Not the band, we’re talking about ClashMusic.com: The UK site’s recounting the best albums that have come out during its existence. It might not reap many classics, but it’s a valid exercise, especially for people with short attention spans or failing grades in history. That’s the cynical take. On the other hand, it could work as a nice refresher course in what took place in recent years, since years do have a habit of blending together. The most interesting part is its electronic streak. The least interesting part is a lot of the albums on it. Just to prep you in advance so you don’t hyperventilate: There’s no Grizzly Bear. I won’t give away the winner, but they say this about it: “Frankly, if you don’t own this album (and love, and cherish it), you quite probably don’t deserve to have any music in your life whatsoever.” Got it? Appropriately dramatic words for the collection holding the no. 1 spot:
50 The Killers – Hot Fuss
49 Kasabian – Kasabian
48 Deerhunter – Microcastle
47 Bat For Lashes – Fur and Gold
46 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
45 MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
44 Portishead – Third
43 Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
42 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
41 Santigold – Santigold
40 Late Of The Pier – Fantasy Black Channel
39 Sigur Rós – Takk…
38 Efterklang – Parades
37 Liars – Drum’s Not Dead
36 The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan
35 Hot Chip – The Warning
34 Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes
33 Benga – Diary Of An Afro Warrior
32 Feist – The Reminder
31 Broadcast – Tender Buttons
30 Battles – Mirrored
29 Klaxons – Myths Of The Near Future
28 Tunng – Mother’s Daughter And Other Songs
27 The Libertines – The Libertines
26 Kanye West – The College Dropout
25 Apparat – Walls
24 Burial – Burial
23 Gallows – Orchestra Of Wolves
22 Caribou – The Milk Of Human Kindness
21 Broken Social Scene – Broken Social Scene
20 Sufjan Stevens – Illinois
19 Soulwax – Nite Versions
18 The Bug – London Zoo
17 Brian Wilson – SMiLE
16 Isolée – We Are Monster
15 My Morning Jacket – Z
14 Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
13 Joanna Newsom – Ys
12 Modeselektor – Hello Mom!
11 Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
10 Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
09 J Dilla – Donuts
08 Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
07 M.I.A. – Arular
06 LCD Soundsystem – LCD Soundsystem
05 The Knife – Silent Shout
04 TV On The Radio – Return To Cookie Mountain
03 Kings Of Leon – Because Of The Times
02 Radiohead – In Rainbows
01 Arcade Fire – Funeral
You can read their complete writeup of Funeral at www.clashmusic.com.
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The exclusions of Person Pitch, Apologies to the Queen Mary, Boxer, Twin Cinema, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Separation Sunday are inexcusable. Would love to see From Here We Go Sublime or Before the Dawn Heals Us get some love. Because of the Times is a pretty great album. Not Top 3 great, but somewhere in the Top 50 (especially when juxtaposed to their latest craptacular 3 Doors Down covers record).
I like Kings of Leon, but number 3 is just ridiculous. Silent Alarm should be higher.
No, Silent Alarm shouldn’t be on this list at all.
Some nice entries but really shows how strong albums of lasting value seem to be few and far between.
Needs something from the Pornographers.
where’s Asher Roth???????
Boy, they sure got that list wrong.
the arcard fire funeral album was pretty damned awesome. there are a lot of surprises on there for me… but we all have different taste, eh? many of those are my all time faves. good to see Merriweather Post Pavillion on there, lol.
Surprised to see a couple jabs at The Bug’s London Zoo…I thought it was one of the best albums from 08, and would recommend anyone interested in dancehall or even groups like Massive Attack or Portishead to check out some tracks.
vampire weekend >>>>>> MGMT
and no spoon (gimme fiction!!?!) is a letdown
I’m gonna have to disagree on that one.
*sigh…
I’ve concluded that commenting further on this thread only validates it.
mountain goats?
I’ve concluded that anyone who doesn’t like Kings of Leon just because they’re famous can go SUCK A FUCKING COCK ALREADY. Honestly, GO FUCK YOUR MOTHER.
I liked The Bug album, but #18??? C’mon.
What a bloody awful list. There are a few great albums on there, but the list as a whole is ridiculous, quite frankly. Not all Brits share this rather skewed viewpoint on this subject matter. I say this as an English chap, too.
People should bear in mind that Clash is the same publication that promised completely favourable reviews and increased coverage to any labels or PR companies that would pay for them to go to SxSW. And they did go to SxSW. Makes the list hard to take seriously. Or should I say, makes the list even harder to take seriously
I don’t usually comment…
BUT…..
This is proof positive that the British press shouldn’t write so much music criticism/lists.
Working on a decade best-of list now– with an essay about technology’s massive impact of music’s composition, distribution, etc. over the last 10 years– and this makes me realize just how far ahead of the game I am.
P.S.: Anyone who puts Kings of Leon in a top three on any serious “best of” list is not to be taken seriously. For realsies.
really terrible list.
50 The Killers – Hot Fuss
49 Kasabian – Kasabian
46 Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
45 MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
43 Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid
42 Amy Winehouse – Back To Black
29 Klaxons – Myths Of The Near Future
26 Kanye West – The College Dropout
14 Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
10 Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
03 Kings Of Leon – Because Of The Times
are either shit albums or shouldn’t be anywhere near this list.
I looked for the White Stripes on this list. When I didn’t find them, I disregarded this list immediately.
