Breaking Down the 100 Greatest Albums of the 00’s

Some say we will look back at the 00’s as the decade when the full length album died, and for the most part they will be right. Sure albums will never go away as long as there are people stupid enough to plop down ten dollars for an album with only a good song or two. But the album as an event has long passed. In this instant gratification day and age, we just want to get to the three minutes of musical joy instead of having to spend a whole album digesting an album. I cannot remember one album I sat around with a bunch of friends last decade dissecting it with friends like I did back in the ninties (granted this may be an age thing).

So my list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 00’s is less about a cohesive album (which there were very few of in the 00’s) than just a collection of twelve good to great songs. I’m sure there can be griping of albums I left out, but when compiling a list of albums for consideration, I only included albums I actual spent money on (or had someone else buy for me, with the obvious exception of two albums on the list), and when it comes down to it, if I didn’t even bother to drop ten dollars (or even less at discount prices), it is not something worthy of my list anyway. Here is how my list broke down by the numbers.

Artists with Multiple Albums
Dave Matthews (Band) – 5
Jack Johnson – 4
John Mayer (Trio) – 4
Ryan Adams (and the Cardinals) - 4
Alicia Keys – 3
Coldplay – 3
Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley) – 3
Kanye West – 3
Michelle Branch (The Wreckers) – 3
The Roots – 3
U2 - 3

Albums by Year
2000 – 6
2001 – 12
2002 – 11
2003 – 8
2004 – 9
2005 – 12
2006 – 8
2007 – 10
2008 – 14
2009 – 10

Albums by Genre
Rock - 19
Rap - 15
Alternative – 14
Pop - 13
Adult Contemporary – 11
RnB - 9
Folk - 8
Country - 5
Blues - 3
Hard Rock - 3

