My Favorite CDs of the Decade

1. The College Dropout (2004) - Kanye West: An album that changed the way I listened to music, grabbing me 6 years ago and never letting me go. It's full of smart lyrics (from bombastic to reflective, funny to moving) and brilliant, soulful production that still sounds fresh, even after many, many imitators throughout the rest of the decade. There's not a dull track on here, and there there are songs that move me every listen ("Jesus Walks" is still powerful after all these years, "Get 'Em High" still makes me laugh, the Saul Williams-feuled "Never Let Me Go" gives me goosebumps), but my favorite usually ends up being "Spaceship," a stirring song that captures West's paradoxes in a classic American Dream narrative.



2. 70 People at 7,000 Feet (2003) – Melissa Ferrick and Brian Winton: Ferrick, one of the great live performers, was never better than in her years of collaboration with Brian Winton, and this Albuquerque-taped live show captures them at their finest. The sound is just acoustic guitar (Ferrick's frenetic work is terrific) and drums (Winton's chemistry with her is unflappable), but it rocks like no one's business. And the collaboration also makes her bare-her-soul lyrics sound more powerful, more universal. She needs to be on stage to be alive, and it's hard to listen and not get goosebumps. (Note: no videos exist with Winton on Youtube. I'll include this track, "Nebraska," from Youtube, which I'm sort of convinced is about Winton anyway. Hearing them perform it live, like on this album, is a thing of beauty.)



3. Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor (2006) – Lupe Fiasco: Kanye's protege ended up being as good as he is. Like the title, this album is balanced - the perfect meshing of intelligent lyrics and hooks. His songs are full of smart wordplay, social consciousness, and poignancy. And "Daydreamin'", his collaboration with Jill Scott, might be the best song of the decade.



4. Near Truths and Hotel Rooms (2003) - Todd Snider: Like Ferrick above, Snider has always been better live than in the studio and this, his first live CD, captures what being at a Todd Snider show is like: songs filled with humor and warmth, and stories personifying Snider as a sort of space cadet savant. His songwriting is top notch, and his gritty performance here gives us some of the best music of the decade.



5. There Will Be a Light (2004) – Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama: Harper has been writing great songs for almost two decades now, but he's never been better than in this beautiful gospel collaboration with the Blind Boys of Alabama. Whether slow and moving, like the title track, or foot stompers, like "Church on Time," this is an amazing meshing of styles.



6. Finding Forever (2007) – Common: It was a strange decade for Common, with two or three fucking great albums (Like Water for Chocolate and Be being the other two), and then a devolving into mainstream monotony towards the end of the decade. But this album is Common at his best. Kanye's production stone beautiful, making Common's poetic, reflective, and nuanced lyrics sound better than ever.



7. The End of the Beginning (2003) – Murs: I don't really remember how I discovered Murs - probably an outreach from an obsession I had with what had happened to the Digital Underground. And, indeed, Shock G does appear on one of this CD's best tracks, the hilarious "Risky Business" ("Yo, is your Dad's Rolls blue?/Cuz I got bad news..."). But Murs is more than a jokester; these story-songs - delivered in a heavy-mouthed, old-school lilt - are moving and reflective in the best way. It's Harry Chapin as a rap artist. And "God's Work" is a song that touched me as much as any other this decade.



8. Pink Pearl (2000) – Jill Sobule: The whip-smart songwriter offered up her strongest album here, full of smart wordplay and memorable characters.



9. Trouble by Ray Lamontagne (2004): The first time I heard "Trouble," I couldn't believe how beautiful it was and how timeless it sounded. And the rest of the album holds it all up with Lamontagne's gritty vocals and poignant lyrics.



10. New American Language (2001) - Dan Bern: Bern's best since his Chuck Plotkin-produced debut. Great lyrics and a rocking, Springsteen-esque vibe.



11. The Dusty Foot Philosophy - K'Naan (2005): A gutsy and poetic album that, despite the injustice it describes, is warm and melodic and often funny. Less produced and more powerful than his major label debut, Troubadour, this certainly represents one of the freshest sounds of the decade.



12. The Eminem Show (2002) – Eminem: This CD absolutely throttled me when it came out. It's like eavesdropping on a therapy session, very powerful. Eminem also released "Lose Yourself" this decade, which is right up there as one of the greatest musical moments of the last ten years.



13. Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool (2007) – Lupe Fiasco: Lupe neatly sidesteps the sophomore jinx with an album that is just as smart, tuneful, political, and catchy as his first one. "Paris, Tokyo", "Dumb It Down", and "Little Weapon" are all incredible songs.



14. 1000 Kisses (2002) – Patty Griffin: Griffin returned to form here after a mediocre attempt at rock in the late 1990s. "Making Pies" is right up there with her best work on Living With Ghosts.



