Introduce 10 of your post 2000 'go-to' albums

Kings Of Convenience Riot On An Empty Street
St Germain Tourist
Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté In The Heart Of The Moon
The National Boxer
Air 10,000 Hz Legend
Air The Virgin Suicides
The Cinematic Orchestra Ma Fleur
MONO You Are There
Radiohead In Rainbows
Shelby Lynne Just A Little Lovin'
Explosions In The Sky The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place
Sigur Rós () Untitled
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus
Porcupine Tree The Incident
Holly Cole Holly Cole
Patricia Barber Mythologies
Hugh Masekela Hope
Daft Punk Tron Legacy
Nitin Sawhney ‎OneZero
DIIV Is The Is Are
Samantha Crain Under Branch & Thorn & Tree
Kamasi Washington The Epic
The War On Drugs Lost In The Dream
Beck Morning Phase
Arcade Fire The Suburbs
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Psychedelic Pill
Tycho Dive
Atoms For Peace AMOK
Metronomy The English Riviera
Alt-J An Awesome Wave
Daft Punk Random Access Memories
James Blake Overgrown
Bill Callahan Dream River

 

Alphabetical Order - Artist/Album/Year/Genre

Alvvays - Alvvays (2014) [Pure Indie Pop for Now People]
Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000) [Sample-crazy Lost Weekend]
Doves - Lost Souls (2000) [Neo-Psychedelic Stadium Shakers]
Parquet Courts - Light Up Gold (2012) [Broke, Pavementesque Wise Guys on the Run]
Protomartyr - Under Color of Official Right (2014) [Rants of a Drunken Rhodes Scholar/Underemployed Barfly]
Radiator Hospital - Torch Song (2014) [Muscular Twee Melancholy Summer Evening Pop Punk]
Radiohead - Kid A (2000) [Nuff Said]
Savages - Silence Yourself (2013) [Grimly Determined Banshee Revival]
Total Control - Typical System (2014) [Post-Punk, Synth Rock Soundtrack to the Global Collapse]
Women - Public Strain (2010) [Post-Punk, Neo-Psychedelic, Blurry Painting of a Backyard in Summer]

Honorable Mentions
Ought - More Than Any Other Day (2014) [Rants from the Post-Capitalist, No Logo Marching Front]
Taylor Swift - 1989 [I Would Never Put It On, But I Would Also Never Turn It Off]
Viet Cong - Cassette (2013) [Gloom with a View]

 

Wow tough one. As much music as I listen to, it's funny to realize most of it is pre-2000. I have not heard of the majority of the albums listed in this thread. I guess that makes me officially an old fogey on the march.

Anyway, I'll take a crack. Just a few of my post-2000 favorites:

Brian Reitzell - Hannibal Soundtracks
Pokey LaFarge - Something in the Water
Thee Tsunamis - Saturday Night Sweetheart
Jai Malano - Rocket Girl
Big Freedia - Just Be Free
Miss Mary Ann - Danger Moved West
Clairy Browne - Baby Caught the Bus
Mojo Juju - Mojo Juju
Fatboy - Love Creole
Mr. Ho's Orchestra - Unforgettable Esquivel
Plastiscines - LP1
Del Moroccos - Blue Black Hair

 

Initially I though the record labels were listed in brackets.

I quite like the idea of labels called ' Pure Indie Pop for Now People' or 'Nuff Said' or 'Gloom with a view'

 

2000: Acetone ~ York Blvd.
2001: Rival Schools ~ United By Fate
2002: Mistress ~ S/T
2003: Chris Goss/Masters of Reality ~ Give Us Barabbas
2004: Over The Rhine ~ Ohio
2005: Brad/Satchel ~ Brad vs Satchel
2006: Radio Birdman ~ Zeno Beach
2007: Oneida ~ Seeds of Contemplation
2008: The Fleshtones ~ Take A Good Look!
2009: Dawes ~ North Hills

2010: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals ~ III/IV
2011: King Mob ~ Force 9
2012: John Hiatt ~ Mystic Pinball
2013: The Growl ~ What Would Christ Do?
2014: The New Christs ~ Incantations
2015: Various ~ Still On The Line: A Tribute to Jimmy Webb

 

I suspect that either my top ten favourites are all well-known around here or I've mentioned them so much in other threads that they no longer need introduction. So instead of the ones I always invoke, here are some more albums that are already proving to be early standouts from their century:

Rufus Wainwright, Want One (2003) For me, Wainwright went from a fantastic discovery who looked like he was destined to become one of the great talents of the century to a tedious bore in the space of a few short years. While he was on top, though, he recorded several stunning albums of musically-elaborate singer-songwriter material that marked him out as the heir to the tradition of Harry Nilsson. Want One has two great piano ballads: the gorgeous "Pretty Things" and the heartbreaking "Dinner At Eight". Also included among the baroque arrangements and high camp theatrics is the grandiose "Go Or Go Ahead", an epic worthy of Freddie Mercury. And Want One was equalled by Wainwright's last good album (to date): Release The Stars.

