Pitchfork Top 200 Albums of 2000

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  • "oh dear... I have 6 of the 200. Funny thing is, 5 of those are some of the most disappointing albums I own.
    guess I'm in the 'not even remotely cool' category....."

    Me too. I must be getting old. I have something like 13 of the top 50, but most of those fall into the "everybody loves this, but it doesn't do much for me, so I'll listen to it again to see if it sinks in" category. Arcade Fire, The Strokes, Animal Collective and Spoon are the most obvious examples. I like the second Arcade Fire album much better than Funeral. The Strokes bored me on CD and they bored me when I saw them touring on that first record. What is it about that band that resonates with people? Animal Collective I just don't have the patience to bother with, but I've tried and I finally gave up. I've listened to the Spoon record (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga) at least five times and it's never made an impression. I like Radiohead a lot but The Bends and OK Computer are my faves, in that order. The newer ones have their moments though.

    On the other hand, looking at the entire list, I do like some of the stuff on there a lot. White Blood Cells is my favorite White Stripes album by a wide margin. Super Furry Animals, New Pornographers, Neko Case, Ted Leo, LCD Soundsystem, The Hold Steady, and a few others would make my list.
  • I have 21 of Pitchfork's Best, but 17 of Paste Magazine's Best and theirs is only 50 long. I like that.
  • > Kanye is a jackass. He's also a brilliant pop artist. Among a handful who could be the best of the decade.

    I can understand enthusiasm about his production skills, but to me, he is absolutely the worst rapper I've ever heard on record. I honestly don't understand how other humans can tolerate his rapping, or how it doesn't damagingly soil their reaction to his work.
  • I have about 90 or so of the 200, so I'm no contrarian regarding the genres covered in the list, though the ranking of those I know is quite different from how I'd do it. But the list itself (not the music within, but the list) has a distinct air of "nothing special" about it.
  • For the record I did enjoy Kid A (even if I don't think it's anywhere near the best of the decade). And while Kanye makes some great music, the pomp behind his albums can be just grating to me.

    Also, I've got about 30 of Paste's top 50.
  • And here's the Paste list for those interested.

    50. Björk: Vespertine
    49. Libertines: Up The Bracket
    48. Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose
    47. Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
    46. Once: Music From The Motion Picture
    45. Radiohead: In Rainbows
    44. The Jayhawks: Rainy Day Music
    43. Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala
    42. Jay-Z: The Blueprint
    41. LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver
    40. TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
    39. Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
    38. Gentleman Jesse: Introducing Gentleman Jesse
    37. Iron & Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
    36. Pedro The Lion: Control
    35. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
    34. Various artists: O Brother Where Art Thou?
    33. Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
    32. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
    31. Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism
    30. Damien Rice: O
    29. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
    28. Paul Westerberg: Folker
    27. Drive-By Truckers: Decoration Day
    26. Over the Rhine: Ohio
    25. Sigur Rós: Med ud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
    24. The Shins: Chutes Too Narrow
    23. Ryan Adams: Heartbreaker
    22. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
    21. Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
    20. The National: Boxer
    19. Beck: Sea Change
    18. Amy Winehouse: Back To Black
    17. Kanye West: The College Dropout
    16. Rufus Wainwright: Want One
    15. Patty Griffin: 1000 Kisses
    14. The Strokes: Is This It
    13. Josh Ritter: The Animal
    12. Spoon: Kill the Moonlight
    11. The Hold Steady: Boys and Girls in America
    10. M.I.A.: Arular
    9. The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You
    8. OutKast: Stankonia
    7. Gillian Welch: Time (the Revelator)
    6. The White Stripes: Elephant
    5. Bright Eyes: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
    4. Radiohead: Kid A
    3. Arcade Fire: Funeral
    2. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
    1. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
  • I have about 15 of the paste list - so about the same proportion as my 60 of the pitchfork list. i'm 30 percent cool.
  • That Paste list is full of WTF entries.
  • for example?
  • Yeah, seems to be a lot of overlap (without checking). Do you mean WTF omissions instead?
  • I'd say the Pitchfork list is full of WTF entries.
  • Alright, now eMusic is working on their list. They're doing a top 100 - why is everybody picking a different number?

