (2009)

A hard rock dance album. These angry songs are witty and funny musings on all things stupid and banal, while also being really catchy. "Arming Eritrea" is a hard hitting anthem that immediately establishes the album as real force of drunken power.

72. Boris, ...At Last -Feedbacker- (2003)

Boris drone metal masterpieces is one of the many genres of heavy, loud music they've managed to successfully navigate over their many years. I don't know how they manage to be so consistent while never sitting still stylistically, but they really pull it off.

71. Majority Rule, Interviews with David Frost (2001)

Heavy hardcore punk/screamo with dual vocalists with very scary voices. They play expressive violence that has been heavily influential since its release.

70. Dillinger Four, Situationist Comedy (2002)

Dillinger Four's pop punk masterpiece is perfect all the way through, but it's opener "Noble Stabbings!" is their magnum opus, a two minute to remind everyone that punk can be simultaneously powerful, rebellious, and and fun as hell.

69. Lucero, Lucero (2001)

Lucero's brand of alt-country has never changed, so it makes sense that their debut was their best. Perfectly realized ballads of loss, love, guitars, bar fights and road trips. There's an inherent sadness in Ben Nichol's drawl that makes this album a staggering work of honest emotion.

68. Desaparecidos, Read Music/Speak Spanish (2002)

Conor Oberst briefly put off another Bright Eyes album to make an angry indie emo album about the banality and stupidity of the middle class and suburban nightmare. It's amazingly on point and surprisingly heartfelt, and proves that maybe Oberst's talents really belong in a heavier outfit.

67. The Lawrence Arms, The Greatest Story Ever Told (2003)

Drunken pop punk from Chicago featuring two vocalists who both write at varying degrees of quality. Most of this album is amazing dark pop punk, while a few songs are actually terrible. Luckily those goods songs are seriously good.

66. L'Antietam, Arthur Carr (2007)

Harcore infused screamo from a few really young guys who shouuld not be able to write as well as they do. Short songs that pack enough build and emotion to get your heart pumping.

65. Botch, We are Romans (2000)

Released on New Years Day, 2000, this has remained one of the most important and influential metalcore releases ever made. Members from this went on to create such amazing bands as Blood Brothers, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and Minus the Bear.

64. The Spectacle, Rope or Guillotine (2004)

Briliant crust-punk from Norway.These songs are long, loud, and crushing. Anarchy is stupid, but these guys make it sound so good. I got to play with this group. Their live show was hauntingly good.

63. Mount Eerie, Wind's Poem (2009)

Phil Evrum's "black metal" album is totally not a black metal album, it just features layered, distorted guitar playing. It's a dark, lo-fi masterpiece similar to The Glow, Pt 2, but recorded much deeper in that cave of his. The result is even more moving than his Microphones output.

62. Morrisey, You are the Quarry (2004)

All comeback albums need to be this good. Morrisey's brand of pop is as good as his work immediately following the Smiths on this record.

61. The National, Boxer (2007)

A haunting, dark rock record. The vocalists brings to mind Ian Cutis if Curtis was in a band that sounded really good was able to actually evoke emotion, like Boxer does so amazingly well. This record is quiet for the most part, making the few explosions even more powerful. Fucking "Apartment Story", right?

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.

The decade in albums, part 3

105. Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs (2008)

After their dreadful mainstream pop/rock debut, Plans, I'd mostly given up on Death Cab ever releasing anything good again. Narrow Stairs truly surprised me. These 11 tracks, all dealing with a painful loss, from a mother to innocence, revealed a profound maturity in Ben Gibbard's writing since Plans. How this was such a mainstream success, I can't really figure. The songs are slow, build naturally to anticlimactic endings, and are as longingly sad and beautiful as anything on their early masterpieces.

104. Modest Mouse, The Moon & Antarctica (2000)

This is widely considered one of the best albums this decade by music critics, and I can see why. It's full of creative guitar riffs, a great vocalist, inventive and weird lyrics, and shows a mastery of pop song writing. It gets a bit long, and there are some less than stellar filler tracks, but the great handily outnumbers the average.

(As a present to Earth, Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters released an album of Modest Mouse covers, mainly from this album, called Tiny Cities. It's a must-listen.)

103. Fucked Up, The Chemistry of Common Life (2008)

Two Pitchfork favs in a row. This won't likely happen again. Fucked Up's brand of hardcore/punk is infectiously catchy. It's almost wrong. And it's, dare I say, pretty? Hard to imagine when you know a fat vocalist named "Pink Eyes" is screaming at the top of his lungs about mushrooms and Jesus. Hearing the up to 17 guitar tracks going at once creates a huge, deep sound that makes you want to get up and thrash around.

