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61 Will Young - Friday's Child 2003 (Fav non single track: Love Is A Matter Of Distance)

 

Once upon a time, when TV music talent shows were not an ego driven manipulated farce for the benefit of TV ratings and Simon Cowell's bank balance, some good artists actually came out of the show. Personally no UK TV talent show male singer has come close to the ability of first Pop Idol winner Will Young. His second album is easily his best due to the very strong quality of songs available on this album.

 

60 Killers - Hot Fuss 2004 (Fav non single track: Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll)

 

This Las Vegas based act stole the thunder of similar USA new romantic inspired the Dandy Warhols due to the fact they went for the big music stadium rockisms of U2 and Coldplay rather than try and be too clever clever. Having said that this debut album is a classic which they have failed to equal so far.

 

59 Coldplay - Viva La Vida 2008 (Featured track: 42)

 

After the release of X&Y Coldplay to their credit knew that they were outstaying their soft rock anthemic hybrid template of U2 meets Travis that they had established at the brginning of the decade. This album whilst not a rapid change of sound, at least is different due to getting Brian Eno to produce the bulk of their fourth album, whilst not making them leave their comfort zone but at least to find some tremulous discomfort within it.

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58 Elbow - Asleep At The Back 2001 (Fav Track: Powder Blue)

 

Injecting a wider range of emotions into their music than most of their guitar-based peers in England, Elbow referred to themselves as "prog without the solos" without winking (i.e. they are have a strong element of early 1970s Genesis and Pink Floyd running through this lovely moody album. This Bury's based band's debut album was for me a far more complete album than the similar less adventourous Coldplay which deservedly got nominated for the Mercury Music Prize but did not win.

 

57 Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers 2007 (Fav track: Your Love Alone Is Not Enough)

 

After taking a year out for main songwriters James Dean Bradfield and Nicky Wire to make solo albums they regrouped on their seventh album re-energised to make a more maturer version of their most successful album Everything Must Go with a similar strong set of anthemic rock songs.

 

56 Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast 2000 (Featured track: p***ing In The Wind)

 

The Mercury Music Award winning album by Damon Gough was low-fi, full of stops and starts, yet is a hugely engaging baroque folk-pop album full of a dozen great musical gems that reveal themselves on this shambling masterpiece of a pop album after repeated plays.

These are the ones that i own from your list, about 40. Some I like a lot and a few I never play anymore. Will be interesting to see where you list these ones on your list, although I see some have already appeared on your worst list :lol: I will reserve judgement as to whether I agree with you :D

 

Coldplay Parachutes 2000

Coldplay A Rush Of Blood To The Head 2002

Coldplay X&Y 2005

Coldplay Viva La Vida 2008

Darkness Permission To Land 2003

David Bowie Heathen 2002

David Bowie Reality 2003

Dido No Angel 2001

Dido Life For Rent 2003

Feeling Twelve Stops And Home 2006

Feeling Join With Us 2008

Florence + The Machine Lungs 2009

Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand 2004

Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better 2005

Goldfrapp Felt Mountain 2000

Goldfrapp Black Cherry 2003

Goldfrapp Supernature 2005

Goldfrapp Seventh Tree 2008

Gorillaz Demon Days 2005

Hoosiers The Trick Of Life 2007

Kaiser Chiefs Employment 2005

Kaiser Chiefs Yours Truly, Angry Mob 2007

Kaiser Chiefs Off With Their Heads 2008

Keane Hopes and Fears 2004

Keane Under The Iron Sea 2006

Keane Perfect Symmetry 2008

KT Tunstall Eye Of The Telescope 2005

Linkin Park Hybrid Theory 2000

Manic Street Preachers Know Your Enemy 2001

Manic Street Preachers Send Away The Tigers 2007

Natalie Imbruglia Counting Down The Days 2005

Paul McCartney Memory Almost Full 2007

Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium 2006

Red Hot Chilli Peppers By The Way 2002

Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters 2004

Scissor Sisters Ta-Dah 2006

Stereophonics Just Enough Education to Perform 2001

Stereophonics Language Sex Violence Other 2005

Ting Tings We Started Nothing 2008

Travis The Invisible Band 2001

U2 All That You Can't Leave Behind 2000

 

 

#12 Lily Allen - Alright, Still (2006)

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The best way to describe this album IMHO is "The singles = all killer, the rest = all filler". I can still feel the disappointment of being duped when I bought this album first week only to release that there are only four good tracks on it, as the non singles track sound like annoying Mockney bird doing her poor geezer Ian Dury attempt over sub The Streets backing music. Thank goodness her second album was a good as this album was so poor. Not the last Mercury Music Award nominated album in this countdown.

