Joe Scott's Take On....Albums of The Decade

When we first launched LOT, two of the categories of mooted blog filed under 'try to avoid' were "lists" and "overly musicy stuff". So, it serves as a chilling reminder of just how weed-infested, cobwebby & neglected it has been round here that I am combing those two taboos to throw my sentimental geek muso posing hat into the already swarming ring that is "end of decade run downs". The only selection criteria being: I have to own the full, proper, released album - here IMVVVVHO ;

2000. Album Of The Year: Heartbreaker ~ Ryan Adams

Easily. A total classic, would have a strong claim to being album of whichever year it was released in (except 94). Contains several songs that need to be 'rationed' because they're so powerful, as well as some that could be listened to over & over again. I am unabashedly in love with RA (as the numerous appearences further down bely) and see brilliance in pretty much everything he does, but he's never bettered this debut.

#2 QOTSA ~ Rated R

#3 Eminen ~ Marshall Mathers LP

#4 JJ72 ~ (epon)

#5 The Cure ~ Bloodflowers

#6 Belle & Sebastian ~ Fold Your Arms....

#7 Radiohead ~ Kid A

#8 Placebo ~ Black Market Music

#9 Idlewild ~ 100 Broken Windows

#10 Oasis ~ Standing On The Shoulders...

2001. Album Of The Year: The Strokes ~ This Is It

A fairly rare case of the NME rave-o-meter going doo-lalley and being completley right to do so. Basically eleven brilliant singles back-to-back.

#2 Ryan Adams ~ Gold

#3 BRMC ~ Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

#4 Mull Historical Society ~ Loss

#5 Manic Street Preachers ~ Know Your Enemy

#6 Rufus Wainwright ~ Poses

#7 Kosheen ~ Resist

#8 Ed Harcourt ~ Here Be Monsters

#9 Thursday ~ Full Collapse

#10 Mushroomhead ~ XX

2002. Album Of The Year : Interpol ~ Turn On the Bright Lights

Not quite as clear cut as the first two, but a worthy winner. Very murky & mysterious, Joy Division atmospherics with early-REM-style mumbled vocals, but deceptivley 'big rock' playing - like the massive solo on The New.

#2 The Vines ~ Highly Evolved

#3 Nelly ~ Nellyville

#4 The Libertines ~ Up The Bracket

#5 Idlewild ~ The Remote Part

#6 QOTSA ~ Songs For The Deaf

#7 Ryan Adams ~ Demolition

#8 Eminen ~ The Eminen Show

#9 Go Go Market ~ Hotel San Jose

#10 Paul Weller ~ Illumination

2003. Album Of The Year : British Sea Power ~ The Decline Of BSP

Gets over a slightly slow start to come in at track four with Something Wicked and then doesnt drop off from lovely, melodic, witty songs at any point. With the gorgeous A Wooden Horse, has probably the best last track of the ones I've picked.

#2 Ryan Adams ~ Love Is Hell 1&2

#3 The Strokes ~ Room On Fire

#4 Ryan Adams ~ Rock And Roll

#5 M83 ~ Dead Cities Lost Islands...

#6 Hot Hot Heat ~ Make Up The Breakdown

#7 Radiohead ~ Hail To The Thief

#8 The Thrills ~ So Much For The City

#9 Blur ~ Think Tank

#10 Cooper Temple Clause ~ Kick Up The Flames

2004. Album Of The Year : The Radio Dept ~ Lesser Matters

A dreamy, warm, heart-wrenching Swedish indie masterpiece. Starts with the lyric "...stick around for as long as you like, we will be here,spend some time in the sun..." and ends 43 almost perfect minutes later with "...this life that I embrace, despite amusements I chase, I'll see you some day, see you some day" and is just as wonderfully twee continuoulsy between.

#2 Delays ~ Faded Seaside Glamour

#3 The Veils ~ The Runaway Found

#4 Youth Group ~ Skeleton Jar

#5 Morrissey ~ You Are The Quarry

#6 John Legend ~ Get Lifted

#7 NERD ~ Fly Or Die

#8 Girls Aloud ~ What Will The Neighbours Say?

#9 The Fades ~ Social Misfits

#10 REM ~ Around The Sun

2005. Album Of The Year : Black Rebel Motorcycle Club ~ Howl

By a mile, despite some other belters this year. From a cracking 1st album to a slightly iffy and unimaginative 2nd where they'd barely turned anything down below Jesus & Mary Chain screeching guitars, for some obscure reason BRMC decided to 'do a Bob Dylan'. Instead of it being a horrible, forced experiment - it turned out to be utter, stone-cold genius. Just as oddly, they pretty much switched back to the default sound after this - the only valid reason could be that they knew they just wouldnt be able to make anytjing this good again in their folky,religious,righteous mode.

#2 An Emergency ~ Irony Nein Danke!

