I'm going to have to agree with FKA here. Of course it boils down to personal preferences, but looking at my list from 2001 and 2003, I still revisit 2003 inclusions more.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
2001 better than 2003?

I disagree on the Strokes and Radiohead. I believe Amnesiac and Is This It? to be the far superior releases for those two bands. I'm not a Damien Rice, DBT, or Sufjan fan, so I won't comment there. As for Outkast, Dizzee, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and New Pornos, I think there were some good songs in there, but none of those albums wowed me.

The only real agreement we have is on Elephant, which I already conceded is a great album. However, I'd say White Blood Cells, released in 2001, is just as entertaining.

If I had to make a 2003 top 10, it would look something like this:

1. The White Stripes - Elephant
2. Cat Power - You Are Free
3. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Streetcore
4. Blur - Think Tank
5. Crooked Fingers - Red Devil Dawn
6. Shins - Chutes Too Narrow
7. The Fiery Furnaces - Gallowsbird's Bark
8. The Twilight Singers - Blackberry Belle
9. Guided By Voices - Earthquake Glue
10. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief

I'm not sure if we're counting Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It In People as 2003 or 2002. If 2003, that would probably slip in at #2 or #3.

I'd still take my 2001 top five over my 2003 top five any day of the week.

Personally I thought 2001 was a great year. Some of my favorites from then would be

Fennesz - Endless Summer
The Appleseed Cast - Low Level Owl Vol. I & II
Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
Fugazi - The Argument
Bjork - Vespertine
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Converge - Jane Doe
Examination of... - We Are the Architects of Desire
Four Tet - Pause

All great albums. Not only some of my favorites from that year, but Endless Summer and Low Level Owl are two of my favorite records by any artist from any time period.

I've been meaning to buy that Appleseed Cast album for 6 years now!!

3 of my top five albums of the decade thus far are from 2001: Endless Summer, Discovery, and The Cold Vein.

Additionally, I should mention that Mulholland Dr. also came out in '01, thus refuting ANY gesture that 2001 was, by any stretch of the imagination, a bad year

In no particular order

Angie Stone - Mahogany Soul
Lamb - What Sound
Low - Things We Lost in the Fire
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - No More Shall We Part
Noir Désir - Des Visages, Des Figures
Q-Tip - Kamaal the Abstract (it was never released i know, but it was recorded in '01 and is incredible)
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
Tool - Lateralus
Zero 7 - Simple Things

I agree 2001 to be the worst of the decade, but here's my top 10 (which are all great albums!):

1. Strokes - Is This It?
2. Microphones - Glow Pt. 2
3. Radiohead - Amnesiac
4. Spoon - Girls Can Tell
5. White Stripes - White Blood Cells
6. Whiskytown - Pneumonia
7. Shins - Oh, Inverted World
8. Ted Leo - Tyrnanny of Distance
9. Ryan Adams - Gold
10. Bob Dylan - Love and Theft

I'm sorry, but I just have to reiterate: I really think 2001 was a fantastic year for music -- definitely my favorite year so far this decade. In addition to a number of solid indie rock releases (The Glow, Pt. 2, Is This It?, Girls Can Tell, Mass Romantic, and several others), 2001 presented us with a disproportionately high number of OUTSTANDING electronic albums. If you're at all into the genre, I find it nearly impossible to think of the year as being even remotely lackluster.


Here's some proof:

Endless Summer
Discovery
Since I Left You
Confield
Drukqs
Rooty
Ágætis Byrjun
Vocal City
Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today Is OK
Resuscitation
Idiology
Sound-Dust
Vespertine
Pause
Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives
Life Is Full of Possibilities
Double Figure
Cold House
Hot Shots II
I'm Happy and I'm Singing and a 1,2,3,4
The Cold Vein (ok, so more hip-hop than electronic, but still a heavy electronic foundation)

Can't argue with that!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Platypus Quest,

quote:

Originally posted by jonathanbrisby:
Personally I thought 2001 was a great year. Some of my favorites from then would be

Fennesz - Endless Summer
The Appleseed Cast - Low Level Owl Vol. I & II
Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
Fugazi - The Argument
Bjork - Vespertine
Radiohead - Amnesiac
Converge - Jane Doe
Examination of... - We Are the Architects of Desire
Four Tet - Pause

All great albums. Not only some of my favorites from that year, but Endless Summer and Low Level Owl are two of my favorite records by any artist from any time period.

