50
The Wrens
Meadowlands
(Absolutely Kosher)
49
Animal Collective
Sung Tongs
(FatCat)
48
Beck
Sea Change
(Geffen)
47
The Hold Steady
Separation Sunday
(Frenchkiss)
46
MGMT
Oracular Spectacular
(Sony/Columbia)
45
Spoon
Kill The Moonlight
(Merge)
44
My Morning Jacket
Z
(ATO)
43
Animal Collective
Strawberry Jam
(Domino)
42
Bloc Party
Silent Alarm
(Vice)
41
Grizzly Bear
Yellow House
(Warp)
40
Ryan Adams
Heartbreaker
(Bloodshot)
39
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
(XL)
38
The National
Alligator
(Beggars Banquet)
37
The Avalanches
Since I Left You
(Modular)
36
The Flaming Lips
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
(Warner Bros.)
35
Arcade Fire
Neon Bible
(Merge)
34
Daft Punk
Discovery
(Virgin)
33
The Knife
Silent Shout
(Mute)
32
OutKast
Stankonia
(LaFace/Arista)
31
TV On The Radio
Return To Cookie Mountain
(Interscope)
30
The Microphones
The Glow Pt. 2
(K)
29
Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say, That’s What I’m Not
(Domino)
28
Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
(Warp)
27
of Montreal
Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
(Polyvinyl)
26
Radiohead
Amnesiac
(Capitol)
25
The Hold Steady
Boys And Girls In America
(Vagrant)
24
Bright Eyes
I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
(Saddle Creek)
23
Sigur Ros
Ágætis Byrjun
(FatCat)
22
The White Stripes
Elephant
(V2)
21
Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes
(Sub Pop)
20
The Postal Service
Give Up
(Sub Pop)
19
Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion
(Domino)
18
Death Cab For Cutie
Transatlanticism
(Barsuk)
17
Joanna Newsom
Ys
(Drag City)
16
The White Stripes
White Blood Cells
(V2)
15
Animal Collective
Feels
(FatCat)
14
LCD Soundsystem
Sounds Of Silver
(DFA)
13
Wolf Parade
Apologies To The Queen Mary
(Sub Pop)
12
The National
Boxer
(Beggars Banquet)
11
Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago
(Jagjaguwar)
10
Interpol
Turn On the Bright Lights
(Matador)
9
Panda Bear
Person Pitch
(Paw Tracks)
8
Modest Mouse
The Moon & Antarctica
(Epic)
7
Broken Social Scene
You Forgot It In People
(Arts & Crafts)
6
Radiohead
In Rainbows
(TBD Records)
5
Sufjan Stevens
Illinois
(Asthmatic Kitty)
4
The Strokes
Is This It
(RCA)
3
Wilco
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
(Nonesuch)
2
Arcade Fire
Funeral
(Merge)
1
Radiohead
Kid A
(Capitol)
 |
 |
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This is just about the most accurate list of top albums of the decade compiled thus far, good job! FIRST
Totally agree. Great list.
I’m half-surprised to see that I own every single album on this list, some even on CD!
The Postal Service? Death Cab for Cutie? Who made this list anyway? Zach Braff? On second thought, this list is too white even for Zach Braff. And any list for the decade without MIA deserves only contempt.
How about that? BSS!
Yellow House below Veckatimest. Tisk, Tisk, Tisk.
thank you! everybody is drinking too much veckatimest koolaid.
yellow house > veckatimest (ALL DAY LONG!!!!)
Yellow House=Veckatimest both are amazing.
I think they are both exceptional albums, just different beasts. Hard Choice.
Apparently a decade equals about 3 years for most Stereogum readers. Must be all that acid they dropped in the early 00′s.
Number of Albums, Avg Position by Year:
2000 – 5, 23.6
2001 – 6, 22.2
2002 – 6, 24.8
2003 – 4, 27.5
2004 – 2, 25.5
2005 – 8, 28.5
2006 – 6, 29.3
2007 – 9, 22.6
2008 – 2, 30
2009 – 2, 23.5
Yay for math?
