With over 99% of the decade behind us (my decade started in 2000, not 2001), I thought I’d take the time to do a few “best of” lists. Since school’s done for the semester, I hope to put these lists up pretty quick. I’m gonna start with my favorite albums. I will follow this up with a list of TV shows, motion pictures, and novels, but I’ll begin with the least-defensible list. I’d love to hear what your favorites are, too. For the purposes of this list, the albums must have a release date of January 1, 2000 or later.
10. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (Bright Eyes, 2005)
I first listened to this album when a co-worker said, “Here, you might like this.” And I did.
9. Brainwashed (George Harrison, 2001)
Here’s someone who, I swear, never made a bad album. This was his final one, and it’s just as good as his previous albums. I guess there’s nothing on this album that totally blew me away, but each song, taken in and of itself, left me thinking, “that was a good song.”
8. Drunken Lullabies (Flogging Molly, 2002)
This is like rock and roll meets the Renaissance Festival. I have three Flogging Molly albums, and they’re all pretty much the same (so I don’t think I’ll be getting more); but this one’s the best of the bunch. Probably best listened to in an Irish pub following a soocer game. Just a hunch.
7. Don’t Tread on Me (311, 2006)
A fun band that, finally, appeared to have disposed of the rap. This album just seemed to come out at the right time for me. I listened to it in my car rides to and from work in ’05, and it made the car rides quicker. Maybe ’cause I was speeding.
6. Use Your Voice (Mason Jennings, 2004)
I didn’t even know Mason Jennings existed until a year before this album was released, but he’s gotta be my favorite musician of the decade. This is an enjoyable mix of solemn tunes and outright fun ditties. I could probably sing this album from cover-to-cover (does that even make sense?).
5. Surprise (Paul Simon, 2006)
Okay, so I liked You’re the One, Paul’s 2001 effort, but it was kind of slow. I kept wondering if he even bothered to get out of bed to record the thing. I don’t know if he did, but he made up for it with Surprise, for my money, his best album since Graceland. Amazing songs in a rich, sonic landscape (yeah, that’s what the liner notes call it) with, as should be expected from Paul, extremely infectious lines.
4. Songs of Bo ReDoubt (Ryan Sutter, 2006)
I always had this idealized dream of the kind of music my friends could make if all the pieces ever fell together just right, and I think this album is it. When I first heard “Hue & Cry” I thought: “Wow, he actually did it – this is a one of those songs that’s actaully gonna be stuck in my head now!” I really liked it and I kept playing it. In fact, I just checked, and it’s the most played song on my iTunes (and, no, there’s not just 10 songs on there). Oh – the rest of the album is great, too. An eclectic mix harking back to Ryan’s early, weird stuff, plus some great tunes on a variety of deep topics. (Download the album for free at the link provided.)
3. All That You Can’t Leave Behind (U2, 2000)
After waiting nearly a decade for some actual songs from U2 (as opposed to just experiments with electrical equipment), I was quite pleased when I first heard “Beautiful Day” on the radio for the first time, and I immediately went out and bought the album. Though the lead-off track is a great song, there are three or four on the album that are even better. Though the album kind of tapers off at the end, with more of a whimper than a satisfying denouement, it’s still a great album. Too bad they’ve been asleep at the wheel ever since.
2. Century Spring (Mason Jennings, 2002)
See? I told you I liked Mason Jennings. I don’t think I dislike anything he’s ever done, and this album is the cream of the crop. “Sorry Signs on Cash Machines,” “Forgiveness,” “Bullet,” and the title track are all among my favorite songs. This is one strong album.
1. Smile (Brian Wilson, 2004)
I initially listened to this as a favor to a friend, but within the first two minutes, I was hooked. This is pretty much what an album should be – a cohesive, coordinated, concept. It’s not quite pop and it’s not quite avant-garde; it’s whole is better than any genre. It’s – as one of my co-workers titled it – the Dark Side of the Beach Boys. “Mrs. Oleary’s Cow,” incidentally, is my favorite track on the album. It manages to excitedly tell the whole story of Chicago’s Great Fire…without saying a word. One of the critics at the link provided above said: “…quite simply the greatest triumph in the history of pop music.” I whole-heartedly concur. Smile made me smile. It’s Brilliant. Just brilliant.