79.) Titus Andronicus - The Airing of Grievances (2009)

Titus Andronicus' debut album, The Airing of Grievances, is pretty close to exactly what rock 'n roll should sound like - young, vital, rollicking, imperfect, pretentious and sometimes reckless. The Airing of Grievances is not a masterpiece. In fact, it's kind of a mess. But it's one of the few records released this decade that feels alive. That's not to say it's a tossed off affair, it's not, but it is first and foremost a punk rock record for the kids...the smart kids, but the kids all the same.

Titus Andronicus have been compared favorably to bands like The Clash and Bright Eyes, but it's no secret that they owe the greatest amount of debt to a man who shares their home state - Mr. Bruce Springsteen. A lot of the better rock 'n roll released in the latter part of this decade has been dipped in E-Street sauce. This is great as Springsteen is a stellar artist and his band one of the best in rock 'n roll for sure, but it's interesting that a genre like indie rock - which was once so fond of irony and keeping fans at arms length - would embrace someone so devoid of those thing. It was a nice turn for the indie rock world as bands learned how to actually rock and, more importantly, smile.

When I first heard the Titus Andronicus record I loved it. I loved it for it's immediacy and, for better or worse, it's familiarity. Titus Andronicus aren't re-inventing the wheel here, but you get the feeling they just might be cocky enough not to realize that.

The kids in the world desperately need Titus Andronicus. They sound like you felt when you were sixteen - when you were smarter than anyone would give you credit for, but you were also drunk singing along to these choruses at a basement show. The Airing of Grievances has no airs (despite the innate pretention in the bands name) and it aims to kick your ass in the way Nirvana did in 1991 or the Libertines in 2002. This record should (and hopefully has) change(d) lives. We're probably too old for that, but if there's a fourteen year old in your life and you care about that person buy him or her this record. It'll make them start a band or at least start loving bands and their music and their tangible recorded output.

And that's what is really important.

80.) Kanye West - The College Dropout (2004)

I think hip hop has suffered in the 2000's. As a genre it has gone away from being about records and has become more about the single. Whereas in the 90's you had Pac, Nas, Big, Jay, PE, Tribe, De La, Dre, Snoop,Wu Tang, Black Star, Lauryn Hill, Cube and a host of others making statements with full lengths, the 2000's have brought only a handful of artists willing to go at it for the long haul.

One of those artists is Kanye West whose recorded output in the 2000's I'll put up against virtually any other artists. Kanye, love him or hate him, is probably the most vital artist of this decade period. The College Dropout, which could have simply been a top producer's vanity project, is a classic from start to finish. Kanye would go on to release better records, but The College Dropout still feels like a statement. Sure, Kanye isn't a great rapper, but he's a great crafter of beats, melodies and songs and The College Dropout has some of his best. The singles "All Falls Down" and "Jesus Walks" are, obviously, brilliant but the record is stacked from top to bottom. There's almost no filler here (unfortunately Kanye does find himself indulging in one of the worst traits in hip hop records - the infamous "skit" and "The New Workout Plan" is as sexist and boring a track as Kanye has ever released).

Those missteps aside, The College Dropout has always reminded me of one of my favorite records of all time, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Like that record The College Dropout is a fully realized snapshot of a life. The record always struck me because Kanye, at the time, wasn't afraid to be insecure (especially in "All Falls Down" and more subtly in "Spaceship") and in an age where hip hop became all about the boast that was refreshing. Kanye would of course go on to become one of the cockiest artists working, but I always think that the Kanye we hear from on The College Dropout is the real guy.

I still like Kanye. He gets a pass from me, probably forever. He's such a passionate artist and it never feels as though he's half assing it. He certainly believes his own hype, but when a popular artist is as interesting as Kanye whose to say he shouldn't. There's a reason why he's emerged as the definitive artist of this decade - everyone from hip hop purists to jaded rock critics to indie kids and old school rock guys like his music. He's universal. Your mom probably even knows the refrain to "Gold Digger."