John Zorn, The Goddess (2010) I've got plenty of go-to Zorn albums from the last 16 years and I mention quite a few of them around here, but The Goddess: Music For The Ancient Of Days is maybe the sunniest: a tranquil but still musically engaging collection of instrumentals for drums, electric bass, piano & vibes. The musicians are the so-called "Alhambra quartet" which is only one of many ensembles that have recorded under the Zorn name. When pushed recently to find a Zorn gift for a "Zorn virgin" this was the album I went for.

Amanda Palmer, Who Killed Amanda Palmer? (2008) It's easy to dismiss Amanda "F" Palmer as a self-promoting charlatan: after all, she recorded an e.p. of Radiohead covers accompanied by ukulele (and, in case you're wondering, it's not good). Still, on her two "proper" albums she shows that she has serious songwriting chops. "Ampersand", "The Point Of It All" and "Another Year" are top-flight piano ballads but the emotional grandstanding is spaced out with shows of wit and grotesquerie. Check out Theatre Is Evil as well.

Nine Horses, Snow Borne Sorrow (2005) Cool, slick, audiophile: David Sylvian's collaboration with Steve Jansen & Burnt Friedman seemed to catch lightning in a bottle. This is count as an essential on every iPod I own. Check out "The Banality of Evil" and "Atom and Cell".

Guillemots. Through The Windowpane (2006) The debut by Fyfe Dangerfield's band was almost impossibly romantic, suggesting the arrival of a major talent. Dangerfield has yet to bear or out (or lay permanently to rest) those early hopes, but Through The Windowpane is a great, timeless album well worth revisiting for its clever arrangements (including brass & strings) and a peculiar emotional yearning that even speaks in the upbeat numbers such as "Trains To Brazil". The climactic song, "Sao Paolo", runs to nearly twelve minutes and is pretty much worth the price of entry.

Jon Boden, Songs from the Floodplain (2010). Jon Boden is the central figure in Bellowhead, British Folk's resident party band, but his talent & ambition extend well beyond that. Songs from the Floodplain is a surprisingly intimate song-cycle about an imagined future England where most of the country is below sea level: a sad, nostalgic album to emulate the great traditional Folk concept albums of the past. Expect great things from Boden in the future.

Yoav, Charmed & Strange (2008) Yoav Sadan's "gimmick" - making odd noises with acoustic guitar - was a short-lived craze when Charmed & Strange came out, but this is one of those albums that still gets regular play in my home. It's easy to be sniffy about his "have looper will travel" approach to songwriting (see also: Andrew Bird) but the album has a great sound and the songs have stood up amazingly well.

Tom McRae, Tom McRae (2001) This is one of my wife's favourite albums and one that has been in constant rotation since it came out one and a half decades ago. This is an album you can listen to from beginning to end every time and it's a shame that this dark-tinged singer-songwriter fare was later rather eclipsed by Damien Rice, who better caught the feel of the times and had the (considerable) advantage of Lisa Hannigan.

Shearwater, Rook (2008) Shearwater seem like the natural heirs of the style of later Talk Talk: all dolorous introspection and post-ambient instrumental detail. You can make claims for any of their albums but the one that I most enjoy is Rook: like This The Sea in The Waterboys catalogue it is an album that ranges comparatively far, not getting stuck in any stylistic ruts.

Lambchop, Is A Woman (2002) Looking back on this list I see a lot of points of similarity so it's hardly surprising that I end up with another largely-acoustic, largely-downbeat, classic-sounding album of songs sung by a man. On another day (or pair of days ... this list took me a while) I would have picked a different ten but every album here earns its place and Lambchop's quietest, moodiest album rounds out my ten very well. I almost went for 2012's Mr. M - a showier album by far - but Is A Woman is one that has proved its strength over a longer time period: very much a classic in the new millennium that could be expected to have been a classic in the last one.

 

Esperanza Spalding - D+Evolution
Melanie De Biasio - No Deal / Blackened Cities (2!)
Alejandro Escovedo - Real Animal
Savages - Adore Life
Secret Machines - Now Here is Nowhere
John Cale - Hobosapiens
Brian Eno/Karl Hyde - Someday World
Wovenhand - Refractory Obdurate
Speed of the Stars - s/t

 

Nicely done, some big favorites of mine in there too, and thanks for the introductions to the others, much more interesting than just looking at a list of album titles

 

In no order. . .