Nevermind. They decided to include Get Behind Me Satan. I woulda chosen Icky Thump, but whateva.
oh god list comments are hilarious
Born Ruffians “Red, Yellow, and Blue”, anyone?
ANYONE!?
u guys ever eat magic mushrooms? theyre pretty cool, you can expand your mind.
And just where in the hell is AMERICAN IDIOT?! I guess because it sold too many copies Green Day is no longer “hip”, hunh?
jesus christ
Iron & Wine, The National, Spoon > half this list
I few good albums here but placed wrong. Funeral and In Rainbows should be lower, despite the fact that they are awesome. Still not decided on Merriweather, but i’ll leave that because it really is a great album.
Other than that, what bugs me about all of these lists is the lack of Muse, though that’s just my opinion and i’m not gonna hate on the list for that.
probably bc Muse is awful.
Why are there no rock bands on this list?
YESS SILENT SHOUT
because of the times? wow.
This really seems like one of those you’re supposed to argue over. Please, more arguing.
At what point did just playing your intruments, rocking the fuck out and having a good time become unfashionable? Because that’s pretty much what anyone who hates on the Kings of Leon are missing. As someone who has seen the band 5 different times under different circumstances, venues, etc. I can honestly say that the family Followill put on one kick-ass rock and roll show and can write a pretty damn good tune too. For the record, Aha Shake Heartbreak>about 86% of this list……..
P4K gets a 3.4 in Professionalism and so do most of the bands it hypes. I just think that MOST bands nowadays aren’t offering anyone anything really exhilirating. There’s a lot of rehashing and repackaging but a lot less attention to detail or sense of adventure. If I tripped balls listening to MOST of the albums on the above list I would probably see beige.
You’d think with all the cool names out there to drop in music critic circles that there’s a lot of ballsy, creative artistry pervading the industry. Bands that I think these days make great, earnest music are Radiohead, the Flaming Lips, and Mercury Rev (all past their creative peaks), some Mike Patton-affiliated projects, and the Boredoms anco and Dirty Projectors are all interesting enough.
u forgot madvillain dude.
Awesome. They put White Stripes worst album on the list.
like everywhere,everybody is the best selector !
the list is ….??
for curious people listen to the lettin go (Bonnie ),the greatest (Cat Power),it’s never been like that (Phoenix),the midnight boom(Kills),vantage point (Deus),rest your head (Get well soon)armchair apocryphia (A. Bird)23 (Blonde Redhead) Boxer (The National) etc etc …… keep on good work Stereo
PERSON PITCH????
Fuck YES Sufjan Stevens. So talented. I cried the first time I heard that album.
No Hold Steady? You’ve got to be kidding me!
so, putting aside my growing frustration w/gum’s infatuation with finding/criticizing lists (especially UK ones) because I haven’t seen a list of the last 5 years yet, Here are my worthless thoughts:
what I would have included:
Boys and Girls in America, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Person Pitch, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, Ghostface, Antony or Hercules & LA, Emeritus, Hypermagic Mountain
and I would have preferred NOT to see:
Kings of Leon (do i even need to say that), MGMT, Block Party, Hot Chip, M.I.A., In Rainbows
I like a lot of these bands but woudl argue the music biz is so screwed up right now none of us even know who the best are. A lot of these acts are just the best known. My 2 cents..
This garbage is mere pandering to following up to questions of popularity – I mean the Dillers and the Dings of Leon … stadium sludge at its best ah read not very good.. Even the most most banal of yr respondees, i suspect, could put together a better list than that. if any one ever needed proof that the long time ago imperialists have gone mushy between the ears it is contained in this dribble from a bunch of bingeing chavs.
ok i retract. partly. santogold’s OK and my niece’s friend is obssessed about her. but even so Little Jackie’s (WHO? here’s a clue: she’s from Brooklyn) masticates her into little chunks. at breakfast even.
This list is hundred percent totally on the mark in every seeable fashion…
if you have sex with animals.
Lists are a complete waste of time because they’re totally subjective and not everyone will agree. I’m not listening to any of these bands currently. I like the “unknowns” (i.e. the Wallburds out of LA or Ramin Street out of Chicago). WB’s video is cool too http://www.vimeo.com/2672017
NO BEIRUT!!!!?!?!?!?!?!!?
WTF
no white chalk by pj harvey? how can that album be overlooked?
Needs more “The Chemistry of Common Life” by Fucked Up and “Nouns” by No Age.
I have a hard time accepting the fact that Dizzee Rascal’s “Boy in da Corner” didn’t make the cut, but the Killers, Franz Ferdinand, and the Arctic Monkeys did. Same could be said about “Person Pitch”‘s absence as well. Whatevs, these things are essentially just conversation-starters, right? Cool to see Battles on there.
And First Impressions Of Earth by The Strokes?
And Give Me Fire by Mando Diao?
And Only by the Night by Kings Of Leon?
And Up All Night by Razorlight?
The Killers and Hot Fuss #50?
Kasabian and Empire #49?
The Libertines #27? WTF?
Franz Ferdinand #14?
Bloc Party and Silent Alarm #11?
MGMT and Oracular Spectacular #45?
Santigold in that list?
The White Stripes and Get Behind Me Satan #36?
Klaxons and Myths Of The Near Future #29?
Kings Of Leon and Because Of The Times! Yes! But the Rest?
This list is a shit…
They sound nothing alike, regardless of your own personal taste. Maybe you were listening, but you couldn’t hear because your head was so far up your ass.
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