In a decade where it seemed early on that Eminem would be the big hip-hop star, Kanye pulled the rug out from under him by being adventurous and challenging and, unlike Em, he never rested on his laurels. And The College Dropout was just the beginning.

81.) David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2009)

Well, this record was certainly a surprise.

Eno and Byrne hadn't worked together since 1981 when they collaborated to record My Life In the Bush of Ghosts, a sonically adventurous, but not necessarily appealing amalgam of found sounds, ambient noise, world rhythms, and various levels of electronic elements...all in all not my thing.

And then twenty seven years later, they make this. A pop masterpiece. A record on par with the best of their Talking Heads collaborations for sure. Though Everything That Happens is certainly a collaboration between these two men, they weren't together through much of the process. Eno took care of the music and Byrne the lyrics and melody and wow, does it work.

Everything That Happens is unpretentiously uplifting. It's Byrne and Eno settling in and not concerning themselves with anything but making good, pleasant music. But here pleasant does not mean innocuous by any stretch. Everything That Happens isn't exactly bubblegum. Eno and Byrne found a very nice in-between here. The music is adventurous, the production stellar and it is one of Byrne's best vocal performances ever. It's a warm and hopeful record without ever being cheesy.

Byrne and Eno are famous for pushing the envelope a bit and it's no different here. Except this time they're pushing it by not pushing it too much. Everything That Happens is a record that will be enjoyed by anyone who likes music... basically. And that's a huge left turn. Other artists have out-bush-of-ghosts'd Bush of Ghosts by this point, so why do that again? Instead they opted to write a better pop record than virtually anyone else. A record that has provided a lot of enjoyment for me and certainly one of my most listened to records of the last few years.

I spent a good few months being addicted to Everything That Happens and found myself needing to hear certain songs (I'm feeling that way about The Antlers record right now). I don't want to say I've cooled on it because that's not the case, but I haven't been as obsessed as I was initially. But every time I play it or hear one of the songs, it brings me back to that place where last year I was scrolling through my ipod and almost always landing on Everything That Happens and almost always playing "I Fell My Stuff" over and over...and then "Home"...and then "Poor Boy" and on and on.

That's the mark of something truly great.

82.) Beck - Sea Change (2002)

Beck has always been an interesting artist and one worth following, even if his tastes and constantly fluctuating styles can produce hit or miss results. But, it's hard to knock an artist so willing to take risks with his work.

It's silly to even discuss the influence Beck had over both popular and indie music by the time he released Sea Change in 2002. It was huge. He was responsible for Odelay, a record so good and important it should have it's own wing in the Hall of Fame reserved for game changers. He was massive and deservedly so.

In between Odelay and Sea Change he released Midnite Vultures which was a record best enjoyed at a party. Sea Change on the other hand is probably best enjoyed in the dark.

I remember listening to Sea Change the first time and being floored. I didn't know he had it him. This is the same guy who made "Sexx Laws?" I know it's overstated now, but Sea Change was a daring record for Beck to release at that specific time. Turned out, it was the only record he could have released at that time.

Our man is an artist, first and foremost and that's always come through in his work. As an artist, he makes music that he feels at the time and it's been widely noted that Sea Change came on the heels of a pretty tough break up for Beck. What could have been a self indulgent mess turns out to be just the opposite. It's affecting and poignant and sad and it never lets up. It doesn't give you a break. There's no samples or dance grooves to be found anywhere. It's a simple, acoustic record from a man who never suggested he could, or would even want to, make this kind of music. As sad as Sea Change can be it's never depressing, which is difficult for a project like this. It never made me want to cry. I actually enjoy listening to Sea Change.

Sea Change was Beck allowing his audience in, an audience he always kept at arms length. Prior to, and to a great extent since, Sea Change Beck's music, though great, could be construed as a bit cold. We didn't really know who Beck was. A white boy with soul and boogie who loved a good party, but that was it. Because of that Sea Change was a very brave record.