The 100 Greatest Albums of the 00's

1. The College Dropout - Kanye West

2. A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay

3. Continuum - John Mayer

4. The Rising - Bruce Springsteen

5. The Spirit Room - Michelle Branch

6. The Grey Album - Danger Mouse

7. The Lillywhite Sessions - Dave Matthews Band

8. Gold - Ryan Adams

9. Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King - Dave Matthews Band

10. Wreck of the Day - Anna Nalick

11. Final Straw - Snow Patrol

12. Only By the Night - Kings of Leon

13. Bible Belt - Diane Birch

14. American IV: Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash

15. I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers

16. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse

17. Heavier Things - John Mayer

18. White Ladder - David Gray

19. Hot Fuss - The Killers

20. Room for Squares - John Mayer

21. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay

22. Plans - Death Cab for Cutie

23. Magic - Bruce Springsteen

24. All That You Can't Leave Behind - U2

25. Eye to the Telescope - KT Tunstall

26. On and On - Jack Johnson

27. Cardinology - Ryan Adams & The Cardinals

28. White Blood Cells - The White Stripes

29. Attack & Release - The Black Keys

30. The Renaissance - Q-Tip

31. Parachutes - Coldplay

32. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - U2

33. Late Registration - Kanye West

34. Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World

35. Alright, Still - Lily Allen

36. Musicforthemorningafter - Pete Yorn

37. As I Am - Alicia Keys

38. Songs About Jane - Maroon 5

39. Hotel Paper - Michelle Branch

40. Whoa, Nelly! - Nelly Furtado

41. Tell 'Em What Your Name Is! - Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

42. Heartbreaker - Ryan Adams

43. Get Rich or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent

44. Stand Still, Look Pretty - The Wreckers

45. The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley

46. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie

47. Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple

48. Get Lifted - John Legend

49. A New Day at Midnight - David Gray

50. Brushfire Fairytales - Jack Johnson

51. The Diary of Alicia Keys - Alicia Keys

52. Audioslave - Audioslave

53. Graduation - Kanye West

54. In Between Dreams - Jack Johnson

55. Phrenology - The Roots

56. Fearless - Taylor Swift

57. O - Damien Rice

58. Love, Save the Empty - Erin McCarley

59. Stand Up - Dave Matthews Band

60. Songs In A Minor - Alicia Keys

61. Easy Tiger - Ryan Adams

62. The Way I See It - Raphael Saadiq

63. Room Noises - Eisley

64. Twenty Three - Tristan Prettyman

65. Songs for Silverman - Ben Folds

66. Taking the Long Way - Dixie Chicks

67. Closer - Better Than Ezra

68. Busted Stuff - Dave Matthews Band

69. Eyes Open - Snow Patrol

70. Be Not Nobody - Vanessa Carlton

71. Hello - Tristan Prettyman

72. Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers

73. Some Devil - Dave Matthews

74. Riding With the King - B.B. King & Eric Clapton

75. Game Theory - The Roots

76. Kamaal the Abstract - Q-Tip

77. St. Elsewhere - Gnarls Barkley

78. Musicology - Prince

79. To the 5 Boroughs - Beastie Boys

80. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon

81. The Blueprint - Jay-Z

82. Afterglow - Sarah McLachlan

83. Stillmatic - Nas

84. Me and Mr. Johnson - Eric Clapton

85. Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson

86. Try! - Live In Concert - John Mayer Trio

87. Be - Common

88. This Is the Life - Amy Macdonald

89. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

90. Before the Robots - Better Than Ezra

91. No Line On the Horizon - U2

92. The Fall - Norah Jones

93. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys

94. Shaman - Santana

95. Rising Down - The Roots

96. Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift

97. Amanda Leigh - Mandy Moore

98. Troubadour - K'naan

99. Back to Then - Darius Rucker

100. Little Voice - Sara Bareilles

The 25 Best Albums of 2009

If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store (or click on the album cover) where you can order them there:


1. Bible Belt – Diane Birch
Love Makes the Price Good Enough to Wanna Pay

2. Tell ‘em What Your Name Is! – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
Where My Horns At, Are You with Me?

3. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
If You're Loved by Some One You're Never Rejected

4. Big Whiskey and the Groo-Grux King – Dave Matthews Band
Somebody's Broken Heart Become Your Favorite Song

5. The Fall – Norah Jones
My Mind's Racing from Chasing Pirates

6. Troubadour – K’Naan
I Take Rappers on a Field Trip any Day

7. Amanda Leigh – Mandy Moore
Those Calendar Girls Ain't got Nothing on Me

8. No Line on the Horizon - U2
Let Me in the Sound

9. Kamaal the Abstract – Q-Tip
And Introduce You All to a New Sound to Pound

10. Love, Save the Empty – Erin McCarley
You Hold Your Head up to the Sky; You Say What Kind of Blue Are You

11. Backspacer – Pearl Jam
When Something's Lost, I Wanna Fight to Get it Back Again

12. Kate Earl – Kate Earl
The Music Within Makes Me Whole and a World I Built on My Own

13. LOtUSFLOW3R/MPLSoUND - Prince
Not Reviewed

14. Draw the Line – David Gray
Everyday Is a New Version Of

15. Battle Studies – John Mayer
It's Been a Long Time Since Twenty-Two

16. White Lies for Dark Times – Ben Harper and the Relentless7
The Very Thing that Drives You Can Drive You Insane

17. Far – Regina Spektor
It Was so Easy and the Words Were so Sweet

18. The Element of Freedom – Alicia Keys
I Don't Want to Come Down, Hope My Wings Don't Fail Me Now

19. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
This Ain't for iTunes, This Ain't for Sing-a-Longs

20. Ben Folds Presents: University a Capella!
If There Is a God He Is Laughing at Us and Our Football Team

21. A Little Happiness – Aimee Allen
I'm Dancing with My Records On

22. It’s Not You, it’s Me – Lily Allen
I am a Weapon of Massive Consupmtion

23. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
You Know What's Worth Fighting For When it's not Worth Dieing For

24. Relapse – Eminem
You Think That's Bad You Should Hear the Rest of My Album

25. Play On – Carrie Underwood
Gives You Feeling You Don't Want to Fight

40 Best Albums of 2008

After the most mediocre year last year (see 30 Best Albums of 2007) I thought 2008 was looking up while listening through the almost 200 potential songs that will appear in next week’s Best Songs of 2008 list. Despite being plethora of great songs, there were not really any great albums. There were plenty of good albums released in the last twelve months and here they are.