#3 Bloc Party ~ Silent Alarm

#4 Editors ~ The Back Room

#5 Idlewild ~ Warnings/Promises

#6 We Are Scientists ~ With Love And Squalour

#7 QOTSA ~ Lullabies To Paralise

#8 Ryan Adams ~ Cold Roses

#9 Nine Black Alps ~ Everything Is

#10 Ryan Adams ~ 29

2006. Album Of The Year : Film School (epon)

Bought on a whim after a review in something said they were like 'if Morrissey was singing for Interpol...but it was dreadful' , turned out to be nothing like Moz, not much like Interpol and not the least bit dreadful. '11:11' and 'On and On' are probably the only stand-out tracks individually but the whole piece sits together so well.

#2 Arctic Monkeys ~ Whatever You Say I Am...

#3 The Pipettes ~ We Are The Pipettes

#4 The Long Blondes ~ Someone To Drive You Home

#5 Nelly Furtado ~ Loose

#6 Nicky Wire ~ I Killed The Zeitgeist

#7 John Legend ~ Once Again

#8 We Yes You No ~ Everything

#9 Guillemots ~ Through The Windowpane

#10 James Dean Bradfield ~ The Great Western

2007. Album Of The Year : Club 8 ~ The Boy Who Couldnt Stop Dreaming

Controversial choice maybe, but for being so,so much better than it had any right to be this deserves it. A Swedish couple who dropped their trip-hop, chill-out style and decided to dress in turtle-neck, dowdy knit-wear & 'go' a bit Beth Orton, if she was in the Sugababes, and wrote in a slightly clunking, English-not-as-first-language manner. "I've got what takes to be on my way. With a pen and paper... I say!". One of the most played albums out of everything I've ever bought. Fantastic stuff.

#2 Rihanna ~ Good Girl Gone Bad

#3 Klaxons ~ Myths Of The Near Future

#4 Timbaland ~ Shock Value

#5 The Horrors ~ Strange House

#6 Nine Black Alps ~ Love/Hate

#7 Sophie Ellis Bextor ~ Trip The Light Fantastic

#8 Seventeen Evergreen ~ Life Embarasses Us

#9 Ryan Adams ~ Easy Tiger

#10 Candie Payne ~ I Wish I Could Have ....

2008. Album Of The Year : The Last Shadow Puppets ~ The Age Of The Understatement

Again, a change of style - from the Arctic Monkeys/Little Flames stuff that had gone before,- but once more, really nicley done. Having already been into both of them and being a massive Scott Walker fan, this was a bit of a gimmee really. A fairly telegraphed switch it may have been ("about as subtle as an earthquake I know") but it would have been esay to just do a 'trubute to the 60s' album, and add nothing, but they really managed to put modern & personal feelings & lyrics into the style. And it sounded beautiful right through.

#2 These New Puritans ~ Beat Pyramid

#3 The Cure ~ 4:13 Dream

#4 British Sea Power ~ Do You Like Rock Music?

#5 Ryan Adams ~ Cardinology

#6 REM ~ Accelerate

#7 We Are Scientists ~ Brain Thrust Mastery

#8 Katy Perry ~ One Of The Boys

#9 Scarlett Johansson ~ Anywhere I Lay My Head

#10 John Legend ~ Evolver

2009. Album Of The Year : God Help The Girl (epon)

Could be described as a concept album, and a brave revue, collaborative scheme - or as a Belle & Sebastien album with guest singers, but either way it is outstandingly good. I think of it as being a bit like The Bell Jar or 'Girl Interupted' if they were set in a somewhere grim & Northern in UK. Contains some applause-worthyly quirky lyrics ("too verbose! You come too close! Sir, please step back & think!", "I read a book a day, like an apple", Hiding 'neath my umbrella, agreeable kind o' fella") and is probably the indie-est thing ever. Again, has been played to death.

#2 Manic Street Preachers ~ Journal For Plague Lovers

#3 Yeah Yeah Yeahs ~ Its Blitz!

#4 The Horrors ~ Primary Colours

#5 Idlewild ~ Post Electric Blues

#6 La Roux ~ (epon)

#7 Arctic Monkeys ~ Humbug

#8 School Of Seven Bells ~ Alpinisms

#9 White Lies ~ To Lose My Life....

#10 Rihanna ~ Rated R

2010. Album Of The Year : Chew Lips ~ Unicorn

Just holds off the temptation to give the Manics a Jack Nicholson's Oscar style nod for their second belter in a row, but this is more of a sound of 2010-record to finish on. 'Karen', 'Slick', 'Seven' & 'Gold Key' are the pick off this and hopefully they'll go onto great things. (see review from March this year)

#2 Manic Street Preachers ~ Postcards From A Young Man

#3 Delphic ~ Acolyte

#4 Band Of Horses ~ Infinite Arms

#5 Klaxons ~ Surfing The Void

#6 Amy MacDonald ~ A Curious Thing

#7 BRMC ~ Beat The Devil's Tatoo

#8 Interpol ~ (epon)

#9 We Are Scientists ~ Barbara

#10 Joshua Radin ~ Simple Times