After Sea Change, which aside from Odelay is my favorite Beck record of all time, I decided he could do no wrong. Even if his records weren't going to be perfect from here on out he's earned the right to do whatever he wants and I will be there. I have and will continue to purchase every Beck record until he stops making them and if they continue to be as good as the last one, Modern Guilt, well then I've made the right decision.

83.) Spoon - Gimmie Fiction (2005)

I am of the opinion that we indie rock fans tend to take Spoon for granted. For the better part of this decade, Spoon have been reliably releasing great record after great record and sure said records have been consistently selling better, they've been on Veronica Mars and SNL, but still you don't often hear people saying their favorite band is Spoon. People fawn over bands like TV on the Radio and (yikes) Radiohead and as much as I like both of those bands (they will each have records that rate higher than any Spoon record on this list) as far as 2000's output goes, I'd say Spoon bests both of them (and tons of others as well).

Having said all that, I think Gimmie Fiction is Spoon's last five star effort (which isn't saying too much since the only subsequent release has been Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga which rates a solid four stars). Gimmie Fiction, like all Spoon, is instantly likable - sing along choruses abound and the guitar is front and center. But, Gimmie Fiction finds Spoon exploring some new territory.

My favorite song is the opener, "The Beat and Dragon Adored", a relatively subdued track announcing the bands intentions for this record - "Will you believe they call it rock 'n roll?" Gimmie Fiction is a rock record, but not in the traditional sense. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Prince inspired "I Turn My Camera On." Yeah it's a rock song, but shit it's got soul with a Britt Daniel falsetto that borders on monumental. Gimmie Fiction feels timeless. This thing could have been made in the 70's and no one would have batted an eye.

But for some reason the record is severely underrated, even by me. In the initial stages of this listing (which topped out at somewhere between 250 and 300 records) I pulled each of the four Spoon records released this decade and then quickly eliminated all but one (and yes that includes Gimmie Fiction). As I started building the list, Gimmie Fiction's absence nagged at me. Why isn't it on this list? I loved that record. I know every word to every song on that record.

I really spent time cultivating this list and Gimmie Fiction isn't the only cast-off that found it's way back on, but now when I think about this list and I look at it, I can't believe it almost didn't make it. I look now and I think it probably should be in a better ranking than it is. But, that's the charm of Spoon I guess. They're not in your face about anything. They exist to make near flawless records. Records that challenge and reward repeated listens while still being immediate and poppy.

But it still feels as though Spoon are destined to be taken for granted. Maybe it's because they're not loudly laying stake to any claim. They're not pretentious. They're just solid. They're making visionary records without feeling the need to beat you over the head with how visionary they are. I think our kids will love Spoon (and even our moms - mine was all about "The Underdog" when they performed it on SNL last year). I think that's their legacy. Undervalued in their prime, but destined to be listened to forever.

Or maybe I'm totally wrong. After all Spoon are one of the more talked about indie bands. One of the more popular indie bands, right?

I just feel as though people like Spoon but they don't love them (which they should), they're not passionate about them and though they've found some mainstream success, they're not Kings of Leon (and they should be).

84.) Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009)

Animal Collective had become one of those bands that I'd resigned myself to being in the "I just don't get it" camp. They first caught my attention because of some great notices for their 2004 record Sung Tongs, which I bought and quickly filed away.

It wasn't my thing. I was fine with that. I don't have to love everything, you know? But then Panda Bear (one of AC's founding members) released Person Pitch in 2007 and I was enamored. Maybe it was time I gave Animal Collective a fair shake. I knew enough not to delve too much deeper into the catalog and stayed with what was new which, at the time was just Feels. Again, eh. I loved "Grass" and The Purple Bottle", but it didn't possess that intangible that Person Pitch had.

Undeterred, I bought Strawberry Jam and again, mixed results. A strong first half, but a dwindling second (though "Peacebone" and "Fireworks" are pretty close to perfect). I had decided that was it for me and Animal Collective. I didn't dislike them, I just didn't like them enough to justify buying more of their records.

But then I did anyway. Call me a sucker, but sometimes hype just gets me and the early press on Merriweather Post Pavilion was that this was the one. This was the masterpiece people like me have been waiting for Animal Collective to make...and they were right.