Exploding Hearts – Guitar Romantic
Fans of the Buzzcocks and Undertones, look no further – this is your album. Unbelievable stuff, and it’s really sad there won’t be any more.

Deadly Snakes – Ode to Joy
Aptly named record from that Toronto sextet whose vaguely garage sound is flavored with things cribbed from Dylan and Waits. One of the best romps on here is called “I Want to Die,” no kiddin.

Wrens – The Meadowlands
Tremendous statement from Jersey music lifers who are very conversant in the crushing disappointments and small victories borne from continuing to play music long after your peers have traded in their half-stacks for “real” jobs and the like. Some of the most incredible lyric writing you will find anywhere. “I walked away from more than you imagine and I sleep just fine.” Damned straight.

Alejandro Escovedo – Real Animal
I know many of you are at least passingly familiar with the man, so I’ll just say that this is my favorite record of his. Nuns’ Song gets me every time, especially the most derisive laugh I’ve probably ever heard on a record.

Chuck Prophet – Temple Beautiful/Night Surfer
I can’t pick! The former has a great theme (songs about his home of San Francisco) but the latter has They Don’t Know About Me & You. Your call. Note: Chuck cowrote all of the songs on the album above.

Volebeats – s/t
I could have chosen Like Her instead (or also) but this one’s a double. Both have a great ratio of devastating to merely excellent songs, mostly in the Beau Brummels/Byrds vein. (Their cover on the Kinks’ This is Where I Belong is done a la Byrds and has to be heard to be believed.) The way Matthew Smith and Jeff Oakes sing together is magical.

Jack Oblivian – Disco Outlaw
Full disclosure: I’m friendly with Jack and was even in his band for approximately six months, not long after this album was recorded. (I’m not on it.) Really I could have picked any of his last five albums or so, since each has its share of grease, hooks and great playing. This one makes it due to Ditch Road, Make Your Mind Up and Blood Bank Blues. You have to be a pretty big talent to toss off the phrase “complimentary cookie” and sound as cool as Jack does in the latter.

Dirtbombs – Ultraglide in Black
Now THIS is one hell of a party record. Mick Collins (ex-Gories) and co. tear through a fantastic set of mostly old R&B covers as if they wrote ‘em AND owned the rights to ‘em! (There’s one original, the furious Your Love Belongs Under a Rock.) My two favorite tracks: Underdog (Sly & the Family Stone) and Ode to a Black Man (Phil Lynott).

Devin Davis – Lonely People of the World Unite!
Mindboggling one-off by a savant songwriter who seems to have dropped off the face of the earth since this album came out in 2005. AM radio hooks as processed through the mind of a terminal shut-in and delivered by a voice straining toward the stars. There are more hooks on this record than most like-minded bands can muster in their entire careers. Most of this record would delight New Pornagraphers fans. The opener, Iron Woman, oughta win over everybody.

Grinderman – Grinderman 2
There needed to be a Nick Cave record on here, and this is my favorite recent work of his. I could listen to Kitchenette over and over.

 

First ones that came to mind. All of these kind of stay in rotation. There are many others, but these come to mind easily.
Morten Harket-Brother
ASG-Blood Drive
Mastodon-Blood Mountain
Twilight Sad-Fourteen Autumns And Fifteen Winters
Chris Robinson Brotherhood-The Magic Door
Chris Robinson Brotherhoo-Phosphorescent Harvest
Chris Robinson Brotherhood-Betty's Blend Volume 1
Chris Robinson Brotherhood-Betty's Blend Volume 2
The Black Crowes-Croweology
Gareth Flowers & Josh Mason-Silent Period

Honorable Mention
Wino-Adrift
Wino & Conny Ochs-Heavy Kingdom
Baby Woodrose-All post 2000 albums

 

Just so you know exactly what I'm talking about here:

 

I've read through this thread twice and your post is about the only one that resonates with me, maybe because you broke the rules. Dave Alvin, Otis Taylor, Justin Townes Earle, Bill Frisell, Patricia Barber, John Hammond, Jorma Kaukonen, yeah now we're talking. Reminded me of my interest in Calexico. So, I'm going to break the rules, too. Hope you find something you like.

