*That's the name of this blog.
This is a listing of my favorite albums of any year that started with "200". This includes all music from 200 A.D., 200 B.C., etc. However, I haven't found much recorded music from those times, so they might be underrepresented on this list.
Methodology:
For each album, I compared it to every other album (starting from the bottom of the list) until I found an album that was superior. I used the following criteria when comparing albums:
- Estimated number of times I played the albums end to end.
- How much do I like this album right now?
- Former Love Quotient - how much I loved this album in the past
- Which album would I choose to listen to right now?
Now, without further ado, I present my 100 Favorite Albums of Years Starting with "200", with random commentary on each one.
100. These Four Walls - We Were Promised Jetpacks (2009).
Seriously, who doesn't like Scottish accents? Also, where is my jetpack? I need it to fight the moles.
99. Now We Can See - The Thermals (2009).Politically charged punk rock. Why couldn't I have discovered this Portland band when I lived in PDX? I imagine they would have put on a killer show at the Doug Fir.
98. Antics - Interpol (2004).
Fun fact: I resisted Interpol for a long time because I thought they were electronica or something. As it turns out, I was incorrect. Interpol does sound like the name of a crappy European techno band though.
97. Elephant - White Stripes (2003).
My favorite album by a band artistically influenced by a Dutch art movement. Plus, it's an excuse to link to one of my favorite videos of all time.
96. Never Better - P.O.S.* (2009).
You can have your East Coast and West Coast rappers. I'll take the Midwest Coast (Great Lakes Coast? No Coast? Corn Coast?) every time (well, at least this time).
Tangent! When P.O.S. last played in Madison at the High Noon Saloon, he did one of the most awesome things I have seen at a concert: he didn't play an encore. Nope, he just kept playing until he was done (giving us about an extra song). Encores are pretty much played out. Everyone knows the band is coming back out to play more, why go through the charade? The only time encores are meaningful/memorable are when the crowd simply won't accept that the show is over and the band has no choice but to play more songs. This has happened twice to me. The first time was The Hold Steady at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge. The second was The Wrens at Schubas in Chicago. Both times the crowd erupted - we had accomplished something! These were rewards for the crowd. Most encores are punishments (they rob you of songs).
*In college, I was in a fake band with my friends Nate and Garry called P.O.S. It stood for Poop On Satan, which I still find hilarious.
95. Rook - Shearwater (2008).
This is easily my favorite record by a guy who wrote his master's thesis about a bird. It is also my favorite record by a guy who was interviewed in Scientific American. Jonathan Meiburg - you definitely make my Geeks of Indie Rock Hall of Fame* (which is no small feat).
*Other inductees, off the top of my head:
- Colin Meloy (Decemberists) - PhD in Literature
- Brian May (Queen) - PhD in Physics, built his own guitar.
- ummmm....i can't really think of any more
94. Reunion Tour - The Weakerthans (2007).
This one is a fairly recent discovery for me. Lots of songs about Canada, including a song about curling!
93. You Forgot It In People - Broken Social Scene (2002).
This one would rank much higher if I were a real critic and had to consider things like "influence" and "groundbreakingness". It also has the lowest awesomeness per member percentage (APM)* of any album on the list. That's what you get when you have 17 members in your band.
*Awesomeness per member=100/(rank*# of band members)
92. Rockin' the Suburbs - Ben Folds (2001).
Dude rocks the piano, what can I say? Also, college a capella groups love this guy. I'm surprised he hasn't been on Glee yet (maybe he has, I don't actually watch Glee. I side with Community. Go Human Beings!).
91. Dark Was the Night - Various Artists (2009).
The only compilation on my list. There are some clunkers on there (looking at you Riceboy Sleeps), but amazing songs by Yeasayer, The National, and Sufjan Stevens more than make up for it.
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Now playing: Broken Social Scene - World Sick
via FoxyTunes
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