Top Ten Albums of 2003

To continue our series on the best albums by year, let's pick it up at 2003. To check out the rest of the entries, click here. Anyway, here is my list for the best albums of that year:

1. Grandaddy - Sumday - There is, consistently, an air of tragedy in Jason Lytle's voice that really disturbs me. By disturbs, I mean that it has the ability to interrupt my current state of consciousness and really wash over me, drenching me in a sea of melancholy. I don't know exactly where I got this connotation, but the album always reminds me of JD Salinger's short story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", they both have the exact same effect on me. They both make me feel strangely nostalgic and eerily devoid of emotion at all. If I could explain it better, I would. Let's just say that you should own this record.

Stand-out tracks: I'm on Standby, Saddest Vacant Lot in All the World, El Caminos in the West

2. The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium - From the ashes of the short-lived "it" band At the Drive-In comes The Mars Volta, and they came out swinging. With a deft command of language, that defies any expectations for lyrics, these guys also Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's driving guitars and Flea's explosive basswork really elevated this record to another level. In my opinion, they really lost something after this album. I think maybe after the destruction of At the Drive-In, Cedric and Omar had so much pent up aggression and artistic vision that was waiting to be released that it all came out on this first record. What I'm saying is they blew their load early.

Stand-out tracks: Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), Televators, Drunkship of Lanterns

3. Jay-Z – The Black Album - This is Jay's eight studio record, and one of his absolute best. Billed as his final record, there's a motif throughout The Black Album of "farewell", be it through death or retirement. With that motif in place, the album carries a certain weightiness about it, not unlike Notorious BIG's Ready to Die. Luckily, Jay-Z wasn't nearly as prophetic as Biggie, and he's still alive and well. The production (credits include Just Blaze, Kanye, Rick Rubin, and The Neptunes) on the album is stellar, and Jay is just as potent as ever on the mic.

Stand-out tracks: 99 Problems, What More Can I Say?

4. The Fire Theft - S/T Obviously there are going to be comparisons to Sunny Day Real Estate here, so I'll just start off by saying that this record sounds more like The Rising Tide than any other Sunny Day album, being less raw than something like Diary and less emotionally straining than How It Feels, but still harnessing the power of Jeremy Enigk's vocals. Some of the songs can come off as a bit on the sentimental side, but I don't think Enigk has ever tried to hide that side of himself. It's a powerful record, I recommend listening to it with the volume up high.

Stand-out tracks: Heaven, Rubber Bands

5. Outkast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - This now classic double album really blew me away in 2003. It's somewhat of a split EP, with Big Boi mainly being featured on Speakerboxxx (disc 1) and Andre 3000 mainly being featured on The Love Below (disc 2). An interesting route for Atlanta's dynamic duo, but it works. Big Boi's effort feels more like Outkast than Andre's, but both measure up well. Let's just face it, Andre is weird. Does it stand up next to Aquemini? Probably not, but it's still fresh (and clean).

Stand out tracks: Hey Ya!, The Way You Move, Prototype

6. Deftones - Deftones - A very original, and excitingly heavy album, Deftones is both gritty and fun. The guys really wanted to go in a new direction after White Pony, they aimed for a harder sound and it worked. It's a bit of an eclectic album, combining a bit of the old, with some new. The addition of synthesizers and keyboards is welcome within the context of the album and they also included a very accessible single in Minerva.

Stand-Out Tracks: Hexagram, When Girls Telephone Boys

7. Cursive - The Ugly Organ - The Ugly Organ is Cursive's fourth studio album, and one of their best. A concept album, the record takes us into the head of the "Ugly Organist" as he deals with the depravity of his life. The whole thing is intriguing, dealing with lust and betrayal with an adept hand, and reaching its climax at the end of the record with the opus "Staying Alive".