2000
Ramsay Midwood - Shootout at the OK Chinese Restaurant. Idiosyncratic, twisted, broke-down brilliant, jump down turn around pick a bale of cotton.
R.L. Burnside - Wish I was in Heaven Sitting Down
Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl

2001
gotan project - Revancha del Tango. First heard this in a clothing store in Playa del Carmen and have been mesmerized by this modern tango ever since. Argentina! Buenos Aires!
Alejandro Escovedo - A Man Under the Influence
Buddy Guy - Sweet Tea. Well, this really rocks.
Lucinda Williams - Essence. Lucinda just keeps getting better and better IMO.

2002
Neko Case - Blacklisted. Everything in her catalog is exceptional, so its difficult to pick one.
Oliver Mtukudzi - Vhunze Moto. "Big voice Oliver" puts on a great show and makes wonderful Tuku music from Zimbabwe.
Diana Krall - Live in Paris. Never expected to be a fan but this is really well done.

2003
Duoud - Wild Serenade. Yep, two oud players, plus electric cello, electric guitar, violin, drums, and percussion. Their followup Ping Kong is also recommended.
Robert Belfour - Pushin' My Luck. "This is the first great blues record of 2003 and if it isn't nominated for the W.C. Handy Award, the damned foundation should be disbanded on the basis of deafness." Good enough for me.
Derek Trucks - Soul Serenade. Bluesy jazz or vice versa.
Taj Mahal - Hanapepe Dream. Music that's fun: "gumbo of Caribbean, Polynesian, African, and American folk roots styles done up in the glorious dress of "song," for anyone who has ears to hear, feet to shuffle, and an ass to shake"
Ibrahim Ferrer - Buenos Hermanos. As good as Buena Vista Social Club.

2004
Pink Martini - Hang on Little Tomato. I prefer their first album, but their whole catalog is refreshing.
Issa Bagayogo - Tassoumakan. Malian composer. "Add to that some rhythms that are as deep and funky as anything you could find in Muscle Shoals or Memphis, but done so well that they seem to glide in behind the melodies, and subtly drawn backing vocals and other instrumentation, and you have what might be the best mix of the West and Africa yet to come along." 2008's Mali Koura is also super.
Eric Bibb - Friends. No kidding, Mamadou Diabate, Odetta, Taj Mahal, Ruthie Foster, Charlie Musselwhite.

2005
Sinead O'Connor - Throw Down Your Arms. Simply the best reggae album ever made, .
Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate - In the Heart of the Moon. A duet recording by Malian guitar slinger Toure and Mandé lineage griot Diabate on kora. Each is exceptional on his own, together they are magic.

2006
Black Angels - Passover. Not really my kind of music but the groove is just relentless.
Lila Downs - Una Sangre

2007
Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha. Could have been anything by him, as with Neko and Lucinda, and Otis.

2009
Melody Gardot - My One and Only Thrill. Very sultry.
Joe Henry - Blood from Stars
Vieux Farka Toure - Fondo. The son plays electric.

2010
Justin Townes Earle - Harlem River Blues. Big fan of dad but I like this as much or better. Going downtown to the harlem river to drown, dirty water gonna cover me over and i'm not gonna make a sound.
David Lindley and Jackson Browne - Love is Strange. Old stuff performed live in Spain.

2011
Hans Theessink - Jedermann Remixed. A Dutch Delta blues singer. I believe.
Greg Allman - Low Country Blues.

2012
Kat Edmonson - Way Down Low. She knocks this out of the park. Turn "I Don't Know" up to 11.
Otis Taylor - Contraband. Otis is my kind of blues guy, he just does what he wants. Uncompromising indeed.
Toure-Rachel Collective - Tel Aviv Session. Guitar, piano and calabash?

2013
Valerie June - Pushin' Against a Stone. This girl is a talent. Blues, gospel, soul, folk, etc.

 

I just listened to Wild Serenade last night. It's a great album. I do wish Ekova still existed though.

 

So glad to see Devin Davis mentioned here. Fantastic record that it seems like maybe 20 people bought. I have no idea where I heard about him, but this is a great, great release.

 

York Blvd is an incredible record. It's the definition of overlooked masterpiece

 

Frances The Mute - The Mars Volta (2005)
Leviathan - Mastodon (2004)
Want Two - Rufus Wainwright (2004)
Iowa - Slipknot (2001)
Amnesiac - Radiohead (2001)
Sea Change - Beck (2002)
White Blood Cells - The White Stripes (2001)
Skeleton Tree- Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (2016)
Ire Works - The Dillinger Escape Plan (2007)
Blackstar - David Bowie (2016)

 

In no particular order, and this was more difficult than I thought:

Iron Maiden - Brave New World - 2000
Avantasia - The Metal Opera - 2000
Iron Maiden - The Book of Souls - 2015
Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance - 2011
Accept - Blood of Nations - 2010
Symphony X - Paradise Lost - 2007
Airborne - Runnin' Wild - 2007
Iced Earth - The Glorious Burden - 2004
Rush - Clockwork Angels - 2012
Metallica - Hardwired...to Self-Destruct - 2016
Jorn - Dio - 2010

 

Didn't see this one coming! Great choice!