What is the internet slang for what just happened here? Was I just pwned? Apologies, here is my hipster card. Please deduct 8 points. I’ll trust you to only take away 8 as I suck at math.
And 2007 was indeed the best year of the decade.
Wow I can’t believe my top pick (…Trail of Dead “Source Tags and Codes”) didn’t even crack the top 50!
The lack of Sunset Rubdown disturbs me. And seriously, that MGMT album is one of the best of the decade? You crazy for this one, Stereogum.
Its not Stereogum, it’s their lack of taste readers’ fault.
This list may have even out-hipstered Pitchfork
What a poor representation of our past decade.
nah, this is pretty good. you can’t please everyone. Don’t think MGMT, Bright Eyes, or any Ben Gibbard project desevie to be on here though. It’s pretty hard to believe Neon Bible isn’t on here, feel like I must be missing it
See #35.
A real shame to see Beirut and Destroyer both shut out, despite numerous amazing albums between them.
I agree that Streethawk: A Seduction should’ve been included, the songwriting is brilliant ont hat album. Also I would have to say there’s a lack of some good rap albums, check out Cunninglynguists, Masta Ace, Kanye, UGK, and a couple Common albums
The Moon & Antarctica and The Glow Pt. 2 are highly rated! GREAT JOB VOTERS!!!
This one is breathtaking. Wow. Stereogum readers did this with only 1 vote each?
too much AC, too little YYYs.
I’m actually really glad Silent Alarm made it. Good job everyone on not being rendered blind by hipster backlash (in this case at least).
Bon Iver at 11? It’s obviously really good, but that’s clearly way too high. Glad to see Feels topped MPP. Solid top 10. Final thought…where’s Destroyer’s Rubies? It was probably denied inclusion due to it rarely being selecting at for the #1 album, but I’d venture to say a lot of people would put it in their top 10-20.
Ugh. The only thing more obnoxious than stereogum readers applauding the list that stereogum readers created — is stereogum readers criticizing the list that stereogum readers created.
or perhaps the stereogum readers reading the posts just to put down other stereogum readers for having opinions
Lots of AC…..BUT….
Sung Tongs > Strawberry Jam > Feels > MPP
Oh no, WE FORGOT YEAH YEAH YEAHS!
In Rainbows? Really? 6th best album of the decade?
No Yo la tengo in the top 50 :D
Dude who won’s gonna have a pretty sweet Animal Collective record collection.
stereogum folks is white. where all my nigga albums at?
and stankonia don’t count
Haha, I love that Stankonia doesn’t count.
I enjoy AC but I’ll be goddamned before I’ll say they released four of the 50 best albums of this decade. Too much techonology is used for there brand of music, which makes them two steps away from 3oh!3
You took it too far with 3oh!3, but not far enough in that you forgot Panda Bear landed at 9 all by his lonesome.
I would cut two AC albums to make room for YYYs and Dirty Projectors in order to have a more accurate representation of the same core group of listeners, but that’s just me.
Needs more Super Furry Animals.
Wide Awake is here but LIFTED doesn’t even chart? ouch.
would have been nice to have been able to listen to these albums too
About fucking time. Finally a list worth blogging about. Seems like great hipster-minds do think alike after all. Very respectable list. Pat yourself in the back for me Stereogum.
sums up the decade for me other than a few selections it’s spot on!! well done readers:)
Um…no Jay-z, Kanye West, Blur, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Johnny Cash, Libertines, Franz, Brian Wilson, MIA, or Eminem? Come on Stereogum readers.
I know… Hip/Hop isn’t represented at all. Madvillain is missing too. This is a Pitchfork Pt. II list in my opinion
you people think like i think
If Blueberry Boat landed on here, this list would be perfect
It brings a smile to my face to see Wolf Parade at 13. Apologies To The Queen Mary is an amazing album. There follow-up was good but not as great. Either way, I want more from them.
Anyone else noticed that there is ONE hip-hop album on that list?
Phrenology? Blueprint? Supreme Clientele? Late Registration? Madvillainy? MM…Food? ANYBODY?