I'm quite a big fan of this album. Littlest Things is vile, but there are some good non single moments on there. Alfie makes it all worthwhile :wub:

 

 

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132 Sugababes - Angels With Dirty Faces 2002

 

Stunning album. The reason i fell in love with the Sugababes

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114 Sugababes - Three 2003 (Track: Whatever Makes You Happy)

 

I maintain this to be my favourite album and the best that i own. A fantastic progression from Angels filled with songs that 3.0 and 4.0 don't have the edge to pull off. Showed that Mutya and Keisha are so talented and that Mutya really owned the Sugababes 'edginess'

 

Whatever Makes You Happy is one the best unreleased tracks in the Sugababes back catalogue, imo

 

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99 Corinne Bailey Rae - Corinne Bailey Rae 2006 (Fav Track: Enchantment)

 

The debut album by Leeds hybrid of Sade, Erykah Badu and Amy Winehouse went to UK#1 (after the monster UK#2 hit Put Your Records On), and more impressively USA Top 5. After the overdose of her musician husband, I await her reappearance early 2010 with the album "The Sea" for this commercial Soul, R&B, jazz, blues, acoustic singer-songwriter. She is booked to appear on Later with Jools Holland next week.

Love this album, a very good chill out album

 

 

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96 Little Boots - Hands 2009 (Featured track: Symmetry)

 

 

Blackpool's Victoria Hesketh's promotional campaign for this album will surely be used in future media studies courses as a case study in how not to run a promo campaign for a new up and coming artist :( ...... as the fact remains this is an album crammed full of great songs even if some of the material is over produced and the artist's lack of charisma when performing suggests that her best bet is to become the next generation's Cathy Dennis songwriter to the popstars of tomorrow.

 

95 Girls Aloud - Tangled Up 2007 (Fav track: Black Jacks)

 

For me this is easily Xenomania's finest album. Far more consistant than the patchy Chemistry, and the more experimental and less strong Out Of Control, this album is full of pop anthems, with many of the album tracks potential unrealised singles.

Love Love Love Hands. Symmetry was amazing at T In The Park

 

I'd agree that Tangled Up is the best GA album. OOC was a hot mess and generally just $h!t.

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79 Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life 2007 (Fav non single: Let's Start a Band)

 

Scotland's new female singer/songwriter delivered a very good debut album that featured no less than six singles. Probably the only act I saw play my local pub a good nine months or so before the album was released, as her manager former Wiltshire born musician Pete Wilkinson was producing her album at his home studio. Needless to say she was the best female singer I've seen play my pub, not least because I and a lot of the punters were impressed how such a young person could hold her own with banter with the locals.

 

 

77 Nerina Pallot - The Graduate 2009 (Featured Track: When Did I Become Such A Bitch)

 

Jersey born singer/songwriter/musician released her third album after finishing her English Literature degree. Not quite as strong or as varied as her second album Fires, but still a fine set of songs with witty intelligent lyrics that Radio 2 support despite the general indifference of the Great British public.

Amy Macdonald was a surprise to me, her set at T In The Park in 2008 was sublime. Made up for the Babes pulling out.

 

The Graduate is superb. When Did I Become Such A Bitch is my anthem :lol:

 

Lolz at Scissor Sisters being #69. :kink: :P

97 Madonna - American Life

96 Little Boots - Hands

94 Coldplay - X&Y

91 Robyn - Robyn

89 Gorillaz - Demon Days

88 Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

85 Gwen Stefani - Love Angel Music Baby

80 Justin Timberlake - Justified

79 Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life

76 Duffy - Rockferry

75 Anastacia - Anastacia

68 P!nk - I'm Not Dead

60 Killers - Hot Fuss

AMAZING!

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55 Goldfrapp - Seventh Tree 2008 (featured track Cologne Cerrone Houdini)

 

Their 4th album found Will & Alison moving off the dancefloor back to the pastoral atmospheric music of their debut albeit with a less Alpinic and more quintessential English and Gallic sound with hippy imaginery evoking pagan rituals and the Wicker man. Great escapist stuff.

 

54 Kasabian - West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum 2009 (Fave track: Underdog)

 

Finally at their third long player attempt did the heirs to Oasis' crown come up with a rewarding consistent album all the way through. Understandably this brilliant live act were rewarded with great reviews this year. However Q magazine's Album of the Year was surely going over the top.

