Best-Ever Albums Lists

100 Best Albums of the 2000s

The most important albums of the '00s as chosen by more than 100 artists, critics and industry insiders

All through the last decade, you'd find a lot of people insisting that the album was dead, a victim of the MP3, the iPod and a la carte downloading. But that never happened. If anything, artists doubled down on the format, resulting in a renaissance of long form artistic statements from a wide range of artists. This list of the decade's 100 best albums includes the work of rock revivalists (the Strokes, the White Stripes), dance floor visionaries (M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem), hip-hop icons (Jay-Z, Eminem, Kanye West) and old standbys like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and U2, who reinvented their sound without losing touch with what made them living legends. This list is not just an argument in favor of the enduring appeal of the album format, but a compelling case that some of the best music of all time came out between 2000 and 2009.

100		Leonard Cohen – Ten New Songs (2001) [MP3] Folk-Rock
99		The Hold Steady – Almost Killed Me (2004) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
98		TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
97		Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (2007) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
96		The Streets – Original Pirate Material (2002) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
95		Alicia Keys – Songs in a Minor (2001) [MP3] R&B
94		The Libertines – Up the Bracket (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
93		Johnny Cash – Unearthed (2003) [MP3] Country
92		Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago (2008) [MP3] Folk-Rock
91		The Hives – Veni Vidi Vicious (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
90		Amadou & Mariam – Dimanche a Bamako (2004) [MP3] Raggae/Dancehall/Ska
89		Radiohead – Hail to the Thief (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
88		Brian Wilson – Smile (2004) [MP3] Rockabilly/Psychobilly/Rock'n'Roll
87		Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere (2006) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
86		The Postal Service – Give Up (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
85		Coldplay – Viva La Vida (2008) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
84		Eminem – The Eminem Show (2002) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
83		The Black Keys – Attack & Release (2008) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
82		Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R (2000) [MP3] Classic/Hard
81		Ryan Adams – Gold (2001) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
80		Kings of Leon – Youth and Young Manhood (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
79		The New Pornographers – Electric Version (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
78		Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
77		Yo La Tengo – And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (2000) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
76		Sigur Ros – () (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
75		Arcade Fire – Neon Bible (2007) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
74		Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium (2006) [MP3] Alternative/Nu-metal
73		Coldplay – Parachutes (Limited Edition) (2000) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
72		Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (2005) [MP3] Punk
71		Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand (2004) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
70		Missy Elliott – Under Construction (2002) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
69		Bright Eyes – Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
68		U2 – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004) [MP3] Pop-Rock/Soft Rock
67		Bjork – Vespertine (2001) [MP3] Trip Hop/Abstract Hip-Hop
66		Antony and the Johnsons – I Am a Bird Now (2004) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
65		Manu Chao – Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
64		Gillian Welch – Time the Revelator (2001) [MP3] Country
63		Kanye West – 808s and Heartbreak (2008) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
62		Johnny Cash – American III Solitary Man (2000) [MP3] Country
61		The Shins – Oh, Inverted World (2001) [MP3] Jazz
59		Interpol – Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
58		Danger Mouse – The Grey Album (2004) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
57		Death Cab for Cutie – Transatlanticism (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
56		Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend (2008) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
55		Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Raising Sand (2007) [MP3] Folk-Rock
54		Norah Jones – Come Away With Me (2002) [MP3] Jazz
53		Kings of Leon – Only By the Night (2008) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
52		M.I.A. – Arular (2005) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
51		Spoon – Kill the Moonlight (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
50		Bright Eyes – I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning (2006) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
49		Fiona Apple – Extraordinary Machine (2005) [MP3] Jazz
48		TV on the Radio – Dear Science (2008) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
47		Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
46		Justin Timberlake – FutureSex-LoveSounds (2007) [MP3] Pop
45		Kanye West – Graduation (2007) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
44		System of a Down – Toxicity (2001) [MP3] Alternative/Nu-metal
43		The Killers – Hot Fuss [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
42		Elliott Smith – Figure 8 (2000) [MP3] Folk-Rock
41		Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
40		Kanye West – Late Registration (2005) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
39		Kings of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak (2006) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
38		Ryan Adams – Heartbreaker (2000) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
37		50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
36		U2 – No Line On The Horizon (2009) [MP3] Pop-Rock/Soft Rock
35		PJ Harvey – Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
34		OutKast – Speakerboxxx-The Love Below (2003) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
33		Daft Punk – Discovery (2001) [MP3] House
32		Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III (2008) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
31		My Morning Jacket – Z (2005) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
30		Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
29		Sigur Ros – Ágætis Byrjun (2000) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
28		Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever to Tell (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
27		The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (2002) [MP3] Alternative/Nu-metal
26		Cat Power – The Greatest (2006) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
25		Radiohead – Amnesiac (2001) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
24		Bruce Springsteen – Magic (2007) [MP3] Folk-Rock
23		D’Angelo – Voodoo (2000) [MP3] Pop
22		Green Day – American Idiot (2004) [MP3] Punk
21		Coldplay – A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
20		Amy Winehouse – Back to Black (2007) [MP3] Jazz
19		The White Stripes – White Blood Cells (2001) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
18		MGMT – Oracular Spectacular (2007) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
17		Beck – Sea Change (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
16		OutKast – Stankonia (2000) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
15		Bruce Springsteen – The Rising (2002) [MP3] Folk-Rock
14		Jay-Z – The Black Album (2003)[MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
13		U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) [MP3] Pop-Rock/Soft Rock
12		LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver (2007) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
11		Bob Dylan – Love And Theft (2001) [MP3] Folk-Rock
10		Kanye West – The College Dropout (2004) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
9		M.I.A. – Kala (2007) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
8		Bob Dylan – Modern Times (2006) [MP3] Folk-Rock
7		Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP (2000) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
6		Arcade Fire – Funeral (2005) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
5		The White Stripes – Elephant (2003) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
4		Jay-Z – The Blueprint (2001) [MP3] Rap/Hip Hop
3		Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
2		The Strokes – Is This It (2001) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk
1		Radiohead – Kid A (2000) [MP3] Indie/Post-Rock/Post-Punk

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