I voted for the Blueprint……
This list has made alot of white people very happy
Donuts? Fishscale? The Cold Vein? Hall Hath No Fury?
there’s at least 20 hip hop albums released this decade better than everything ben gibbard has ever done.
this list sucks. it’s worse than pitchfork’s.
yep yep yep.. read it and weep.. apologies #13! being the biased fan that i am… id rather see them at #1 but i will take 13. im running down this list ..and all im thinking is where did you put them? as i know that when anyone mentions the decade.. there will be apologies to queen mary. and of course silent alarm will always be there as well… wish bloc party would return to their original style.
Definitely the best list I’ve seen. Reading through this just felt good. It just gets more and more right as you go on. I was so tired of seeing lists without things like Discovery, Illinois, Hissing Fauna, or Sound of Silver.
I am apparently the only person on Earth that thinks Lifted, and maybe be even Cassadaga, is a little better than I’m Wide Awake. Whatever, great job guys.
I’m also baffled that nearly everyone seems to think I’m Wide Awake is better than Lifted (except for Pitchfork, who strangely put Fevers and Mirrors far down on their best of the decade list and didn’t include any other Bright Eyes albums at all… I guess Conor Oberst isn’t hip anymore for some reason?). Up until all of the best of the decade lists started coming out I’d always assumed it was the other way around. As far as I’m concerned though, Lifted is Oberst’s masterpiece thus far. (I’m not with you on Cassadaga though. I even thought the Four Winds EP was better than Cassadaga.)
It is surprising that the list came out like this with the one vote each thing. What a great top ten.
It is surprising that the list came out like this with the one vote each thing. What a great top ten.
Not bad, but I am really surprised Dragonslayer, Microcastle, and And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out didn’t make the top 50.
I’m also very impressed with the quality of the list considering everyone only had one vote. And yeah, of course it’s a bit white bread – but so is Stereogum and the people who read it. It’s not shocking, it’s simply demographic bias. Personally I think the most glaring omission is M.I.A., but eh, nothing’s perfect.
And further kudos to Stereogum readers for getting #1 right. Any Best Album of the 2000s list that doesn’t have Kid A at the top is lying to itself.
Seriously, there’s nothing wrong with most of these selections, but the overall list is almost embarrassingly white. It’s like hip-hop didn’t even happen.
does animal collective run this site? haha. i FUCKIN love animal collective…but really…a top list shouldn’t repeat in my opinion. and ya you almost threw me off with outkast but still an indie rock list. black people music is much more fun. all that poetry takes is a broken heart. and i’m not even black. where’s my trip hop at?!
No list is ever going to satisfy everyone (or anyone completely), but all in all this list is not too bad. I would make a lot of changes, but who wouldn’t?
pretty good polling I would say.
Daft Punk – Discovery is #1 not freaking 34… Discovery was a revolutionary album! Nothing revolutionary happened in this top 10. This list is really kind of screwed because there was only one vote I think. The barrage of “I’m not going to take more then 17 seconds to think about this” entries is best represented mostly by Arcade Fire, Radiohead, and Animal Collective. Ten years is a long time and deserves at least a 10min jaunt down iTunes library/CD Book/Record collection.
apparently this revolution was not televised
this is pretty nice work, everybody.
obviously people’s individual tastes would switch the order up and change some out, but if you remove the numbers from the list and make it unranked, this is a really solid collection.
Animal collective is a joke, but I guess its better than ranking Green Day up here.
Animal Collective is a pretty good band. However, they are noooooooot good enough to compose 1/10th of the entire list (including Panda Bear). That is ridiculous. Boo-urns.
Also, Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem must be moved higher. It’s an imperative. Or else all that business from 2012 is gonna start going down. The Mayans predicted it. They loved Sound of Silver.
I think this is a great list overall. However…
TWIN CINEMA? GA GA GA GA GA? XIU XIU? WHY?? FIERY FURNACES? BLOOD BROTHERS? BITTE ORCA? LIL WAYNE? and…BJORK?
