Music geeks are suckers for lists, and Paste Magazine has another good one as we close in on the end of the first decade of the 21st Century.
Paste's Top 50 albums of the decade makes for some great discussion, as well as a holiday shopping list for stuff I need to discover. And also some discs I already own that I need to re-examine.
Let's cut to the top: I was overjoyed to read that Paste ranks Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois" as its top pick of the decade. Bravo. If I had to put together a Desert Island Discs list, "Illinois" would be on that Top 10. It's brilliant top to bottom. It's both eclectic and inviting, appealing to music fans of all ages and genres. (Here's a more detailed Paste look at "Illinois"). ;)
Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois" (aka "Illinoise") is well worth your money I already own 19 of the Paste 50:
- No. 1. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
- No. 2. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
- No. 4. Radiohead: Kid A
- No. 6. The White Stripes: Elephant
- No. 9. The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You
- No. 12. Spoon: Kill the Moonlight
- No. 14. The Strokes: Is This It
- No. 18. Amy Winehouse: Back To Black
- No. 20. The National: Boxer
- No. 28: Paul Westerberg: Folker
- No. 32. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
- No. 33. Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
- No. 34. Various artists: O Brother Where Art Thou?
- No. 39. Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
- No. 40. TV on the Radio: Return to Cookie Mountain
- No. 45. Radiohead: In Rainbows
- No. 47. Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
- No. 48. Loretta Lynn: Van Lear Rose
- No. 49. Libertines: Up the Bracket
But it's interesting how many of those are not in my regular rotation. "Kid A" remains almost unlistenable to me, but I'll go back and give it a few more tries in light of this Paste ranking (I much prefer the more accessible "In Rainbows"). And I like Wilco, but "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot isn't that good. "The Avett Brothers disc, which just came out, is ballad heavy but great. And I pull out Arctic Monkeys or Amy Winehouse every few months to jumpstart my energy, but most of those others on the list get played once or twice a year.
I'll have to think about discs I think should have been on that Top 50. Give ma a few days and I'll post an update.
In the meantime, feel free to share your lists or take advantage of the lala players Paste has embedded with each listing and try out this great music yourself.