Stand-out tracks: The Recluse, Driftwood: A Fairytale, Staying Alive

8. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief -To be honest, I didn't know what to expect with Hail to the Thief. Kid A was such a game changer that it was hard to figure out exactly what Radiohead could do to follow it up. Hail to the Thief is a decidedly different album than Kid A. It's exploratory, but in different ways than the previous album. Kid A (and OK Computer before it) defied convention and really changed the landscape of pop music. Boundaries are pushed on Hail to the Thief as well, but it's the boundaries of the band, not of pop music. This album marked an excited time to be a Radiohead fan because where the hell could they go from here?

Stan-out tracks: Sail to the Moon, We suck Young Blood, The Gloaming

9. Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon - One of the most rocking albums I have ever heard, Death Cult sounds like a mixture between Danny Elfman, Slayer, and a volcanoe. Usually filed under "Symphonic Black Metal", I urge any metal fan to pick it up, because you shan't be disappointed. This record will castrate your brain with it's intensity. Death Cult is Dimmu's sixth studio record, and Shagrath's vocals haven't ever sounded better.

Stand-out tracks: Progenies of the Great Apocalypse, Allegiance

10. The Unicorns - Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? - This Canadian ban ended their run entirely too soon. Luckily from their ashes sprang forth Islands, but still The Unicorns were an exceptionally good band. Who Will Cut Our Hair starts out with "I Don't Want to Die" and ends with "Ready to Die", everything in between seems to be about taking your lumps and learning acceptance of mortality. Heavy stuff for a sometimes silly band.

Stand-out tracks: Tuff Ghost

Top Ten Albums of 2004

Top Ten Albums of 2004 by The Warfreak


1. Kanye West - The College Dropout - Sure in recent years Kanye has made himself to be one of the biggest asses in show business, but when this record first dropped, so did my jaw. So this was where all the good beats went? Clever, creative, braggadocios, and bold, Kanye sky rocketed into stardom after this record and then began his steady descent into megalomania, but if you go back and listen to The College Dropout again, I'm sure you'll fall right back in love.

Stand-out tracks: Jesus Walks, Graduation Day, School Spirit

2. Arcade Fire - Funeral - The Arcade Fire are most certainly five supremely ambitious Canadians. Funeral was their debut feature length and it was absolutely brilliant, combining frighteningly lonely imagery with baroque musical sensibilities. There are few records that actually can change my mood, and make me feel desperate, but Funeral is one of them. Fortunately, the band chose to sprinkle silver linings into their songs, both musically and lyrically, to keep me from killing myself. Written amidst a barrage of the band members family deaths, the album does feel dirgey, and wouldn't be out of place to play at an actual funeral.

Stand-out tracks: Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), Wake Up, Rebellion (Lies)

3. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes - The avant-garde band's first full studio album release is a very good one. Critically acclaimed, the album featuring a surprisingly popular single in "Staring at the Sun". Desperate Youth really showcases all that was good about the group on their previous album (OK Calculator, har har) but cutting out the fat. Upon first hearing the record, I expected great things from this band and they have not disappointed me so far.

Stand-out tracks: Staring at the Sun, Ambulance

4. Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News - I remember driving around my college town one day in late April of 2004, with the windows down on my truck, when I came to a stop sign. I was listening to this record, fairly loudly, minding my own business, when some guy leaves his front porch and approaches the truck. I was unsure what he wanted, so I prepared myself for anything, but he just calmly said, "Nice album". And you know what, he was right. There's something so summery and fun about Good News that when the it's drive-around-with-the-windows-down weather, there's something so right about this album being on.

Stand-out tracks: Ocean Breathes Salty, Black Cadillacs, Bukowski

5. Air - Talkie Walkie - Air's fourth release is my personal favorite. Produced by Nigel Godrich, Talkie Walkie is an intimate affair that showcases the best of Air. Sounding like a mixture of Brian Wilson, Serge Gainsbourg, and David Bowie, the record just oozes a subtle coolness, like some kind of electronic philosophy caught on wax. And, yes, "Alone in Kyoto" is best known for being the song from Lost in Translation. And, yes, it's still really good.