If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store where you can order them there:


1. Cardinalology - Ryan Adams and the Cardinals
Turn the Radio Up Loud and Get Down

2. The Renaissance - Q-Tip
It’s Up to Me to Bring Back the Hope

3. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
But That Was When I Ruled the World

4. Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
And They Carried on Like Long Division

5. Fearless - Taylor Swift
It’s Like a Roller Coaster Kind of Rush

6. The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing

7. Hello…x - Tristan Prettyman
Sitting by the Seashore Soaking Up the Summer Breeze

8. Rising Down - The Roots

9. Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson
There Is Still Hope Between the Dreams

10. Attack & Release - The Black Keys

11. Rockferry - Duffy
You Got Me on My Knees Begging Please

12. Two Men with the Blues - Willie Nelson and Wynton Marseilles
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition VII

13. Last Days at the Lodge - Amos Lee
I Just Want to Be a Part of Your Home

14. 19 - Adele
I’d like to Hear the Words Fall out of Your Mouth

15. This Is the Life - Amy McDonald
And You’re Singing a Song Thinking This Is the Life

16. Asking for Flowers - Kathleen Edwards
You’re the Great One, I’m Marty McSorley

17. Another Country - Tift Merritt
Come Gather Me in Like a Rainstorm

18. Gossip in the Grain - Ray LaMontange
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition IX

19. Pebble to a Pearl - Nikka Costa
Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition IX

20. Accelerate - R.E.M.

21. We Dance, We Sing, We Steal Things - Jason Mraz
Our Name Is Our Vitue

22. On a Clear Night - Missy Higgins
Breathe Them Deep into Your Lungs

23. Forth - The Verve
Love Is These Words that I’m Singing Again

24. Made of Bricks - Kate Nash
You Said I Must East So Many Lemons ‘cause I Am So Bitter

25. The Way I See It - Raphael Saadiq

26. Life, Death, Love and Freedom - John Mellencamp
I Walked like a Hero into the Setting Sun

27. Way to Normal - Ben Folds
You Wanna See What’s in My My Head

28. Day & Age - The Killers
You Sold Your Soul like a Roman Vagabond

29. Blame it on Gravity - Old 97’s

30. Black Ice - AC/DC
One Hot Angel, One Cool Devil

31. Lenka - Lenka
Life Is a Maze and Love Is a Riddle

32. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
All Your Diction Dripping with Distain

33. This Storm - Sonya Kitchell
This Is the Sound That I’m Thinking Of

34. A Hundred Million Suns - Snow Patrol
Musings from the Back 9: Junior Slumps Edition

35. Some People Have Real Problems - Sia
If I Am a Number I Am Infinity Plus One

36. [Untitled] - Nas
Hate Him or Love Him for the Very Same Reason

37. Meiko - Meiko

38. Learn to Live - Darius Rucker
I’m Gonna Love While I Still Have the Time

39. When the World Comes Down - The All-American Rejects
Nobody Wants to Hear You Sing About Tragedy

40. These Are Good Times People - Presidents of the United States of America
Musings from the Back 9: 90’s Rock Edition

30 Best Albums of 2007

In a story I broke last week, 2007 is the most mediocre year ever. Case in point, last year’s Best Albums of the Year list had fifty albums on it, this year it was hard to scrape thirty this year. Yeah there were a couple albums that could have gotten on this list but I never got around to listening to the whole thing and thus never reviewed (Linkin Park, Jay-Z), but for the most part I got hold of most everything I wanted to review, it was just not that much music this year and of those that I did review there really wasn’t anything great.