Sorry, I rambled. Still, good list.
a little more rap needed and Postal service too high but overall probably the best list i ve seen this year (and for the rap being a black person who went to public school in baltimore of all places,heard aughties rap everyday from random ringtones and street corners, aughties rap was just terrible,of course there were masterpieces but not everyone thought so, not like indie rock has done for the aughties anyway
animal collective definitely have some of the best songs of the decade. None of the best albums however.
No love for Clap Your Hands Say Yeah???
This list is crap….. two big omissions: The Shins and The New Pornographers. Any of their albums could be in the Top 25. Also, Hip-Hop??? did we miss EL-P, Murs, Clipse, Ghostface, and Kanye West…
3 words.
Where’s “Cripple Crow”?
2 words.
Where’s Devendra?
No Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven??? Big mistake.
Otherwise a fucking great list.
Did Pitchfork do this list???
No Furnaces or Sleater-Kinney? What gives?
I cannot believe that there’s no love for the New Pornographers or YYYs. Both original and and high quality. Perhaps they have too many melodies. Plus, only one Spoon record? Gimme Fiction is their best.
Funny how white the list is too. Actually, not funny – weird and sort of sad.
I wish “The Photo Album” were on this list instead of “Transatlanticism.” Ben Gibbard peaked lyrically, and the band peaked musically, on “We Have The Facts …” and that album.
I’m also disappointed that “Oracular Spectacular” made the list.
But overall it’s pretty good. I’m glad “Hissing Fauna” got some props.
AGREED! My favorite of Montreal album.
So many incredible albums. Boxer, Alligator, Transatlanticism ect..
yeah I have to admit this really seems like the best list I’ve seen around. Wasn’t expecting that. I guess stereogum readers have more similar taste to my own than the comments would generally lead me to believe.
Every Animal Collective album ever made (okay, I exaggerate), but no New Pornographers, Neko Case, Metric, or K’naan? C’MON! And for that matter, if you’re going to include the “love or hate” groups like Animal Collective or Of Montreal (both of whom do deserve their place), then why not Cat Power, Belle & Sebastian, Decemberists, or Yo La Tengo? One of the better lists, but obviously not, IMHO, perfect. (Not that any of these lists ever is.) The Pitchfork dig (HA!) may not be deserved, but I am surprised that Stereogum failed to appreciate the importance or longevity of albums it failed to include such as those mentioned in all these comments. BTW, I really wish just ONE of these lists would only include ONE album by each artist. Do the heavy lifting and figure out which one is THE most influential and will have the most staying power over the years as opposed to just listing all your faves. Even the lists that include the Beatles usually only include about two or three albums for cripes sake. (Usually Revolver, Sgt. Pepper, and/or the White Album, because they were the ones that changed the landscape of ALL OF ROCK AND ROLL.) If any band deserves a handful, it’s the Beatles. And maybe Radiohead. Not Animal Collective.
Sea Change needs to be higher.
Gonna be pricey for InSound to pony up Ágætis Byrjun on vinyl
They shoulda had a Walkmen album on there. You and Me or Bows and Arrows
So, apparently stereogum hates rap. :(
The fact that there is a Black Eyed Peas ad at the top of this page completely legitimizes this list. Seriously, there’s only one rap album in the top 50 of the decade? And Animal Collective is completely over represented on this list.
All these lists are definitely missing a very important album: Drum’s Not Dead by Liars
Why is everyone complaining about this list being too ‘white’? For the most part, only white people read this site!! If there were a lot of hip hop albums on it we’d just be lying to ourselves.
Missing: Black Dice, Deerhunter, No Age, Fennesz
I applaud Steregoum on this years Gummy selections. Very agreeable and satisfactory results!
Not enough Animal Collective
people seem to miss the gap between socially great albums and personally great albums.
kid a, yankee hotel foxtrot and elphant belong up there. also silent alarm.
animal collective is kind of irrelevant to people who don’t do a lot of drugs.
M.I.A. seriously not on this list.
that top 3 is so beautiful and spot on
eh, expected a better overall list though
I have no problem agreeing with this list.
this list is pretty blah. way too much ac. they kind of suck, total hype driven music. its just plugging in different riffs and sounds into bland melodies. once AC’s novelty wares off there’s nothing to be had from their remarkably bad sound. and Btw where is repo? yyy’s or deerhunter?