 

I've seen a bunch of mine up already, so here's a few that may have been slept on:

Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned itself Inside-Out
a beautiful album of quiet rock. Perfect for late summer nights. "Last Days of Disco" has to be one of my all time favourite songs.

Royksopp - Melody AM
Mixing electronics and pop hooks to outstanding effect

The Roots - Phrenology
Haven't seen any love for my favorite hip-hop artists, the Roots. If you think you don't like hip-hop this might be the one that opens your mind.

Espers - s/t
One of the originators of the resurgence in psychedelic folk this century. Hauntingly beautiful.

Others worth rementioning-

The Cinematic Orchestra - Ma fleur
The brainchild of writer/producer J. Swincoe mixing downtempo beats with live instruments. This is their first foray into a vocal arrangements with a great set of guesting vocalists including Fontella Bass, Patrick Watson and Lou Rhodes.

Cat Power - The Greatest
Channelling the spirits of Dusty Springfield and Muscle Shoals. I think it's their horn section in the background.

Boris - Pink
A riff packed monster for the punks/metalheads.

D'Angelo - Voodoo
R&B for the 21st century. Outstanding music, outstanding band, and outstanding sound. btw- I heard Bahamas latest track for his forthcoming release with this rhythm section guesting and it was sweeeeeet.

 

01) The Felice Brothers – Tonight at the Arizona
02) Congregation – Congregation
03) Liz Green – O, Devotion!
04) Eilen Jewell – Queen of the Minor Key
05) Jolie Holland – Escondida
06) Alasdair Roberts – Farewell Sorrow
07) Ryley Walker – Primrose Green
08) Blanche – Little Amber Bottles
09) Ryan Adams – Gold
10) Laura Marling – I Speak Because I Can
11) Luke Roberts – Big Bells and Dime Songs
12) Emily Jane White – Dark Undercoat
13) Scout Niblett – It’s Up to Emma
14) Kurt Vile – Wakin on a Pretty Daze
15) Smoke Fairies – Through Low Light and Trees
16) Marissa Nadler – July
17) Mofro – Lochloosa
18) Sharon Van Etten – Are We There
19) The Secret Sisters – The Secret Sisters
20) Honeyhoney – Billy Jack

 

She would at least follow the rules and only list 10!!!!

 

The Cramps - Fiends Of Dope Island
Blackberry Smoke - Little Piece Of Dixie
White Stripes - Icky Thump
White Denim - Corsicana Lemonade
Richard Hawley - Truelove's Gutter
Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression
Prince - The Rainbow Children
John Spencer Blues Explosion - Plastic Fang
Brian Setzer - Nitro Burnin' Fun Daddy
Lou Reed - Ecstasy
+
Neil Young - Psychedelic Pill
The Fireman - Electric Arguments
The Allman Brothers Band - Hittin' The Note

 

1. Rise (07) / Meat Puppets
2. Sewn (09) / "
3. Lollipop (11) / "
4. Rat Farm (13) / "
5. Solo (14) / Cheetah Chrome
6. Yoshimi (02) / Flaming Lips
7. Patch the Sky (16) / Bob Mould
8. Silver Age (12) /Bob Mould
9. Farm (09) or Beyond (07) / Dinosaur Jr
10. Book of Souls (15) / Iron Maiden

I cheated w/ regard to #9 #9 #9 #9 #9; then again, after that Lennon-McCartney mischief, anything's game in Heaven's numbered slot...

 

Howard Kaylan - Dust Bunnies
George Harrison - Brainwashed
Ringo Starr - Ringo Rama
Paul McCartney - NEW
Less Than Jake - Anthem
The Bee Gees - This Is Where I Came in
Ringo Starr - Postcards From Paradise
Ringo Starr - Give More Love
Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8
Ringo Starr - Ringo 2012

 

Hard to find 10 in my old geezer library, but:

12 Stories, Brandy Clark
Revelator, Tedeschi Trucks Band
24K Magic, Bruno Mars
A Sailor's Guide to Earth, Sturgill Simpson
The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, Gary Clark, Jr.
World Boogie is Coming, North Mississippi Allstars
The Mountain, Steve Earle with the Del McCoury Band
1 Hopeful Road, Vintage Trouble
Unbreakable, Janet Jackson
Santana IV, Santana