Two albums you definitely won’t be seeing on this list are Konvicted by Akon and T.I. vs. T.I.P. even though I got both for Christmas. Should I be offended that someone thought about me, “Now there is someone who would like listening to Akon”? But anyways. If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store where you can order them there:


1. As I Am - Alicia Keys
It’s My Time, Said it’s My Time to Shine

2. Magic - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
I Just Want to Feel Some Rhythm

3. Alright, Still - Lily Allen
Sun Is in the Sky, oh Why, oh Why Would I Wanna Be Anywhere Else

4. Easy Tiger - Ryan Adams
I’m Open All Night and the Customers Come to Stay

5. Graduation - Kanye West
They Say I Talk with So Much Emphasis

6. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse
I Told Ya I Was Trouble

7. Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys
Remember When He Used to be a Rascal

8. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon
I Wanna Forget How Convention Fits

9. Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool - Lupe Fiasco
But I Sphinx Like Leon

10. Little Voice - Sara Bareilles
There’ll Be Girls Across the Country that’ll Eat this Up

11. Chase This Light - Jimmy Eat World
Because Tonight the World Turned in Me

12. Luvanmusiq - Musiq Soulchild
I Ain’t No Hood, No Crook, No Robber

13. Finding Forever - Common
Can’t Leave Rap Alone the Streets Need Me

14. Wild Hope - Mandy Moore
I Was a Starling, Nobody’s Darling

15. Echo, Silence, Patience and Grace - Foo Fighters
I’m Finished Making Sense, Done Pleading Ignorance

16. Icky Thump - The White Stripes
The Hills Are Pretty and Rollin’

17. 100 Days, 100 Nights - Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
He May Be Mellow, He May Be Kind

18. Coco - Colbie Caillat
You Make Me Smile Please Stay for a While

19. This Is Ryan Shaw - Ryan Shaw
If I Got You We Have More than Money

20. Lifeline - Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
Dance with Me to the Colors of the Dusk

21. The Reminder - Feist
Musings From the Back 9: Music Edition V

22. Freedom’s Road - John Mellencamp
I Like My Heroes to Be Honest and Strong

23. It Won’t Be Soon Before Long - Maroon 5
We Must Free Up These Tired Souls

24. Eardrum - Talib Kweli
It Ain’t Old School, New School, it’s True School Rap

25. Carnival Ride - Carrie Underwood
Here’s to You Hairbrush Singers and Dashboard Drummers

26. Not Too Late - Norah Jones
Love in the Time of War Is not Fair

27. Dramatic Fantastic - KT Tunstall
The World Will Turn if You’re Ready or Not

28. The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant - Wyclef Jean
Break Is Over Man, I’m Back with My Ink Pen

29. Combinations - Eisley
Listen to Me, You Pull Me Apart

30. Planet Earth - Prince
I Know U Hear Me Like a Whisper in Ur Ear

50 Best Albums of 2006

This year I was able to give a listen and review almost all the albums thanks to the record companies doing something right for the first time in years by letting fans listen to albums even before they are released. So here are the best albums I heard this year. And where most other music blogs unroll their best albums of the list full with artist you have never heard of, here is my list of pretentious free albums (okay the list is actually only 82% pretentious free, just had to put the Artic Monkeys on my list). Click on the album to buy the album in iTunes. If you like feeling the CD in your hands check out this list at My Amazon Store (including last year's list). Also if you want to read my orginal review, click the link below the album's name. Agree with my list? Disagree? Feel free to list your favorite albums of the in the comment section:


1. Continuum - John Mayer
It's Not a Silly Little Moment, it's Not the Storm Before the Calm

2. Eye to the Telescope - KT Tunstall
Her Face Is the Map of the World

3. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions - Bruce Springsteen
Oh Mary Don't You Weep