Stand-out Tracks: Alone in Kyoto, Cherry Blossom Girl

6. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free - I was first introduced to The Streets (aka Michael Skinner) with Original Pirate Material by none other than our very own Pop Newmo. By the time A Grand came out, it seemed like The Streets was only getting better. This time Skinner went bigger, more grandiose, making a concept album about a guy that loses £1000 and is looking to recoup his losses. The whole, fairly uneventful thing plays out on the record, ending with the final track "Empty Cans" that actually has two different endings to choose from. Smooth as ever, The Streets delivers not only a great concept, but a great album.

Stand-out tracks: Fit But You Know It, Could Well Be In

7. Blonde Redhead - Misery is a Butterfly - Marking a fairly large shift in the band's career, Misery is a Butterfly is Blonde Redhead's best album to date. Departing from Touch & Go records, and recording this one on their own dime, the band were really able to make the album they were capable of without having to worry about a label. Of course, the album was later picked up by 4AD, which seems to be the right fit, being the formal label of bands like the Cocteau Twins. Misery is delicately romantic, even while dealing with the sometimes tragic subject matter of loss and woe.

Stand-out tracks: Falling Man, Elephant Woman

8. Madvillain - Madvillainy - This collabo between MF DOOM and Madlib really exemplifies everything that is good about the MC and the producer. There's a real DIY aesthetic to the album that is particularly endearing. Decidedly radio un-friendly, the duo often eschew with choruses, and keep most of the songs short. The mixture of Madlib's unstoppable beats and Doom's intelligent, clever lyrics makes this one of the best albums of the year.

Stand-out tracks: Rainbows, Great Day

9. Get Up Kids - Guilt Show - Getting a little more synth heavy with this their last record, The Get Up Kids shuffled off a lot of the bareness present on the superior On a Wire, but kept things weirdly intimate with tracks like "Is There a Way Out". Overall, the band's final showing is a very good one that is more haunting, and more ambient than any of their previous works.

Stand-out tracks: How Long is Too Long, Is There a Way Out, The One You Want

10. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous - Jenny Lewis (Troop Beverly Hills) and Blake Sennett are back on this, Rilo Kiley's third full length record. The album actually ended up doing pretty successful both with critics and commercially. The main problem that Rilo Kiley has had since inception is how fumbling the lyrics can be, fortunately Lewis vocals are evocative and more powerful than ever on More Adventurous, giving the record some added "umph".

Stand-out tracks: It's a Hit, Portions for Foxes

Top Ten Albums of 2006, Pt. 2

I know I'm a bit behind schedule, but here's my list for 2006:

1. Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
This is what it sounds like to hear the teenage angst behind "White Pony" simmer over time to form top notch alternative metal song writing. The boys from Sac-town have crafted their finest exhibition to date with this one. It still might only be the band's second or even third best record, but that just shows how good the Deftones are when they're on their game.

Stand-Out Tracks: Hole In The Earth, Pink Cellphone


2. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

"Iron Man" is back with the best hip hop release of 2006. One of the best rappers of all time, Ghost has turned in a lasting performance with Fishscale that solidifies his legacy. This one had an extended stay among my most played albums that year, that lasted right at 8 straight months.

Stand-Out Tracks: Three Bricks, 9 Milli Bros



3. Silversun Pickups - Carnavas
My favorite alternative record of the year, this one grabbed me from the first time I heard "Well Thought Out Twinkles" on Lucy 54 on XM radio (now called Lithium54). A smooth blend of soft vocals, cool rhythms, and fuzzy guitars, I still enjoy hearing it when it pops up on my iPod.

Stand-Out Tracks: Well Thought Out Twinkles, Lazy Eye


4. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Creative without being boring, this record put southern gospel in bed with funk, hip hop, and soul. Danger Mouse and Cee-lo burst onto the scene with the inescapable "Crazy" and gave birth to THE hit single of the year, and one of the best pop songs in recent memory.