Thank god someone brought up Fennesz!

I never noticed Endless Summer was in 2001 because I only discovered it relatively recently.

2003 is a roundhouse kick to the personified face of 2001.

Sufjan Stevens, Four Tet, Explosions in the Sky, The Wrens!!!, Radiohead, The Shins, Broken Social Scene!, The Unicorns, Ted Leo, The Notwist, The Strokes, the Postal Service, Manitoba (Caribou), Exploding Hearts, My Morning Jacket, Cat Power, The Decemberists, The New Pornographers...If you can't find much to love in that list, don't bother recommending music!

quote:

Originally posted by BContrat:
2003 is a roundhouse kick to the personified face of 2001.

Sufjan Stevens, Four Tet, Explosions in the Sky, The Wrens!!!, Radiohead, The Shins, Broken Social Scene!, The Unicorns, Ted Leo, The Notwist, The Strokes, the Postal Service, Manitoba (Caribou), Exploding Hearts, My Morning Jacket, Cat Power, The Decemberists, The New Pornographers...If you can't find much to love in that list, don't bother recommending music!

I pretty much agree with this. I even like the 2003 albums by most of the artists you listed!

quote:

Originally posted by RavingLunatic:

quote:

Originally posted by BContrat:
2003 is a roundhouse kick to the personified face of 2001.

Sufjan Stevens, Four Tet, Explosions in the Sky, The Wrens!!!, Radiohead, The Shins, Broken Social Scene!, The Unicorns, Ted Leo, The Notwist, The Strokes, the Postal Service, Manitoba (Caribou), Exploding Hearts, My Morning Jacket, Cat Power, The Decemberists, The New Pornographers...If you can't find much to love in that list, don't bother recommending music!

I pretty much agree with this. I even like the 2003 albums by most of the artists you listed!

That's a nice list, to be sure, but I can come up with an equally lengthy list of notable indie rock releases from '01, not to mention a whole slew of hip-hop albums (Cannibal Ox, Ghostface, Aesop Rock, Deltron 3030), and my aforementioned list of impressive electronic releases.


I'd be willing to say that 2003 was perhaps a more solid year for indie rock, but for all genres of music collectively, 2001 trumps it 10 times over. It's just not even close, really.

No. So far 2001 is second only to 2000 in number of great albums this decade with 13:

quote:

419. Beachwood Sparks – Once We Were Trees (2001)
420. Beulah – The Coast is Never Clear (2001)
421. Frank Black – Dog in the Sand (2001)
422. Calla – Scavengers (2001)
423. Camera Obscura – Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi (2001)
424. Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera (2001)
425. Erase Errata – Other Animals (2001)
426. Alejandro Escovedo – A Man Under the Influence (2001)
427. Ted Leo – Tyranny of Distance (2001)
428. Oneida – Anthem of the Moon (2001)
429. Pernice Brothers – The World Won’t End (2001)
430. Silver Jews – Bright Flight (2001)
431. Sixth Great Lake – Up the Country (2001)
432. Sparklehorse – It’s a Wonderful Life (2001)

Shit, this is a fucking GREAT thread. I just sat here and read the whole thing over again. You can read the passion and insight each of these posters possesses. Some had a ton of posts and a few, I'm seeing their names for the first time. You can read the powerful catalog crazed has, the fantastic rapport FKA and EG75 had developed and how much they each know, Ninny's funny little comments and even some like PRG and mark f who can throw humor in with great recs. Even JGlass is here to state how he first got into music and he shows how he was just a young kid getting music from these great members, good for him!