 

53 White Stripes - Elephant 2003 (Fave non single track: There's No Home For You Here)

 

Jack White's formula of recording fantastic late 1960s/early 1970s style blues rock that sounds like a bunch of Led Zeppelin demos with a rubbish drummer has made the decade far more enjoyable musically as a result. This is the one White Stripes album I actually bought features the monster hit Seven Nation Army.

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52 Stereophonics - Language Sex Violence Other 2005 (Fave non single track: Doorman)

 

Kelly Jones obviously realised his band was at a Britpop Pub Rock musical deadend after four studio albums, that this 5th album reinvention was very impressive stuff. Lean, mean full of energy and drive with no flabby dirges in sight. Easily their best album since their debut Word Get's Around not least thanks to their career best single Dakota.

 

51 Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 2002 (Fave non single track: It's Summertime)

 

The follow up to 1999's The Soft Bulletin finds leader Wayne Coyne in a lush, melancholic and bittersweet mood, not least due to the death of his father. This is a beautiful consistent album that benefits by being played as a whole rather than by track by track on your iPod. Life affirming stuff IMHO.

 

50 Lily Allen - It's Not Me, It's You 2009 (featured track Everyone's At It)

 

In many respects Lily Allen is a lucky artist with regards to my love of music. If Spotify had existed when her debut was released then there is no way I would have bought an album with so much Mockney filler. In the same respect if it was not for Spotify I would not have heard what a great album her follow up was (bar the final track a failed attempt at 1920s music hall He Wasn't There). The credit for a far stronger set of compositions must go to Lily and her co-songwriter producer The Bird and The Bee's Greg Kurstin, whilst plaudits must go out to Lily for greatly improving her vocal ability between first and second albums. Fingers crossed Elly Jackson can pull off the same trick in 2012.

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49 Editors - The Back Room 2005 (Fave non single track: Fingers In The Factory)

 

This Birmingham indie rock band clearly used the template of Joy Division, Interpol and Echo & The Bunnymen to create a narrow surging sounding yet thrilling passionate debut album with a strong collection of songs, that they have not come close to improving on with their following two albums.

 

48 Mylo - Destroy Rock & Roll 2005 (featured track: In My Arms)

 

The Isle of Skye's Myles MacInnes recorded this debut album entirely at home with relatively basic computer software, and the resulting 14 tracks are every bit as compelling as contemporaneous efforts from like-minded electronic artists Daft Punk, Lemon Jelly, and the Orb. Much to my taste it is a bit all over the shop within the Dance genre but there is much humour to enjoy from the sampling and use of mash ups (see featured track using Kim Carnes' Bette Davis Eyes and Boys Meet Girls' Waiting For A Star To Fall) within this album. Little wonder a successful career as a remixer to the stars followed....

 

47 U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind 2000 (Fave non single track: Peace On Earth)

 

At the beginning of the decade the Dublin rock legends regained their title as the World's biggest and best Rock Band thanks to their best collection of tracks and songs since 1991 Achtung Baby and returning to the musical template of their first three albums of the 1980s. Who would have guessed by the end of the decade they would not even be the leading Christinan Anthemic Rock Band from this side of the Atlantic (although lead singer Bono can still out do Coldplay's Chris Martin for self righteous pomposity), as they've turned into the new Rolling Stones as a heritage act .... great live, but past their sell by date for new music.

 

r.e. Lily, I completely agree, He Wasn't There is not good at all, shame it made the album as everything else on there is excellent
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46 KT Tunstall - Eye Of The Telescope 2005 (Fave non single track: Miniature Disasters)

 

This Scottish folky bluesy singer/songwriter came out with this charming debut album full of plenty of very likeable melodic pop songs. Sure the singles Black Horse and The Cherry Tree, Other Side Of The World, Suddenly I See, Under The Weather were the stand out tracks but their was plenty of other tracks to like.

 

45 Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 2006 (featured track: A Certain Romance)

 

In retrospect breathless, hyperbolic praise was piled upon the Arctic Monkeys and their debut album from the music media (which explains its relative low position on my countdown). The music took the twin influences of the 00s NME worshipped The Strokes & The Libertines, but crucially the Sheffield quartet added lead singer/songwriter Alex Turner's storytelling - mainly hookups on the dancefloor and underage drinking, balanced by the occasional imagined tragic tales of prostitution; that painted a picture of Northern Life not portrayed so well since Morrissey & The Smiths even if it lacks the wit of Morrissey or fellow Sheffield born Pulp's Jarvis Cocker.. Musically this album is rather narrow, and there are a handful of filler on this album which stop the album being perfect.