4. Eyes Open - Snow Patrol
The Final Word in the Final Sentence

5. Taking the Long Way - Dixie Chicks
It's Been Two Long Years Now Since the Top of the World Came Crashing Down

6. Stand Still, Look Pretty - The Wreckers
The Radio's Playing Old Country Songs

7. American V: The Hundred Highways - Johnny Cash
He Said "John Go Do My Will"

8. The Believer - Rhett Miller
Sex in Wartime Is Sweeter Than Peace

9. Modern Times - Bob Dylan
Sing a Little Bit of These Workingman Blues

10. Blue Collar - Rhymefest
Who Rapper You Know Before His Album Drop Is a Grammy Winner

11. 9 - Damien Rice
She May Rise if I Lay You Down

12. Once Again - John Legend
Tonight I Wanna Groove and Let the Music Make You Move

13. Nothing Left to Lose - Mat Kearney
All I Had Was Just a Vision, All I Had Was My Ambition

8. Whatever They Say I Am I'm Not - Artic Monkeys
(Never Goot Around to Reviewing, Sorry)

15. Hip Hop Is Dead - Nas
If You Asking Why IS Hip Hop Dead There's a Pretty Good Chance You're the Reason it Died

16. Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae
Girl Go Ahead Let Your Hair Down

17. Broken Boy Soldier - The Raconteurs
You've Found a Friend That Knows You Well

18. The Road to Escondido - J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton
If You Can't Hear the Music, Turn it up Loud

19. Stadium Arcadium - Red Hot Chili Peppers
California Show Your Teeth

20. Game Theory - The Roots
I'll Make it Hotter Than Shaft in Africa

21. Bleeding Heart Graffiti - Nina Gordon
I Will Sing This Song and All My Friends Will Sing Along

22. The Greatest - Cat Power
No Wind or Waterfall Could Stop Me

23. Ten - Brian McKnight
When Was the Last Time You Were Truely Satisfied

24. Living with War - Neil Young
Let's Impeach the President for Lying

25. Like Blood for Honey - Holly Brook
Though I'm Young and Cynical it's Not My Only Crime

26. Love Their Country - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Yippee-I-Yay Yippee-I-Yo

27. Who I Am - Alice Peacock
Trust the Power in My Voice

28. Acoustic Extravaganza - KT Tunstall
I Don't Have to Raise My Voice

29. High & Mighty - Gov't Mule
Musings From the Back 9: Music Edition II

30. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
If I Keep Holding Out Will the Light Shine Through

31. Food & Liqour - Lupe Fiasco
Come in Hip-Hop We've Come to Resurrect You

32. Both Sides of the Gun - Ben Harper
The Only Songs to Sing Are Those Sung Again

33. Highway Companion - Tom Petty
If You Don't Run You Rust

34. Nightcrawler - Pete Yorn
Walk Me Out in the Morning Sun

35. Revelations - Audioslave
The Orginal Fire Has Died and Gone but the Riot Inside Moves On

36. Bird on a Wire - Toby Lightman
You're a Flower Blooming in the Desert Sunshine

37. Sing-A-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George - Jack Johnson and Friends
There's No Stopping Curiosity

38. Year of the Dog… Again - DMX
We Gon' Get it, Get it Started Again

39. Move by Yourself - Donavon Frankenreiter
Don't Stop Doing What You Believe In

40. Coming Home - Lionel Richie
You Feel it, I Feel it, Let's Not Pretend

41. On the Outside - Starsailor
I Hear Them Screaming on the Radio

42. Feedback - Jurassic 5
We Would Say Our Rhymes to the Beat Right

43. Till the Sun Turns Black - Ray LaMontagne
Musings From the Back 9: Music Edition II

44. When Your Heart Stops Beating - (+44)
The Past Is Only the Past with the Lights On

45. Kingdom Come - Jay-Z
When I Come Back Like Jordon Wearing the 4-5

46. Show Your Bones - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Sometimes I Think I'm Bigger Than the Sound

47. The Evolution of… - Robin Thicke
Don't See the World Through Someone Else's Eyes

48. Sam's Town - The Killers
Nobody Ever Had a Dream Round Here

49. Under the Iron Sea - Keane
Love Is Just a Lyric in a Children's Rhyme

50. Loose - Nelly Furtado
I've Been Hurt by My Past but I Feel the Future