15. The Black Album (2003) – Jay-Z: Most would probably say The Blueprint, but this is the one I heard first. Brilliant, funny braggadacio and contemplation. Bonus for its hand in creating The Grey Album, which I think is awesome.



16. Goodbye Blue Monday (2007) – Jeremy Fisher: A modern day Paul Simon releases one of the best folk rock albums of the decade.



17. Man on the Moon (2009) - Kid Cudi: Like Lupe, he's a Kanye protege. Unlike Lupe, who relies on deft wordplay, it's Cudi's production - to go with his early-twenties lonely stoner angst, which is both funny and moving at times - that crackles with originality.



18. Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 (2000) – Jill Scott: Poetry and a big, beautiful voice.



19. Faith and Courage - Sinead O'Connor: Unbeknowst to way too many people, Sinead O'Connor made a brilliant comeback in 2000 with this superb album. Still a brilliant mixer of genres, she incorporates rock, hip-hop, and Celtic music, which, together with her beautiful vocals, create her best work since I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.



20. Late Registration (2005) – Kanye West: His first album was brilliant, and this second one is nearly as good - a perfect blend of mainstream pop-rap and soul-baring lyrics. I thought he misstepped a bit with his 3rd album, and a bit more with his 4th.



21. Let It Rain (2002) – Tracy Chapman: Chapman has continued to make basically the same sort of music since she up in 1988 - songs about social ills and relationships - and that's fine with me. She's blessed with one of the greatest voices in music, and this album's Daniel Lanois production puts it front and center, and sort of adds some world beats to her atmospheric backdrop. It makes Chapman's music sound as fresh as it did back in 1988.




22. Justified (2003) – Justin Timberlake: It's okay that Michael Jackson never was musically relevant this decade (until his death), because Timberlake made the best Michael Jackson album since around 1990 anyway. Just a great meshing of R&B and pop. I have really great memories associated with the song "Like I Love You", which I remember thinking was so innovative at the time (a dance song built on an acoustic guitar hook!).



23. Amethyst Rock Star (2001) – Saul Williams: The great poet meshes his powerful words to genre-bending beats, and the result is enthralling.



24. Confessions (2004) – Usher: Usher made a concept album - casting himself as characters throughout - that was completely enthralling pop music. And "Burn"... woah. It doesn't get any better than that.



25. Cookie: The Anthropological Mix Tape (2002) - Me'shell Ndegeocello




26. Flavors of Entanglement (2008) - Alanis Morissette: Morissette hired herself a new producer (Bjork's producer), and the result was her best album since 1998.



27. We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions (2006) – Bruce Springsteen: This is such a cool, joyous recording. Springsteen continues to stay relevant (if I went top 40 of the decade, The Rising would be there for me, too).



28. Lifeline (2007) – Ben Harper: Harper released 8 albums in the 2000s, including several excellent ones. This is my favorite (other than #5 above), mostly because it contains the most beautiful song he's ever recorded ("Fool for a Lonesome Train"). The band sounds great here, too.



29. Room for Squares (2001) – John Mayer: Came out during a perfect time in my life to appreciate it, when I was going through my own "quarter life crisis," much like Mayer. Contains at least a couple songs that would be on the soundtrack of my life story, including, of course, the following:



30. Country Grammar (2000) – Nelly : Total mainstream pop rap, and I love it. Actually, that's probably not giving it the credit it deserves. "Country Grammar", the song, sounded so fresh and fun when it was released, and the rest of the album followed it up well. Holds up well, and the dude made a pretty nifty follow-up, too.



31. Back to Black (2006) – Amy Winehouse: What a cool CD this is, both retro and fresh at the same time.



32. Gold - Ryan Adams (2001): A great rock album whose indulgences I love.



Note: In the 1990s, I listened to new music all the time, somehow acquiring thousands of CDs and spending a lot of time with them. Getting a real job in the 2000s have made me much less of a wide-range listener. I now basically know what I like, and gravitate towards it. It changes all the time, but I still can't claim this to be any sort of thorough view of the music world in the 2000s. My 1990s list (easily findable with my name and google and "best albums of the 1990s") is probably more wide-ranging.

Still, this was an important musical decade for me. I branched out to other genres more than ever. I listened to college rock and singer/songwriters, mostly, in the 1990s, and added a lot of hip, mostly of the socially-conscious variety, in the 2000s. I didn't listen to as much but what I did listen to, I really listened to hard. I also never really fell for the mainstream critic faves. It's not that I don't like Radiohead, but I just prefer The Bends to Kid A. Speaking of other critic faves, I prefer Being There to Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and When the Pawn... to Extraordinary Machine.

Other than that, though, here were the CDs that I would classify as the best of the decade, for me.