I must be the only person who thinks that “White Blood Cells” is pretty damn boring from start to finish. It’s got three or four really good songs on it, but the rest of it is just white-boy posturing–and not even good posturing at that. I can see “Elephant” or even “Icky Thump” over “White Blood Cells” but apparently I am WAY in the minority here.
Someone explain before my brain bleeds to death.
Please.
love the list…impressed that there are still a few people who remember how great YHF was (in fact 1-2-3 are probably my top 3 in that order).
Why is everyone listing Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights, but not Antics? Both are amazing, but Antics wins hands down!
This is definatly the best list i have seen compiled so far
What about DNTEL? Surely Life is Full of Possibilities is better than the Postal Service
Five words;
Where is Fever To Tell?
i don’t mean this in a dismissive way, but–
it’s funny how most people seem to be satisfied with Kid A ranking highly
while lobbing the same criticisms at animal collective
that Kid A faced when it was released (“too electronic, no songs”)
i love albums that underwhelm me at first only to ultimately expand my horizons
and pitchfork or no pitchfork animal collective did that the most for me personally this decade.
still confused about no lifted, though, and maybe the wrens can write a new album in time for 2020.
clap your hands say yeah????????????
I love that “Apologies to the Queen Mary” is on this list – it’s been on far too few.
I’m I the only one that thinks Spoon is simultaneously the most under-rated and respected band? 1 album when Animal Collective has 4? I do appreciate the National doubling up though. let’s take radiohead out of the mix and see some lists.
very nice. But Postal Service rated above Fleet Foxes? Dying a little inside. And I like Merriweather Post Pavilion, but ACs other albums aren’t worthy of this list.
Super agree with Bon Iver, The National, Bright Eyes, LCD Soundsystem
Animal Collective? 4 times? Really? The Beach Boys were terrible in 1967, and their acolytes are terrible. This list needs more Spoon and where are the Thermals?
it’s so interesting that Midlake’s ‘Trials of Van Occupanther’ isn’t making anyone’s best of the decade list. it’s a masterpiece. i don’t think i’ve listened to one album more than that one and ‘Kid A’ over the last ten years.
this sucks
This is on of the best end of decade lists that I’ve seen. It’s missing a few things I would of included but you can’t please everybody.
Y’all’ve been brainwashed. Animal Collective and Panda Bear don’t deserve 10% of this list. Maybe….one spot….for effort. But not five. Kanye should own at least one of those spots. There are many more deserving albums like The Walkmens’ “Bows and Arrows” or “You and Me,” Wolf Parade’s “At Mt. Zoomer,” “The Body the Blood the Machine” by the Thermals, Nas’ “Hip Hop is Dead,” Feist’s “The Reminder.” Etc. Those could replace Joanna Newsom and Fleet Foxes and Bright Eyes’ suckfests. And where the hell is Danger Mouse’s “Gray Album”??!??! The Rapture’s “Out of the Races…” EP should be on here as well. Loretta Lynn’s “Van Lear Rose” should be on here. “Gimme Fiction” too.
you mean WAY TOO MUCH animal collective. its boring and repetitive; 2 albums shouldnt belong up there, if even one. if pitchfork really did make this list, all the animal collective eps would be 1-10….. if you’re looking for a list like that, go to pitchfork
Zzzzzzzzzz……. I find it so funny that there isn’t 1 hip-hop or metal record on here. Radiohead is not the end all be all of music, Spoon is terrible, and Animal Collective is WAYY overrated! but thats just me.
Ys at #17 (Higher than MPP) makes me VERY happy
shitty list.
sad decade.
shitty list.
sad decade.
Sea Change at 48…….. shame on you, tsk
This is all right. Kind of weird that MGMT is on here.
This is the whitest “Best Albums of the Decade” list ever, are you telling me that one album made by black people qualifies as the best of the decade in a list of 50 albums? In 32nd place no less.