They finally got the formula right, a little less weird and a little more melody and Beach Boys inspired harmonies (courtesy of Panda Bear I'm sure). MPP is a record of classic upon classic. from the sublime "My Girls" (perfect amount of "freak folk" thank you very much) through "Summer Clothes" "Bluish" and "Taste" - just not a dud on this record. It was the perfect summer record even though it weirdly came out in January. It just felt right. Like it all came together. The soundscapes created on MPP were staggeringly beautiful and never pretentious.

It's tough to think of Merriweather Post Pavilion without comparing it to Veckatimest (#88 on this list). They're forever linked - two Pet Sounds channeling "freak folk" buzz bands with varying levels of roots in Brooklyn releasing their strongest achievements in the same year with wall to wall glowing notices. I actually toyed with the idea of including these two records on this list as a tie because choosing one over the other didn't seem fair.

But in the end, I chose one over the other and while both records are stunning achievements I've found myself going back to the Animal Collective record more often. I mentioned this in the Veckatimest post as well, MPP gets the nod because it feels looser, like it was more fun to record and, in the end, a tiny bit more fun to listen to. But just a bit. Plus there's the whole "I just want four walls and adobe slats for my girls."

There were four records released in 2009 that I've dubbed the Holy Quadrinity of Indie Rock this year. Four records that came in with a shit ton of buzz and though The Holy Quadrinity was meant to take the piss out of these records, all four achieved stellar heights. They lived up to the hype. Merriweather Post Pavilion and Veckatimest are two of those records. The other two are still to come.

85.) Wilco - A Ghost Is Born (2004)

Being a devout Wilco fan - and admitted Wilco apologist - I have always managed to find something to love about each and every one of their records, but I don't understand the hindsight scorn leveled at A Ghost is Born.

Released after their ridiculously brilliant Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, A Ghost is Born had a lot to prove and that it's a bit of a comedown from that record is not necessarily a bad thing. Having said that I'm not sure A Ghost is Born is a worse record, it's just different. Whereas Yankee certainly had an express theme and was sequenced to play as a single entity, Ghost is a bit all over the map. People have called it uneven, I'd say unfocused, but even so all the songs are great.

A Ghost Is Born was something of a middle ground between the classic rock of Summerteeth and the experimentation of Yankee. Sure there are a lot of guitar solos, but they're fucking great. They don't feel forced - they're integral to the success of early tracks like "At Least That's What She Said" and "Muzzle of Bees."

A Ghost Is Born also has some of the bands most accessible (in a good way) moments. I'm thinking specifically about "Hummingbird", "Handshake Drugs" and "Company In My Back."

And then there's the wild cards. "Spiders (Kidsmoke)" and "Less Than You Think."

I wholly support the former and tolerate the latter.

I think "Spiders" is a really great song. For a band who did a lot of unexpected things on Yankee, "Spiders" was a left turn no one saw coming - a ten minute krautrock jam with a circuitous hook that goes on, seemingly, forever. On the A Ghost Is Born tour, "Spiders" was a highlight of the shows and I will always remember it fondly.

As for "Less Than You Think" which concluded with nearly twelve minutes of noise...what can you do? I remember when the record came out I said I thought it was Jeff Tweedy railing against the death of the mixtape. Had you wanted "Less Than You Think" on your mix, you could do it easily with a cassette - just hack of that last twelve minutes, but you couldn't do that on a mix CD or ipod playlist. As someone who still laments the loss of the mixtape, I still like to think that's the truth (even though it's more than likely not - Tweedy's stated it was supposed to be the aural equivalent of the migraines that forced him to abuse pharmaceutical drugs).

I happen to love the way A Ghost Is Born ends, not with twelve minutes of noise but with a nice inoffensive two and half minutes of pure pop bliss (and a song lamenting the record industry and the radio, a hint that maybe my mix tape theory holds some water) "The Late Greats." That's Wilco for you. And I will more than likely love them forever. No matter what they do.