Stand-Out Tracks: Crazy, Gone Daddy Gone


5. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam

Talk about a band that doesn't quit. The Modern Day Who (as I consider them), PJ keeps cranking out solid album after solid album. Their catalog is so loaded with all-timers that this effort may not get the credit it deserves as one of the group's best, and one of the top rock records of the year.

Stand-Out Tracks: World Wide Suicide, Life Wasted


6. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time
There is just something about this album that makes it feel both raw and orchestral. There is an unavoidable sad-bastard-ness to it, but listening to it doesn't bring you down. That's a very difficult effect to pull off, and makes it one of the best indie rock records of the decade.

Stand-Out Tracks: The Funeral, The Great Salt Lake


7. Justin Timberlake - Futuresex/Lovesounds

This is sexy pop music at its best. The JT/Timbaland combo is basically untouchable when it comes to fresh beats, smooth samples, and singable hooks. Justin does an "Off The Wall" Michael Jackson impression for a new generation. He brought sexy back.

Stand-Out Tracks: Sexyback, What Goes Around, Summer Love


8. Mastadon - Blood Mountain
This young Georgia-born metal outfit is not-so-quietly assembling one of the best overall catalogs in heavy music. In my not-so-humble opinion, this record is their finest work so far. It's as hard and heavy as music got in 2006.

Stand-Out Tracks: Colony of Birchmen, Sleeping Giant


9. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
Smooth rhymes about riding a skateboard around town. What's not to like. It sounds like the best parts of Kanye and Pharrell with 90% less braggadociousness. This record has some of the smoothest hip hop beats of the last 5-6 years, and is still fun to listen to today.

Stand-Out Tracks: Kick Push, Pressure


10. Teddybears - Soft Machine
I dare you to listen to this record without moving your feet or at least nodding your head. It simply can't be done. This band of Swedes have made an electro pop album that I just couldn't get enough of in '06.

Stand-Out Tracks: Automatic Lover, Cobrastyle

Top Ten Albums of 2005, Pt. 1

Top Ten Albums of 2005

Time to bring back the Top Ten Albums (by decade). This time, we take a visit all the way back to 2005. Enjoy and don't forget to post your own lists!


1. The Decemberists - Picaresque - The Decemberists third album is my absolute favorite. Showing off his ultra-literateness, singer-song writer Colin Meloy and company soar to new heights. Hell, even the title of the record is a literary term. Picaresque was recorded in an old church somewhere, and I could definitely see that. Meloy steers this ship on its trek, with theatrics and unparalled imagery that take the listener on a creative journey from parades to suicides.

Stand Out Tracks: The Mariner's Revenge Song, We Both Go Down Together, On the Bus Mall

2. Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard - Chaos is definitely McCartney's best album in years. 2001's Driving Rain was good, with shades of wonderful, but Chaos really takes that spare formula and takes off with it, creating one of the most personal albums of his career. Of course, the addition of Nigel Godrich as producer doesn't hurt a bit.

Stand Out Tracks: Friends to Go, How Kind of You, Too Much Rain


3. Sage Francis - A Healthy Distrust - Sage is back once again in brash, grandiose fashion. He stills comes hard with his anti-hate and overtly political messages, but this time with even more swagger than before. Sure, it's heavy handed, and it's didactic, but it's also well refined, articulate hip-hop. That's not an easy thing to find today.

Stand Out Tracks: Slow Down Gandhi, Escape Artist

4. Kanye West - Late Registration - If Sage Francis is brash, Kanye West is downright narcissistic. With co-producer Jon Brion at the controls, Kanye's sharp tongued, occasional brilliance is elevated into something not seen since The Blue Print, a tongue-in-cheek rapper that spits venom with rare skills, all backed by phenomenal beats, loops, and samples.

