A raucous thread over at ILM posed the question: who are the best artists and albums of this 21st century? An appropriate question now that we are moving into the decade's equivalent of September or October. It's a good time to begin the process of compilation and distillation of the thousands of releases we've heard.
What follows is a preliminary and (obviously) incomplete list beginning in 2000 and moving through 2007. Things will be added and removed without notice or justification. Diatribes will be made. Debates at Trials will be had.
And that's the point of all this anyway, isn't it?
2000.
Amon Tobin - Supermodified
At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Boredoms - Vision Creation Newsun
Cave In - Jupiter
Deftones - White Pony
Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
Godspeed You Black Emperor - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven
Isis - Celestial
Luomo - Vocalcity
Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
OutKast - Stankonia
Paradox - The Musician As Outsider
Pole - 3
Radiohead - Kid A
Sigur Ros - Agaetis Byrjun
Sleater Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One
2001.
Aphex Twin - Drukqs
Bardo Pond - Dilate
Basement Jaxx - Rooty
Built To Spill - Ancient Melodies Of The Future
Converge - Jane Doe
Daft Punk - Discovery
Fennesz - Endless Summer
Jay Z - The Blueprint
Low - Things We Lost in the Fire
Mogwai - My Father My King
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum - Grand Opening And Closing
stars of the lid - the tired sounds of
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
The Strokes - Is This It
Tool - Lateralus
William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops
2002.
Agalloch - The Mantle
Akufen - My Way
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit - Secret Rhythms
Digital - Dubzilla (add 'Ras 78' as a bonus track)
Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights
Isis - Oceanic
Glassjaw - Worship & Tribute
Mastodon - Remission
Michael Mayer - Immer
Nine Inch Nails - Still
Queens Of The Stone Age - Songs For The Deaf
Sigur Ros - ( )
The Rum Diary - Noise Prints
The Mothman Prophecies OST
2003.
Beehive and the Barracudas - In Dark Love (!!!)
Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It In People
Calibre - Musique Concrete
Cat Power - You Are Free
Eluvium - Lambent Material
Every Time I Die - Hot Damn!
Isis - Celestial
Jay-Z - The Black Album
Madlib - Shades of Blue
Matmos - The Civil War
Matthew Dear - Leave Luck to Heaven
Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Rhythm and Sound - With The Artists
Sleep - Dopesmoker
Sub Oslo - The Rites of Dub
Supersilent - 6
The Knife - Deep Cuts
Tie These Hands & Mr. 1986 - Collective Efforts
2004.
Air - Talkie Walkie
Andrew Weatherall - Fabric 19
Animal Collective - Sung Tongs
Autolux - Future Perfect
Blood Brothers - Crimes
Konono No 1 - Congotronics
Destroyer - Your Blues
ISIS - Panopticon
Joanna Newsom - The Milk-Eyed Mender
Junior Boys - Last Exit (Adding Last Exit [Fennesz mix])
Madvillain - Madvillainy
Meshuggah - I
MIA & Diplo - Piracy Funds Terrorism Volume 1
Rogue Wave - Out Of The Shadow
Seu Jorge - Cru
Wilco - A Ghost is Born
2005.
Akron-Family - Akron-Family
Daft Punk- Human After All
Deaf Centre - Pale Ravine
Deerhoof - The Runners Four
Ewan Pearson - Sci.fi.Hi.fi. Vol 1
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money
Isolee - We Are Monster
Jamie Lidell - Multiply
Kate Bush - Aerial
LCD Soundsystem - Self Titled
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter II
Lindstrom - It's a Feedelity Affair
Low - The Great Destroyer
My Morning Jacket - Z
Open Hand - You and Me
Ricardo Villalobos - Achso EP
Soulwax - Nite Versions
Tera Melos - Self Titled
The National - Alligator
2006.
Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
Ali Farka Touré - Savane
Booka Shade - Movements
Burial - Burial
Cat Power - The Greatest
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury
Destroyer - Rubies
Ghostface Killah - Fishscale
His Name Is Alive - Detrola
Lansing-Dreiden - The Dividing Island
LCD Soundsystem - 45:33
M.A.N.D.Y. - At the Controls Mix
Man Man - Six Demon Bag
My Latest Novel - Wolves
Rhythm & Sound - See Mi Yah Remixes
Skream - Skream!
Tarrus Riley - Parables
The Knife - Silent Shout
Various Production - The World Is Gone
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
2007.
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
Apparat - Walls
Burial - Ghost Hardware EP (add 'Archangel' to this)
Doc Scott - End of the Beginning EP
Efdemin - Efdemin
Faze Action - In The Trees (C2 Remix)
Junior Boys - Like A Child (Carl Craig Remix)
LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver
M.I.A. - Kala
Map of Africa - Self Titled
Matthew Dear - Asa Breed
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
Prins Thomas - Cosmo Galactic Prism mix
Queens Of The Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36
Stars Of The Lid - And Their Refinement Of The Decline
Studio - West Coast
Supermayer - Save The World
Tinariwen - Aman Iman Leau Cest La Vie
Von Sudenfed - Tromatic Reflexxions
