2000-2009:50-41

TOP 50, EVERYBODY!


50)Further Seems Forever - The Moon is Down
Pre-DC Chris Carraba on vocals + post-Strongarm band members = passionate rock 'n' roll. The Moon is Down takes me back to a time of musical discovery, late nights, and most excellent camaraderie. It's the soundtrack to life lived, peaks and valleys and all.
Further Seems Forever - Monechetti

49)Sufjan Stevens - Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lakes State
Any album inspired by the state of Michigan is going to have an underlying undercurrent of depression and lost hope, and Stevens doesn't skim over these things. In fact, Sufjan's most heart-breaking songs are found here. But, as always, there is sweetness amongst the bitter and, utilizing xylophones and banjos and whatnot, he reminds us that there is always cause to rejoice.
Sufjan Stevens - For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
Sufjan Stevens - Holland

48)Aimee Mann - The Forgotten Arm
A concept album about a boxer and his girlfriend and the way they mess up each other's lives, each song stands up on its own even as the unifying story takes its depressing turns.

Aimee Mann - Little Bombs

47)Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Melodic and woodsy (if things pertaining to forestry are accurate ways to describe a music group). The songs are mellow and full of story-snippets, possibly putting Van Occupanther somewhere in neo-folk territory. Hippies will dig it.

Midlake - Roscoe

46)Feist - Let It Die
Let it Die is the better, lesser-known older sister to The Remainder. It's cool and smokey and a wee bit jazzy. And none of the songs appear on Apple commercials (although "Mushaboom" has appeared... somewhere).

Feist - Gatekeeper

45)The Postal Service - Give Up
Okay, so maybe it sounds a bit dated after six years, but these are still good catchy songs. Looking past the peppy novelty of the boops and beeps we hear songs of remorse and regret countered with songs of love and hope. Synth-pop fan or not, there isn't a bad song here.

The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

44)Sufjan Stevens - Come On Feel the Illinoise
Like Michigan, except a little more ornate, a little more celebratory, and a little more... is that a song about John Wayne Gacy? Though not as outright depressing as Stevens' preceding release, Illinois banks on the extremes as it peaks with jubilation and dips into authentically spine-chilling moments.
Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

43)Cat Power - You Are Free
Grittier than The Greatest, You Are Free is just as powerful and more musically diverse. Normally I find guest-vocals distracting, but Eddie Vedder's appearance is perfectly low-key.
Cat Power - He War
Cat Power - Good Woman

42)Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway
Mark Kozelek's songs are gentle and sweeping, yet stripped down and direct. There is nothing extravagant about them, especially the ones found on Ghosts, but they are timed and crafted so perfectly. It's less like listening to music and more like looking at a Flemish painting.
Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio

41)Neko Case - Middle Cyclone
First of all the album cover features Case on the hood of an old Mercury Cougar wielding a sword. Who cares what the songs sound like. But they are good songs indeed. Taking another step away from her country music roots (steering herself in more folksy, more Alt-country directions), she instead turns her attention to nature and goes so far as to record the album in a barn. Despite the fact that I have heard these songs at work nearly every day for the better part of a year I have yet to become sick of any of them.

Neko Case - People Got A Lotta Nerve
Neko Case - Magpie to the Morning