Stand Out Tracks: Crack Music, We Major, Hey Mama

5. Sufjan Stevens - Illinois - I doubt that Sufjan's vision of capturing America on fifty different records that are representative of each state is ever actually fulfilled, but what is sure is that Illinois is a great achievement at capturing that enigmatic je ne sais quoi of Americana on one record. When my friend and I road tripped it up to Chicago (to watch the Cubbies, natch), this album was thoroughly worn out. The fact that it fit so well as a soundtrack while actually traversing the state of Illinois is a testament to the power of the record.

Stand Out Tracks: John Wanyne Gacy Jr., The Seer's Tower

6. Ben Folds - Songs for Silverman - Songs for Silverman is a well crafted, sentimental meoldoious piano pop album that harkens back to the 1990's when Folds was set to take up the nerdiest rocker mantle. Songs for Silverman is a little more grown up than say Whatever and Ever Amen, featuring tracks about Folds' young dauther ("Gracie") and even a heartfelt eulogy for the late Elliot Smith ("Late").

Interesting Trivia: Weird Al" Yankovic, who directed Folds' video for "Rockin' the Suburbs," contributes backing vocals to "Time."

Stand Out Tracks: Gracie, Late, Trusted

7. My Morning Jacket - Z - This is one of my favorite My Morning Jacket records. Jim James' voice is really on display here, shinging as it does on tracks like "What a Wonderful Man". A lot of groovy pop stuff mixed with southern style rock and roll proves to be a good mix when it comes from these Kentuckians.

Stand Out Tracks: Wordless Chorus, What a Wonderful Man


8. Queens of the Stone Age - Lullabies to Paralyze - Though Grohl didn't come back this time around from his stint on Songs for the Deaf and despite the fact that Nick Oliveri was fired from the band, Lullabies to Paralyze, is still a hard-rocking, bass thumping album to groove out to. Seriously infectuous, the album is full of great hooks to keep you coming back.

Stand Out Tracks: Tangled Up in Plaid, Burn the Witch

9. Animal Collective - Feels - Animal Collective are a pretty strange band that know how to put together a record. Most bands today don't make records, they compile singles together on album, but it's really hard for me to listen to anything on Feels out of context. You really miss out on the completeness of it that way. The album starts out with what are as close to straight forward pop songs as Animal Collective does, and then morphs into a more organic, ambient beast that kind of lumbers at you like the ghost of some dream you once had. The records finishes with a the perky "Turn in to Something", and I don't think that's by accident, as the album truly is a process of metamorphisis.

Stand Out Tracks: Bees, Grass, Banshee Beat


10. Circa Survive - Juturna - Call me crazy, but I really like Circa Survive. These Pennsylvania rockers get my blood pumping. Sounding more than just a little like At the Drive-In, Circa Survive is a punky, experimental band lead by Anthony Green, former singer of the defunct This Day Forward. For my money, Juturna is one of the best albums of 2005, and it just feels like it needs to be listened to on a summer drive, maybe one with no destination.

Stand Out Tracks: Holding Someone's Hair Back, Stop the Fucking Car

Top Ten Albums of 2006, Pt. 1

Top Ten of '06

Here are Jordan's picks for the best of 2006.

1. Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist - When Saturday Night Wrist came out, I left it in my CD player for three monthes. No kidding. The record is like if you painted a picture of a stunning, naked beauty, but instead of paint, used sludge and muck from the sewer. It's wonderful. It's not the Deftones peak of musical ability, but it is their highest artistic peak as far as song-writing.

Stand-out tracks - Hole in the Earth, Beware, Kimdracula, Xerces

2. Bob Dylan - Modern Times - Dylan is back. Again. I swear, this man is some kind of miracle. Modern Times is a bluesy, twangy, swingy, deep, rich, and amazing record. Again, it's Dylan. We get Dylan's version of classic blues motifs and melodies, melding in those classic themes like lamenting lost love and questioning God, with Dylan's poet's command of language and sentiment.

