Top 50 albums of the decade

December 29, 2009 | Published by Kjell-Roger |

A decade is soon ending and musically it has been quite the adventure. Ten years is a long time and the music trends have been evolving (at least changed) quite alot. The past decade has been amazing and there are so many great albums to choose from. It has been hard making this list and I’m sure there are vital albums I probably have forgotten, but these are some of the ones that have had the most impact on me. Many of you will pherhaps not agree with the list, but some of you might even find some bands you never have heard. But that’s kind of the beauty of it. Some will agree, some will find albums they had forgotten, some will even discover music they haven’t heard before. I love music, I am a music junkie (oh how cliché), so here you are; my top 50 albums of the decade.

50. Burial – Untrue (2007)
49. Eels – Souljacker (2001)
48. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)
47. Be Your Own Pet – Be Your Own Pet (2006)
46. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm (2005)
45. syntaks – awake (2006)
44. R.E.M. – Reveal (2001)
43. Bring Me the Horizon – Count Your Blessings (2006)
42. Casino Versus Japan – Go Hawaii (2000)
41. Justin Timberlake – Future Sex / Love Sounds (2006)
40. God is an Astronaut – The End of the Beginning (2002)
39. Infected Mushroom – Vicious Delicious (2007)
38. Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth (2005)
37. Kent – Vapen och Ammunition (2002)
36. The Postal Service – Give up (2003)
35. Fightstar – Grand Unification (2006)
34. M83 – Before Dawn Heals Us (2005)
33. Depeche Mode – Exciter (2001)
32. Sigur Ros – () (2002)
31. Ulrich Schnauss – Far Away Trains Passing By (2001)
30. Deftones – White Pony (2002)
29. KiD CuDi – A KiD named CuDi (2008)
28. Familjen – Det Snurrar i Min Skalle (2007)
27. The Roots – Tipping Point (2004)
26. Circa Survive – On Letting Go (2007)
25. Crystal Castles – Crystal Castles (2008)
24. My Precious – The Fine Line (2008)
23. Dominic – Dominic (2006)
22. Gorillaz – Demon Days (2006)
21. Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
20. Daft Punk – Discovery (2001)
19. Band of Horses – Everything All the Time (2006)
18. röyksopp – the understanding (2005)
17. Mew – Frengers (2003)
16. Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009)
15. Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (2003)
14. Jimmy Eat World – Jimmy Eat World/Bleed American (2001)
13. Suis La Lune – Quiet! Pull the strings (2006)
12. The xx – xx (2009)
11. … And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – So Divided (2006)

10. RuRuRu – RuRuRu (2006)

RuRuRu is simply put an amazing album. The japanese has always been really good in making “sonic” music and this album simply just proves that. But RuRuRu also have a unique sound that you won’t find anywhere else. The many layers of sounds are really well composed. There are four people in the band, but sometimes you could think it’s a few more. Their sound is huge. It’s easy, it’s heavy and it’s dreamy, all at the same time. And I’m yearning for the day they release more material, but until then this still holds up pretty well.

9. Tubelord – Our First American Friends (2009)

There’s just something about this album that literally makes me happy. The lyrics are sometimes quite metaphoric, but it’s lovely. They keep changing their rythm and breaks in each song, so it sometimes surprise you. It’s really an easy listening, but with a really interesting take. I simply just love this album, and it’s an amazing debut..

8. Explosions in the Sky – The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place (2003)

In my head these guys are the kings of post-rock. And this album is really their best. The first track “First Breath After Coma” is breath-taking. There are alot of people making music like the type on this album, but nothing sounds like this album. I work listening to it and I fall asleep listening to it.

7. Moby – Hotel (2005)

I’ve heard rumours that people have been complaining that Hotel was a bad album. That Moby never could surpass the previous album; “Play”. I disagree. Hotel contains alot of really good tracks. Moby has alwaysed produced music that’s always had a great impact on me. And to this day it’s still a album I really enjoy. It doesn’t rank higher than “Play”, but it definitively deserves it spot among the best albums of the decade.

6. snöras – heart of weakness (2006)

When it comes to screamo you usually have to be specially interested. But Heart of Weakness isn’t such album, it’s just so great I don’t think you have to be really into screamo to like. Yngve usually plays in Norwegian pop-rock act Lukestar and goes way heavier and faster than he’s used to, but it works. Oh my, how good it works. It’s full of energy and it pumps you up. Heart of Weakness is also very melodic compared to many other screamo albums. Worth a listen, I promise.

5. Amusement Parks on Fire – Amusement Parks on Fire (2004)

I like dreamy music. I like distorted guitars. I like soft vocals. Thus I really enjoy APOF. This album got me into the shoegaze genre and I still think it’s amazing to think that this entire album was written and played solo by a 16 year old kid (at the time).

4. Tycho – Sunrise Projector (2004)

Graphic designer Scott Hansen (iso50) has created some of the most inspiring electronica I’ve ever heard. Under the name Tycho he creates dreamy ambient electronica. Tycho has a distinct sound that I haven’t found anywhere else. My mind wanders off into a inspiring dream world when I listen to it. It’s one of my top albums to listen to when I need to be creative.

3. Architects – Hollow Crown (2009)

There are only so much metal and metalcore I listen to. But Architects completely blew my mind when they played at the Hovefestival this year. And after giving Hollow Crown a… well I have no clue how many… listens they still do. The energy in this band is amazing. And I have to give it to Sam Carter, because both his scream and his clean vocals are really amazing.

2. M83 – Saturdays=Youth (2008)

I’ve been a fan of M83 for some time and I long awaited this album. He blends electronica with shoegaze and soft spoken vocals. Bringing along vocalist Morgan Kibby was the key to this album and it would never be the same without. There’s great diversity on the album and it’s hard not to enjoy all of the musical aspects.

1. Blood Brothers – Young Machetes (2006)

This album changed everything for me. I had been locked into a certain type of music for awhile and this opened it up. It was amazing, it was heavy and fast but it was different. Blood Brothers did go in quite a different direction on this album, compared to the earlier more fast-paced and heavier albums, but lucky for me I hadn’t heard them before. So I wasn’t prepared for what was about to hit me or the difference from earlier works. But this album opened up my eyes for alot of different genres of music and in a way probably got me digging more into music in general. An amazing album that I’m still proud to have in the collection.