 

44 Green Day - American Idiot 2004 (Fave non single track: Give Me Novacaine)

 

Out of nowhere this USA trio The Clash tribute act came out with their very own career defining album that was a cross between The Clash's London Calling meets The Who's Quadrophenia. Sonically this loud, melodic album sounds superb again thanks to using Rob Cavallo as producer but the stars of the album are the songs featuring the blockbuster hits American Idiot; Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Wake Me Up When September Ends.

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43 Muse - Black Holes & Revelations 2006 (Fave non single track: Take A Bow)

 

Matt Bellamy's progressive rock, glam, electronica, and Radiohead-influenced trio hit the big time with this blockbusting 5th album with a vague conceptual Sci-Fi and New World Order themes which broke the US Top 10 for the first time. A very bright, dynamic sounding album which also made an impact on the UK singles cghart on a few occasions.

 

42 LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver 2007 (Featured track: Someone Great)

 

On this album James Murphy produced an album full of post-punk, disco, Krautrock, and singer/songwriter melodies tightly melded together to make a very sonically coherant album from start to finish all undercut by James' David Bowie/Phil Oakey inflected vocal. In short this is the perfect dance album to listen to instead of dance to.

 

41 Norah Jones - Come Away With Me 2002 (Fave non single track: Lonestar)

 

This debut album is a mellow, acoustic pop affair with soul and country overtones, immaculately produced by the great Arif Mardin. This album which features a few selective covers contains plenty of melody, simple yet elegant progressions, and evocative lyrics, all rounded off by Norah's evocative sultry velvety voice and superb jazz piano playing skills.

 

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RECAP #100 - #41:

 

100 Bats For Lashes Two Suns 2009

99 Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Bailey Rae 2006

98 Snow Patrol Final Straw 2004

97 Madonna American Life 2003

96 Little Boots Hands 2009

95 Girls Aloud Tangled Up 2007

94 Coldplay X&Y 2005

93 Amanda Palmer Who Killed Amanda Palmer 2008

92 Cat Power The Greatest 2006

91 Robyn Robyn 2007

 

90 Take That The Circus 2008

89 Gorillaz Demon Days 2005

88 Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare 2007

87 M.I.A Kala 2007

86 Red Hot Chilli Peppers By The Way 2002

85 Gwen Stefani Love Angel Music Baby 2004

84 Lucie Silvas Breathe In 2005

83 Rufus Wainwright Want Two 2005

82 Robbie Williams Reality Killed The Radio Star 2009

81 Amy Winehouse Frank 2003

 

80 Justin Timberlake Justified 2002

79 Amy Macdonald This Is The Life 2007

78 Shelby Lynne Love …. Shelby 2001

77 Nerina Pallot The Graduate 2009

76 Duffy Rockferry 2008

75 Anastacia Anastacia 2004

74 Catatonia Paper Scissors Stone 2001

73 Goldfrapp Black Cherry 2003

72 Outkast Speakerboxx/The Love Below 2003

71 Maximo Park A Certain Trigger 2005

 

70 Rufus Wainwright Poses 2001

69 Scissor Sisters Scissor Sisters 2004

68 P!nk I'm Not Dead 2006

67 Alanis Morissette Under Rug Swept 2002

66 Cherry Ghost Thirst For Romance 2007

65 Bats For Lashes Fur & Gold 2007

64 David Bowie Heathen 2002

63 Paul Weller 22 Dreams 2008

62 Ladyhawke Ladyhawke 2008

61 Will Young Friday's Child 2003

 

60 Killers Hot Fuss 2004

59 Coldplay Viva La Vida 2008

58 Elbow Asleep At The Back 2001

57 Manic Street Preachers Send Away The Tigers 2007

56 Badly Drawn Boy The Hour Of Bewilderbeast 2000

55 Goldfrapp Seventh Tree 2008

54 Kasabian West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum 2009

53 White Stripes Elephant 2003

52 Stereophonics Language Sex Violence Other 2005

51 Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 2002

 

50 Lily Allen It's Not Me, It's You 2009

49 Editors The Back Room 2005

48 Mylo Destroy Rock & Roll 2005

47 U2 All That You Can't Leave Behind 2000

46 KT Tunstall Eye Of The Telescope 2005

45 Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 2006

44 Green Day American Idiot 2004

43 Muse Black Holes & Revelations 2006

42 LCD Soundsystem Sound Of Silver 2007

41 Norah Jones Come Away With Me 2002

 

50 Lily Allen It's Not Me, It's You 2009

48 Mylo Destroy Rock & Roll 2005

46 KT Tunstall Eye Of The Telescope 2005

45 Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 2006 Their best album IMO!