102. The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower, Dissertation, Honey (2003)

Jazz-punk. Spastic, hyper, biting jazz-punk. And it's so fun. This young band put a jazzy swing into their snotty punk formula to make one of the most successful genre-benders I heard all decade. A saxophone adds a whole emotional layer to what might otherwise easily be forgettable punk. Their songs were short and sweet, and the vocals energetic and sassy.

101. Defiance, Ohio, Share What Ya Got (2003)

This fine folk punk band from the Plan-it-x label are probably mostly associated with the popularity of Against Me! early in the decade. They share similarities, and sometimes ideals, but Defiance, Ohio is definitely their own band with their own sound. Playing completely acoustic, with some strings, male and female vocals, they make moving folk punk that's easily accessible. Share What Ya Got is their finest offering to date, combining angry social unrest anthems with intimate ballads. I'll remember this album forever because of standout track "Bikes and Bridges", a fist pump anthem that bleeds into a poetic chant with "Heart aren't made of glass...". It's heartbreaking stuff that gets me every time. This might even deserve to be higher.

100. Drudkh, Autumn Aurora (2004)

This is finest offering from what has to be one of the most consistent and greatest black metal bands making music in the 2000s. This Ukranian group refuses to take press photos, promote their album, interview, or even tour, but their music really speaks for itself. It's beautifully atmospheric, recalling images of the forests and nature of Europe. It's incredibly easy to get lost in these sprawling tracks, as they wind through fantastical, dreamy landscapes. For the record, the album they released in 2009, Microcosmos, is almost just as good

99. Rx Bandits, The Resignation (2003)

Rx Bandits started out as just another annoying, immature ska group capable of some catchy riffs. Each successive album has been more experimental and innovative than the last, leading all the way up to this years Mandala. But their greatest success was back in 2003 when they really shed their simple ska past for the first time, in favor of a jazzy, reggae-ish, rock sound. After a throw-away first track, the album really gets going with standout track "Prophetic", and never stops. The album builds to emotional highs with crushing guitars and beautiful horns.

98. Mono, Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered and the Sun Shine (2004)

Mono has been playing some of the best post-rock around for over ten years. With Waking Cloud...they perfected their formula. Epic songs, huge guitars, beautiful keys, and some strings thrown in for good measure. Everything gelled on this album, and the results are staggering. It's enough to make anybody cry.

97. Menomena, Friend and Foe (2007)

This was the first Menomena album I'd ever heard, and it blew me away. From opener "Muscle 'N Flo" to the end, it's wonderful drum loop insanity. These songs are wonderfully poppy, yet brimming with intense emotion. "Wet and Rusting" is one of the best singles of the decade.

96. Altar of Plagues, White Tombs (2009)

More black metal. This is from a small, unknown band that really got shit done with their debut. Four tracks of sprawling hell get done what most metal bands could never do. They've perfected the truly unique version of American black metal. No paganism or nature, just the hell of industrial wasteland. They also pretty things up a bit. White Tombs could easily be lumped into the post-rock/black metal category.

95. Dillinger Four, Versus God (2000)

It's just so hard not to love these guys. Fast pop punk at its finest. They know their way around catchy riffs and melodies. I can't ever skip a Dillinger Four song. This was their first offering of this decade, and it was the first where the two weird sounding vocalists started to complement each other perfectly. Every track is a standout, partly because they mostly sound the same, but more because they're all amazing.

94. Bike for Three!, More Heart than Brains (2009)

Think Postal Service if they were hip-hop and way cooler. You know I love Ben Gibbard, but he has nothing on the intimate, yet distant cross continental colaboration between Anticon rapper Buck 65 and Belgian producer Greetings from Tuskan. "Lazarus Phenomenon" is still my favorite song of 2009, and most of the tracks are almost as good. For two people who have never met, these songs are amazingly intimate, seemingly written about the strange relationship, like in "Let's never meet". It's all close to perfect. Buck 65's stream of conciousness poetry flows beautifully over Greetings intricate procuction.

93. Agalloch, Ashes Against the Grain (2006)

Agalloch mix black, folk, heavy, doom, and drone metal, with a good serving of neofolk thrown in on Ashes. Acoustic passages melt into slurring distortions that convey desolation in a way I've never heard elsewhere. Black metal vocals enhance the experience. These guys play long and epic, but it's worth every minute.

92. Krallice, Krallice (2008)

While not techinically a black metal band, Krallice is close. They play ridiculously long songs at impossible speeds, slowing down only to end a song and start another. It's pretty absurd, but as far as metal goes, it's some of the most fun to listen to. They recently expanded their line up, adding another crazy fast guitarist. What's up with these freaks?

91. Sun Kil Moon, April (2008)

Mark Kozelek again. More slow, and deliberately paced masterpieces from a slowcore legend. These songs have an average length of over 7 minutes, the lyrics are deceptively simple, and the music is never anything but quiet. But this album is so heartbreaking, it's unreal. How Kozelek can make me want to cry with only a few slurred phrases is uncanny.