    #100 The Friends Of Rachel Worth by The Go-Betweens
    #99 Realistes by Comet Gain
    #98 The '59 Sound by The Gaslight Anthem
    #97 Berlinette by Ellen Allien
    #96 The Birds by The Frames
    #95 The Doldrums by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
    #94 Album by Girls
    #93 Aha Shake Heartbreak by Kings of Leon
    #92 Aerial by Kate Bush
    #91 Rook by Shearwater
    #90 Isolation Drills by Guided By Voices
    #89 No Shouts, No Calls by Electrelane
    #88 Goodies by Ciara
    #87 Vi
  • edited November 2009
    A lot of left-field entries on eMusic's list. I'm not complaining, mind you. I'm happy to see some of them, e.g., The Notwist (should have been higher imo); Studio (see The Notwist's paranthetical); Linstrom (see Studio's paranthetical); even Justin Timberlake.
  • Why is #1 now #98? Perhaps Yancey no longer has a say on how albums are rated. His tastes seemed to be in the same territory as those of quite a few of you fellows.
  • "how is their #1 album of last year #98 for the entire decade?"

    They've partially come to their senses?

    And I agree with Daniel, The Notwist - Neon Golden should be MUCH higher. That album was a fixture on my first 2 iPods!

    Annoyingly though, the emu page for this is still region restricted so I can't see it. They did this with some other hub content recently, and, if memory serves, the end of year charts last year too (until they fixed it).
  • Allegedly they are going to start unveiling the list outside the U.S. on the 23rd.

    Craig
  • "They've partially come to their senses?" Haha!

    It surprised me because it seemed like the entire staff absolutely loved the album (personally the samples didn't even remotely grab my attention). Figured it would at least make the top half of the list.

    As far as Yancey goes, I think we were/are almost complete opposites when it comes to indie music.

    I agree that The Notwist is too low - also The Black Keys' Rubber Factory.
  • edited November 2009
    NME's top 50:

    1. The Strokes - Is This It
    2. The Libertines - Up the Bracket
    3. Primal Scream - xtrmntr
    4. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
    5. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Fever to Tell
    6. PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
    7. Arcade Fire - Funeral
    8. Interpol - Turn On the Bright Lights
    9. The Streets - Original Pirate Material
    10. Radiohead - In Rainbows
    11. At The Drive In - Relationship of Command
    12. LCD Soundsystem - The Sound of Silver
    13. The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
    14. Radiohead - Kid A
    15. Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
    16. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
    17. Sufjan Stevens - Illinoise
    18. The White Stripes - Elephant
    19. The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
    20. Blur - Think Tank
    21. The Coral - The Coral
    22. Jay-Z - The Blueprint
    23. Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
    24. The Libertines - The Libertines
    25. Rapture - Echoes
    26. Dizzee Rascal - Boy in Da Corner
    27. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
    28. Johnny Cash - Man Comes Around
    29. Super Furry Animals - Rings Around the World
    30. Elbow - Asleep In the Back
    31. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
    32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
    33. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
    34. Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
    35. Babyshambles - Down in Albion
    36. Spirtualized - Let It Come Down
    37. The Knife - Silent Shout
    38. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm
    39. Crystal Castles - Crystal Castles
    40. Ryan Adams - Gold
    41. Wild Beasts - Two Dancers
    42. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
    43. Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
    44. Outkast - Loveboxxx/The Love Below
    45. Avalanches - Since I Left You
    46. Delgados - The Great Eastern
    47. Brendan Benson - Lapalco
    48. Walkmen - Bows and Arrows
    49. Muse - Absolution
    50. MIA - Arular

    link to Guardian article.
  • lol @ NME.

    Also, this -- "They've partially come to their senses?" -- is totally right. If they'd completely come to their senses, it wouldn't be on the list at all.
  • I'm dumbfounded by that NME list. Even some albums I love (e.g. Wild Beasts), boggle my mind in a top 50 of the decade list.

    Craig
  • edited November 2009
    RE: The Gaslight Anthem. I'm convinced that every year the critics must have one "edgy" band to fawn over to make it seem like they're in touch with what's happening. Last few years, it was the Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend, neither of whom I cared much for, but both reminded me of critically OK influences so I at least "got it." Then came The Gaslight Anthem, who sounded to me like a John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band tribute act. I just never understood the gushing in the least. Growing up in the midwest, I think every local band sounded like these guys (or hair metal) until about 1993. Just don't get it and I'm glad to see the critical revisionism is already beginning.

    Also, I've always found P4K's Clipse obsesson puzzling. And, as long as 50 Cent is non-retired, Kanye will have to accept being second most boring rapper out there. But as for his production skills, the fact that Kanye's (arguably) biggest hit cribs heavily from Ray Charles says a lot more than people are willing to admit.
  • NPR's Top 50 (at least it begins with a Classical selection):