I will be working on a list maybe tomorrow, if I'm not too damn hung-over (what a night it will be!) that I should be posting. But in the meantime check out this great thread and great albums mentioned!

Here is what I have:

1 The White Stripes - White Blood Cells
2 Bjork - Vespertine
3 Basement Jaxx - Rooty
4 Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
5 Sparklehorse - It's A Wonderful Life
6 Fennesz - Endless Summer
7 Fugazi - The Argument
8 Autechre - Confield
9 Femi Kuti - Fight to Win
10 Unwound - Leaves Turn Inside You
11 Four Tet - Pause
12 Angie Stone - Mahogany Soul
13 Low - Things We Lost In The Fire
14 Aphex Twin - Drukqs
15 Noir Désir - Des Visages, Des Figures
16 Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - B.R.M.C.
17 Whiskytown - Pneumonia
18 Jay-Z – The Blueprint
19 Sigur Ros - Ágætis Byrjun
20 Stephen Malkmus- Stephen Malkmus
21 Kirsty MacColl - Tropical Brainstorm
22 Spoon - Girls Can Tell
23 Zero 7 - Simple Things
24 Mark Kozelek - What's Next To The Moon
25 Frank Black & The Catholics - Dog In The Sand

Mine is something like this:

1. Spoon – Girls Can Tell
2. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
3. The Strokes – Is This It
4. Björk – Vespertine
5. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – No More Shall We Part
6. Andrew Bird – The Swimming Hour
7. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
8. Ted Leo/Pharmacists – The Tyranny of Distance
9. Jay-Z – The Blueprint
10. Bob Dylan – Love and Theft
11. Drive-By Truckers – Southern Rock Opera
12. Radiohead – Amnesiac
13. Bonnie "Prince" Billy – Ease Down the Road
14. Of Montreal – Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse
15. Frank Black and the Catholics - Dog in the Sand
16. Whiskeytown - Pneumonia
17. Stephen Malkmus - Stephen Malkmus
18. Basement Jaxx - Rooty
19. Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
20. Gorillaz – Gorillaz

A top 15 of 2001:

1 Radiohead: Amnesiac
2 The Microphones: The Glow pt.2
3 Sigur Ros: Agaetis Byrjun
4 The Strokes: Is This It
5 The Shins: Oh Inverted World
6 Fennesz: Endless Summer
7 Sparklehorse: It's A Wonderful Life
8 White Stripes: White Blood Cells
9 Rufus Wainwright: Poses
10 Andrew Bird: The Swimming Hour
11 The Avalanches: Since I Left You
12 Prefuse 73: Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives
13 Air: 10 000 Hz Legend
14 Björk: Vespertine
15 Daft Punk: Discovery

2001 is a little weak compared to surrounding years but I wasn't really into rock music back then so everything I know from that year today I had to go back and find. It's definitely easier to discover more obscure albums when you're dealing with the present as opposed to 8 years ago. My mainstays from that year include:

Strokes - Is This It?
Spoon - Girls Can Tell
American Hi-Fi - S/T
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - BRMC
Sugarcult - Start Static
Starflyer 59 - Leave Here a Stranger
Kings of Convenience - Quiet is the New Loud
Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
Elbow - Asleep in the Back
Travis - The Invisible Band

quote:

Originally posted by Elitist_Pretentious:

Sugarcult - Start Static

What an elitist pick!

Actually, I listened to a fair amount of pop-punk back in 2002-2003, and this is an album I really enjoyed. I don't think all of it stands the test of time, but much of it does, particularly "Hate Every Beautiful Day," which was always my favorite song off of the album.

I like to think I've "outgrown" that stage in my music tastes but I can't deny that a lot of stuff that came out back then (and even a few years later) is very fun to listen to. I have no qualms about admitting as such.