Top 20 Albums of the Decade

In about a week, Pitchfork will release it's top albums of the decade, so I thought I'd scoop them (after all, when I release mine no one will care about Pitchfork's, right?).

So, hear are my top 20 albums of the decade:

20. Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, and Wives (2006)/ Raised by Wolves (2005) - Voxtrot
It might be a cheat to combine the songs from two EPs, but taken together Voxtrot's early comprises some of the most stunning indie pop of the decade.

Best song: Wrecking Force

19. A Ghost is Born (2005) - Wilco
I remember this album being somewhat misunderstood when it was first released. I think the main reason for that was because Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was such a revelation and that created extraordinarily high expectations which couldn't be surpassed. When one simply listens to this album as a self-contained statement, it' wonderful. Overall, A Ghost is Born is a brilliant synthesis of Wilco's adventurous experimentalism and earthy, emotive brand of rock music.

Best song: Hell is Chrome

18. Wagonwheel Blues (2008) - The War on Drugs
You may not have heard of this band, but their work is exceptional, particularly this 2008 release that was unfortunately overlooked by most mainstream publications. The War on Drugs specializes in rich, shambling indie rock that owes no small debt to Bob Dylan.

Best song: Buenes Aires Beach.

17. Powder Burns (2007) - Twilight Singers
I think Greg Dulli's "side project" the Twilight Singers is significantly better than his original band, the acclaimed Afghan Whigs. On the surface, this album is merely a collection of a few hard-hitting rock songs, but in fact it is a soaring, emotionally wrought triumph.

Best song: Dead to Rights

16. Before the Dawn Heals Us (2004)- M83
Along with the Postal Service's Give Up, M83's Before the Dawn Heals Us may be the most palatable distillation of indie electronic in the 21st century--although in many ways, the two albums are poles apart. In this, Anthony Gonzalez creates dark, indelible soundscapes that are among the most lush and propulsive of the decade.

Best song: Moonchild

15. On the Wing Now (2007) - Foreign Born
With their impressive 2008 release Person to Person, California shoegazers Foreign Born are finally getting the respect they deserve, but On the Wing Now remains their best work to date. It's an exhilarating collection of layered, shimmering indie rock anthems that somehow manages to transcend every genre it steps in.

Best song: In the Shape

14. Things We Lost in the Fire (2001) - Low
With this individualistic masterpiece, slowcore pioneers Low finally triumphed over the occasional banality of their downtempo sensibilities to produce an uncompromisingly beautiful, heartrending record.

Best song: Medicine Magazines

13. Return to Cookie Mountain (2006) - TV on the Radio
This album crystallized TV on the Radio's position as the preeminent producers of pulsing, cinematic indie/experimental rock in the world.

Best song: Province (OK, maybe it's Wolf Like Me, but I'm trying to be different)

12. The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nation's General Millennium Assembly (2007) - Le Loup
Although Le Loup consists of a sprawling collection of musicians, on Throne of the Third Heaven the band manages to produce a cohesive, conceptually rich, and deeply moving album that is like a combination of the best Sufjan Stevens and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Best song: Planes Like Vultures

11. Plague Park (2007) - Handsome Furs
Ostensibly a side project for Dan Boeckner of Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs plays blisteringly beautiful electronic indie rock on par with the best of Wolf Parade, and this 2007 release is a remarkably powerful album.

Best song: Handsome Furs Hate This City

10. Turn on the Bright Lights (2002) - Interpol
Interpol are exactly what everyone says they are: unabashed post-punk revivalists continuing in the tradition of such bands as Joy Division and Echo and the Bunnymen. But let's be honest, on this album, Interpol is better than all of the bands from which they take their cues.

Best song: NYC

19. Alopecia (2008) - Why?
How this truly individualistic album didn't make Pitchfork's top 50 of 2008 baffles me. In this album, the genre-defying Why? manages to be sincere, moving, self-deprecating, and irrepressibly brilliant.

8. Antics (2004) - Interpol
Conventional wisdom says that Antics is a compelling but less successful effort than Turn on the Bright Lights, but I happen to think Antics is the better album. In this album, Interpol steps out of the shadow of their post-punk roots to present one of the strongest collections of dark indie rock songs of the decade.

7. Glory Hope Mountain (2007) - The Acorn
A little known album full of pristine indie folk/pop from the sorely under appreciated The Acorn.
The opening track "Hold Your Breath" may be one of the best songs of the decade.

Best song: Hold Your Breath

6. Anytown Graffiti (2007) - Pela
Other than Arcade Fire, no one is making more rousing and emotionally infused indie rock than Pela. The sheer force of each track on Anytown Graffiti is remarkable.

Best song: Rooftops

5. Apologies to Queen Mary (2005) - Wolf Parade
This collection of gritty indie rock anthems should be regarded as a modern classic.

Best song: I'll Believe in Anything

4. Takk (2005) - Sigur Ros
Sigur Ros has been making some of the most beautiful and impacting music of any band for years, and on Takk they set forth their defining masterpiece of lush, toweringly cinematic songs.

Best song: Hoppipolla

3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001) - Wilco
Released in the 2001, nothing could have been more appropriate than this collection of searching, intricate, and mysterious experimental pop songs that highlighted a collective desire for post-millenial connection.

Best song: Jesus etc.

2. Funeral (2004) - Arcade Fire
Almost no other band that I've heard plays songs as emotionally charged and moving as Arcade Fire. On Funeral, the band raises the bar on creating stirring indie rock anthems.

Best song: Rebellion (Lies)

1. Boxer (2007) - The National
The National's unflinchingly beautiful Boxer is not only my favorite album of the decade, but I think one of the most impressive of all time. The band's ability to create lush, atmospheric, and heartrendingly honest indie rock/pop work is nearly unparalleled among their peers.

Best song: Apartment Story