Stand-out tracks - Thunder on the Mountain, The Levee's Gonna Break



3. Pearl Jam - S/T - Pearl Jam re-emerges from pretty much obscurity with this, their eighth studio record. The band has evolved into something of an anachronistic totem in the midst of all the changes in music. They still play The Who style stadium-guitar rock, write socio-political songs, and want a little bit of crunch in their guitars and may have a solo or two. This album propels them further in to that role, with blue-collar anthem "Unemployable" and intro/retrospective songs like "Life Wasted" and commentary songs like "World Wide Suicide". And I am enjoying the hell out of, because I like The Who, I like Bruce Springsteen, and I like Pearl Jam.

Stand-out tracks - Unemployable, Life Wasted, Gone


4. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife - This is The Decemberists fourth album, and their first on a major label (Capitol). Fortunately, the band has kept in tact their tendency of intelligent, inventive song writing. Colin Meloy really anchors the band with his literate and fanciful lyrics that make for great storytelling, and his fantastically unique voice. The Crane Wife is a more than worthy follow-up to their final album with Kill Rock Stars, Picaresque.

Stand-out tracks - O Valencia!, Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then), Summersong


5. Band of Horses - Everything All The Time - This is the Seattle band's second album (or first, depending on what chronology you want to use) to make my "top list". The best thing about the record is that no matter how intimate the material, lyrically, we are rarely pandered to with balladry or less intensive vocals. Even on the acoustic "St. Augustine", Ben Birdwell still carries it by only softening a little bit. Birdwell does us all a service there, becuause his vocals are really the driving force behind the band, being its best instrument of all. The timbre is something like Neil Young, but with better use of pitch and more melodious. Good stuff.

Stand-out tracks - The Great Salt Lake, The Funeral


6. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale - Ghostface's fifth solo album is, in this reviewers opinion, his absolute peak. Delivering his patented imagery-heavy rhymes accompanied by some very good beats (even without RZA), Ghostface takes us back to the Slick Rick days a little bit with tracks like "Shakey Dog", in which we witness some of that classic, story-tellin' rap. Good stuff.

Stand-out tracks - Shakey Dog, 9 Milli Bros

7. Mastodon - Blood Mountain - A very strong follow-up to the Moby Dick concept album Leviathan, Blood Mountain is just as balls out and in your face, but with even more of weird folklore imagery. Now, of course, mythology has been a metal staple for years, but I don't recall ever hearing a song about a "Cysquatch" (that being a half-cyclops, half sasquatch hybrid). Sonically, Mastodon are terrific. Drummer Brann Dailor kicks provides a driving force behind the band that really sets the tone. It's a tight, very technically proficient albums filled with terrifying woodland creatures, what's not to love about that?

Stand-out tracks - Colony of Birchmen, Capillarian Crest

8. Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways - This was Cash's final album, released posthumously, and he sounds absolutely exhausted on it. The bare, stripped down perfomance suits Cash in his final days. The majority of the songs are covers (including the Springsteen song "Further On Up the Road", which is a stand out), with just Johnny and an acoustic guitar. Rick Rubin has provided us with an extremely bittersweet retrospective of Johnny Cash through his five albums that he produced for The Man in Black, and this one is no exception. If you dig old country at all, you'll enjoy American V.

Stand-out tracks - Further On Up the Road, Like the 309, On the Evening Train

9. Islands - Return to the Sea - Rising out the ashes of Canadian band The Unicorns, Islands are an exciting band that should have a bright future. With their mix of melodious clanging, funky basslines, the occasional MCing, evocative vocals, and a dash of classic pop sensibilites Return to the Sea becomes one amazing record.

Stand-out tracks - Where There is a Will There is a Whalebone, Rough Gem

10.Phoenix - It's Never Been Like That - This French outfit really knows how to put together a smooth record, even with sometimes frenetic energy. Even the instrumental tune "North" keeps your attention. I've read comparrisons to The Strokes, and I can't see it on certain tracks (like "Napoleon Says"), but I really find them a lot easier to listen to, but maybe not as exciting.

Stand-out tracks - Lost and Found, Long Distance Call


- Jordan M.
Sulphur Springs, TX