44 Green Day American Idiot 2004 And Their too!

:)

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40 Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine 2005 (featured track: O Sailor)

 

This critically acclaimed third album to date and her only album released this decade, finds Fiona in awkward, obtuse, baroque art-pop mode using many elliptical melodies. In short this album is perfect for the critics and to my tastes, but not the average listener on first listen, but only opens itself up upon repeated plays.

 

39 Embrace - Out Of Nothing 2004 (Fav track: A Glorious Day)

 

Huddersfield's McNanamara brothers band came back from the BritPop abyss with this no nonsense stunning, back to basic 5th album of euphoric anthems. Led off by the Coldplay outtake Gravity, the other three singles Ashes, Looking As You Are, & A Glorious Day were equally strong efforts, but the thing was another 4 tracks could easily have been singles such was its quality.

 

chris likes:

 

98 Snow Patrol Final Straw 2004

94 Coldplay X&Y 2005

89 Gorillaz Demon Days 2005

88 Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare 2007

71 Maximo Park A Certain Trigger 2005

64 David Bowie Heathen 2002

63 Paul Weller 22 Dreams 2008

62 Ladyhawke Ladyhawke 2008

59 Coldplay Viva La Vida 2008

58 Elbow Asleep At The Back 2001

56 Badly Drawn Boy The Hour Of Bewilderbeast 2000

51 Flaming Lips Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots 2002

48 Mylo Destroy Rock & Roll 2005

46 KT Tunstall Eye Of The Telescope 2005

45 Arctic Monkeys Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not 2006

43 Muse Black Holes & Revelations 2006

 

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38 Libertines - Up The Bracket 2002 (Featured track: Up The Bracket)

 

The first British band to rival the garage rock revival sparked by the Strokes in the U.S.A. were of course worshipped by the NME. Produced by former Clash man Mick Jones his warm yet not too polished, not too rough production does the job perfectly of making the songs the stars whilst allowing the charisma of the band and especially the ying and yang of Pete Doherty and Carl Barat shine through in their own updating of the "Albion" template laid down by Ray Davies and Paul Weller before them. ....Sadly the lyric "What a waster what a fukkin waster"... has become oh so true. :(

 

37 Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes 2008 (Fave track: Tiger Mountain Peasant Song)

 

Simultaneously dated, yet timeless is this wonderful slice of folk meets Americana meets classic Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young like vocal harmonies. Robin Pecknold's voice is warm and sweet; the music seems completely genuine and like all great albums it sounds better as a whole than the sum of its parts.

 

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36 Go! Team - Proof Of Youth 2007 (Featured track: Doing It Right)

 

Ian Parton's Brighton based act full of technicolour indie pop music and clever use of samples released their second feel good album of the decade. By and large the music is upbeat feel good anthems, but occasionally there are a couple of nice changes in gear with the instrumental My World; I Never Needed It Now So Much is a lovely indie ballad, and Public Enemy's Chuck D turns up on Flashlight Fight.

 

35 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular 2008 (Fave track: The Youth)

 

Produced by Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev producer Dave Fridmann was an inspired move as the music within sounds like a glamourous merger of psychedelic and indie-electro to a shiny sonic gleam. Add some fantastic songs, sardonic lyrics and voila an instant classic album that is as inspired by David Bowie, Rolling Stones & the Bee Gees as it is to Ween, Beck and LCD Soundsystem.

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34 Feeling - Twelve Stops And Home 2006 (Fave non single: Helicopter)

 

In many ways the retro English pop equivalent of the retro rock outfit the Darkness, this band took off on their debut due to fine songwriting craft and the influence of classic 1970s artists such as 10cc, Queen, Supertramp, ELO & Wings. Of course the hits Swen, Never Be Lonely, Fill My Little World & Love It When You Call are the best tracks, but all in all a vastly superior and enjoyable effort than their laboured second album.

 

33 Nelly Furtado - Folklore 2003 (Featured track: One Trick Pony)

 

A far more serious effort than her debut album Whoa Nelly, this album was too serious for the pop audience, yet she was not credible enough for the music critics so it fell between the two audiences. That is a shame as this album is far superior IMHO than her more commercial first and third albums with the influences of folk and ethnic music, and the songwriting influences of Joni Mitchell and Neil Finn shone through peaking on the best track Try, as this is her strongest set of songs on one CD to date.

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