    01. John Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls
    02. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
    03. The Arcade Fire: Funeral
    04. The Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas
    05. Beyonce: Dangerously In Love
    06. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
    07. Bright Eyes: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
    08. Burial: Untrue
    09. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: S/T
    10. Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway
    11. Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
    12. Danger Mouse: The Grey Album
    13. Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism
    14. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
    15. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP
    16. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
    17. Osvaldo Golijov: La Pasión Segun San Marcos (Saint Mark's Passion)
    18. Green Day: American Idiot
    19. Iron And Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
    20. Jay-Z: The Blueprint
    21. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me
    22. Juanes: Fijate Bien
    23. LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
    24. Lil’ Wayne: Tha Carter III
    25. Little Brother: The Listening
    26. M.I.A.: Kala
    27. Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
    28. Mastodon: Leviathan
    29. Jason Moran: Black Stars
    30. OutKast: Stankonia
    31. Brad Paisley: 5th Gear
    32. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
    33. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
    34. The Postal Service: Give Up
    35. Radiohead: In Rainbows
    36. Radiohead: Kid A
    37. Shakira: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1
    38. Sigur Ros: ( )
    39. Britney Spears: In The Zone
    40. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
    41. The Strokes: Is This It
    42. The Swell Season: Once Soundtrack
    43. Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate: In The Heart Of The Moon
    44. TV On The Radio: Return To Cookie Mountain
    45. Various: Garden State Soundtrack
    46. Various: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
    47. Kanye West: The College Dropout
    48. The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
    49. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
    50. Amy Winehouse: Back To Black
  • I'm happy that both Paste and NPR put the soundtrack for Once up there. That has been criminally overlooked. The NME list is even worse due to their arrogance. To be honest, most of the other lists are actually making me appreciate P4K's list even more.

    @CaptainWrong "I think every local band sounded like these guys" - that sums it up for me. The samples reminded me of a cover band I would tune out in a local pub.

    I'm not sure which bugs me more, the bands that get hyped in spite of what I feel is a very generic sound (e.g. The Gaslight Anthem) or bands that I swear people are praising as a joke (e.g. Fuck Buttons). In reality it shouldn't (and really doesn't) bug me that much, but the point of these lists is to get us talking.

    Maybe I should start a thread to discuss the horrible pick of #1 video of the decade by Paste...
  • edited November 2009
    @ Thom
    To be honest, most of the other lists are actually making me appreciate P4K's list even more.
    On its surface, the Pitchfork list is limited to a few subgenres in alternative and electronica. However, each selection is well thought out, the list is very long, and and they tied it to a great sale (via Lala). That meant their list was an excellent vehicle for discovering music. Despite the innovations in their list, NPR produced something that was rather safe. Except for John Adams being at #1, there aren't many surprises, and any consumer who uses NPR to guide their listening probably has all these albums.
  • I love lists - they enable recalcitrant 50's/60's retrohead curmudgeons like me to buy a clue who these people are. And I admit I sometimes find I like some of them. Of course the flip side is that when I find I only have a handful of said entries I know I'm still cool.
  • I would just like to say that I very much like Gaslight Anthem.

    It isn't one of the Top 100 albums of the decade, but I find it to be a great album.

    I agree these lists are making me appreciate the P4K list more though.

    What was Paste's #1 video? I hope it was Beyonce or Kanye will be pissed.

    Craig
  • @Craig - Honestly, that's cool. Too many people won't admit that they like something other people are bashing. :)

    Part of the problem is the extremes everybody goes to - too many people rave about everything they like and rant against everything they dislike. Personally I think Merriweather Post Pavillion and In Rainbows are 2 of the most overrated albums in the past couple of years. But I own and like both of them - I just don't think they are ABSOFREAKIN'LOTELY AMAZING. But if you tell someone you think they are overrated you'll be shouted down!!

    The #1 video is the same situation - B.O.B. by Outkast. Great song and cool video (despite the crappy quality on Youtube), but (to me at least) it doesn't even come close to anything else in the top 5 or the completely overlooked 1234 by Feist.
  • I think Gaslight Anthem is a pretty good album. Maybe the fact that it sounds like the Replacements doing Springsteen initially worked in it's favor, but now there's a backlash of sorts.

    This Video should have made the list, but it was probably too suggestive for the sensitive wusses over at Paste.

    Best vid of the decade has to be this one - absolutely magic!
  • It better be cool! Or....or....or, I don't know what.

    I like MPP quite a bit, and it may well make my 09 Top Ten, but I also don't understand the venom that occurs when someone says they don't like it. Of course, I don't understand venom for someone liking or not liking anything. What do I care if someone listens to Mariah Carey? Sure I find here to be one of the most irritating people on the planet, but there may be people out there (and I know this is shocking) that don't like the Dirty Projectors.

    Craig
  • Are you talking Dirty Projectors where the lens isn't clean and the picture is blurry?

    I don't like that at all.


    Or are you talking about Dirty Projectors that are showing classics such as Debbie Does Dallas?

    I'm fine with that...
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