Album of the Decade: What's your pick?

As I was clicking onto Pitchfork's top 20 albums of the decade it struck me how obvious No. 1 was going to be.

It was an album that came out just over nine years ago (Oct. 2, 2000): Radiohead's "Kid A."

As someone who wore out his copy of "OK Computer," I remember my initial disappointment in the band's departure from guitar rock into something so dark, blippy and disjointed. It was Thom Yorke saying, "Here, Coldplay, try this!" It was hardly a fun record to listen to, but it did set a sonic tone for the decade and obviously, it was a very intellectual enterprise.

Pitchfork nails down the reasons for the selection, writing that "Kid A" conjures, "Thoughts about millennial techno-dread; fragmentation, broken transmissions, garbled communication; the feeling of helplessness that comes from having access to so much information about the world while not having the power to change any of it; the subtle and dramatic ways that electronics are altering our landscape and our consciousness."

There were a number of albums in the Top 20 that I spent more time listening to than "Kid A" just because they were more enjoyable, like Jay-Z's "The Blueprint," Wilco's "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel," The Strokes' "This is It" and even The Arcade Fire's "Funeral." I loved that one right away -- have no desire to hear it anymore.

My question to you: Are you feeling any of those as the Album of the 00s?

What would be your pick?

Posted Nov 10 2009, 01:05 PM by Scott Mervis
Filed under: ,

Comments

Hughshows wrote re: Album of the Decade: What's your pick?
on Wed, Nov 11 2009 9:10 AM

Lost In Revelry by The Mendoza Line

Opened the world of indie rock to me and I still consider it the best release of the decade. It's a crime that this band isn't recognized more than they are and it's too bad they broke up.

Others I am considering for my list:

picasaweb.google.com/.../AlbumsOfTheAughties

Rusty Spanner wrote re: Album of the Decade: What's your pick?
on Wed, Nov 11 2009 9:56 PM

In a music decade that began with Napster and Radiohead and ended with website releases and Radiohead, there was one group of artists always out in front.  So that means Kid A and In Rainbows tied for first, with Yankee Foxtrot Hotel by Wilco a very close second.

LarryZ wrote re: Album of the Decade: What's your pick?
on Thu, Nov 12 2009 9:41 AM

The first thing that came to my mind was The White Stripes "Elephant".  

People may cringe, but I consider Paul McCartney's 2003 release "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" his best solo album.  Really really good stuff.

I can't beleive the 00's are already done with. Where did this decade go?

Scott Mervis wrote re: Album of the Decade: What's your pick?
on Thu, Nov 12 2009 9:48 AM

Is there any love here for The Frames' "For the Birds." One of my favorites of the decade.

And I'm glad to see that Glen Hansard eventually got his due with The Swell Season.

www.sitkot.com wrote re: Album of the Decade: What's your pick?
on Thu, Nov 12 2009 11:18 AM

I've been seeing some of these lists, including Pitchfork's, but for some reason never gave the issue much thought until you actually posed the question.  What a task to process a whole decade of music!  (Particularly one which literally covered my entire twenties.)

Looking at Hugh's Picasa layout is a huge help in just reminding me of album's I've loved (and in some cases forgotten) over the course of 10 years.  Elliot Smith's Figure 8, what an album! I would have placed it in the 90's from memory, but sure enough it caught the front end of this decade.  Between that, Pavement's Terror Twilight (1999), and Grandaddy's Sophtware Slump (2000), I was cured of a jamband addiction which had ailed me through much of my teens.  So much music--old and new--in the past decade has developed and shifted my tastes.

Getting down to business, separating "favorite" albums out from "best" albums is a tough exercise in itself.  Like you say, Kid A may not have spent a ton of time in my car stereo, but it was jarring on first listen and still impresses me consistently.  Both statements may be more true for me as to In Rainbows.

Pressed to pick a best?  I guess Yankee Hotel Foxtrot when all things are considered.  It was a huge step in my mind for the band, the industry, the fans, and I think its effect on other musicians has been palpable and lasting.

Then again, it would be hard to argue against almost any of those top 20 taking a higher spot, it not the top one.  All around, I think this list is a way better snapshot of the decade than the top 20 or so from p4k's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s" list, and Kid A is probably the most defensible choice.

Scott Mervis wrote re: Album of the Decade: What's your pick?
on Fri, Nov 20 2009 11:54 AM

The Onion AV Club's list:

1. White Stripes "White Blood Cells"

2. Kanye West "College Dropout"

3. Radiohead "Kid A"

4. OutKast "Stankonia"

5. Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

6. The Hold Steady "Separation Sunday"

7. Modest Mouse "The Moon & Antarctica"

8. Arcade Fire "Funeral"

9. Jay-Z "The Blueprint"

10. The National "Alligator"