25.

The Books
The Lemon of Pink
(Tomlab, 2003)

When I first picked up The Lemon of Pink I was with my sister. I started playing it in my car and for some reason my sister thought that I had just purchased a scary sounds album or the soundtrack to a horror movie. The tonal impression of the album couldn’t be farther from the mark, but I can understand her confusion. The Books' use of samples in conjunction with the beautiful instrumentation of Nick Zammuto’s acoustic guitar and Paul de Jong’s Cello was certainly unique and totally different from anything my sister might have been listening to on the radio. For me the contrast is significant – The Lemon of Pink inhabits the resilience of the human spirit, and that is reason enough to have it here as one of the top twenty-five very best albums of the decade.

-Thistle

24.

Avalanches
Since I Left You
(XL, 2001)

The Avalanches' debut album, Since I Left You, is a party. You could be sitting all alone in your room and if you had a stereo and Since I Left You, you’re party would still be better than any in your zip code (that is, if none of those other parties were broadcasting the album at the same time). Stitched together with, what was it? A billion different samples? The album is just a bombardment of fun the likes of which is incomparable in the world of samples and electronic music as a whole. Everything about Since I Left You is groundbreaking.

-Thistle

23.

Radiohead
Kid A
(Capitol, 2000)

duh.

-Thistle

22.

Fennesz
Endless Summer
(Mego, 2001)

Endless Summer is the precursor to most of the avant garde drone that I enjoy now and, aside from two ‘Drone-esque’ albums that I have placed ahead of it on this list, is still better than everything that has come out since. The fact that the others on this list are really just personal favourites would suggest, rightly, that in the grand scheme of things Fennesz’s Endless Summer is indeed the king of drone-based My Bloody Valentine worship. Who knew that such a narrow sub-genre would be so artistically profitable? A thousand thanks be to Fennesz for pioneering glory as conceived through a small plastic disc (which begs the question – why is this not on vinyl?).

-Thistle

21.

At The Drive-In
Relationship of Command
(Grand Royal, 2000)

My relationship with At The Drive-In has to be one of my most bittersweet. Years ago I was caught in a dilemma of choosing between seeing At The Drive-In or Fugazi, both of whom where scheduled to play on the same night. I postponed my decision for awhile, not certain of which I should see until I was shocked by the news that At The Drive-In had disbanded and would not be playing any more shows on their already scheduled tour. It obviously made my decision for me, but I think in retrospect (despite how awesome Fugazi was live) I would have much rather seen At The Drive-In. And then there was the double let-down of The Mars Volta and Sparta. Things will never be what they used to be, but I still have Relationship of Command…

-Thistle

20.

Wolf Parade
Apologies To The Queen Mary
(Sub Pop, 2005)

Remember how early associations of Wolf Parade with Modest Mouse had the mainstream media constantly comparing the two bands? It’s a pretty ridiculous comparison, but whatever, it can be hard for Rolling Stone to distinguish between two bands that both use guitar, bass and drums. On my first listens I remember being intrigued but unable to grasp the album as a whole. I don’t think I knew then that there was two vocalists/songwriters in Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner. And so, Apologies To The Queen Mary unfolded itself to me slowly, but fold by fold, triangle by square, Wolf Parade became THEE wolf band of the day and, as it now turns out, of the decade. Wolf Parade’s debut is rich with grand songwriting at every fold, and still unfolding.

-Thistle

19.

The Knife
Silent Shout
(Rabid/Mute, 2006)

I came to Silent Shout way after the fact and, on my first listen, I didn’t get what all the fuss was about. However, on my second listen I tripped and fell deep into the bizarre electronic rabbit hole excavated by this genius brother/sister duo. Sassigrass and I almost solely listened to this album on a cross-country road trip from SLC to D.C. and back. I don’t know what type of Scandinavian bewitching powder these two used on Silent Shout, but it has kept me entranced and increasingly ensnared after every listen. One of the creepiest, kitschiest…you know what? I really don’t know. It simply it is what it is. There is nothing quite like it. In other breaking news, and in an effort to continue my ill-fated habit of pre-emptively announcing an albums placement on a best of list before hearing anything else: after having heard “Colouring of Pigeons,” the new track off of Tomorrow, In A Year, I think Sassigrass and I both are prepared to announce the album as the best of next decade. Seriously, If you haven’t heard it yet, you best get your priorities straight. Check it here: http://www.theknife.net/

-Thistle

18.

Animal Collective
Feels
(Fat Cat, 2005)

Feels is the first album from Animal Collective that started to receive the tag of accessibility, which is funny, because now each successive release has been their ‘accessible’ record. Who cares if it’s accessible when it's this incredible? Absolutely and totally amazing and imaginative and surprising. Sassigrass and I and a couple other friends roadtripped out to San Francisco in order to see Animal Collective shortly after this came out and it was definitely one of the best shows I have ever seen. Talking to their road manager at a show a couple years later in SLC, he remarked that that San Francisco show was the best show (the “quintessential”) Animal Collective had ever played. I think they were just feeding off the good vibes established with Feels. So many great moments, it’s almost too good.

-Thistle

17.

Cannibal Ox
The Cold Vein
(Def Jux, 2001)

The laconic delivery and undeniable chemistry of emcees Vaste Air and Vordul Mega as set to psychotic/futuristic production of El-P is, simply put, the best hip hop album of this decade (of course, IMO). No one else has pinned together such a consistently resilient lyrical exposition, nor has anyone delivered it with such a handsome array of aural paranoia. Simply astounding.

-Thistle

16.

Andrew Bird
The Mysterious Production of Eggs
(Righteous Babe, 2005)

Andrew Bird is a model of consistency. He doesn’t have a single album under his name that isn’t worth a listen. However, it was The Mysterious Production of Eggs that really convinced me that he was more then just a consistent songwriter. The delicacy of this album’s instrumentation coupled with the grace of Bird’s voice is probably one of the most charming things I’ve ever heard. His songs on this album are simple, subtle concoctions of lemonade happiness. This is the way I want my life to sound.

-Thistle

15.

Lightning Bolt
Wonderful Rainbow
(Load, 2003)

Wonderful Rainbow holds an unexpected romantic sentimentality for me. When Sassigrass and I first started dating we shared a bunch of music with each other and of the truckload of CDs I flung at her, Wonderful Rainbow was the first to stick. Later while playing the album in her room, I jumped atop her bed and proceeded to play a ridiculously technical air-bass line (I believe it was during “Crown Of Storms”) with all the proper punk swagger that is understandably missing from Brian Gibson’s statuesque live performances to the laughter of Sassigrass and, unexpectedly, the slightly embarrassing laughter of my future mother-in-law as she entered the room unannounced. Cute huh? Perhaps the cutest story ever to accompany this deathly pummeling monument of noise and rock that is Lightning Bolt’s Wonderful Rainbow.

-Thistle

14.

Arcade Fire
Funeral
(Merge, 2004)

What can I say about this album that hasn’t already been said? Nothing. This is indie rock at its most emotionally transparent and very best. Oh, and on a super side note, I loved Where The Wild Things Are (the movie, but also the book).

-Thistle