The first of three studio albums Ryan Adams released during 2005, Cold Roses is a double-length album that melded Adams' alt-country leanings with the sound of American Beauty-era Grateful Dead. An album that sounded classic upon its release.
Source Tags and Codes was the major label debut for Austin, Texas' …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. "Another Morning Stoner" got the radio play, but the album as a whole is a masterpiece of clever lyrics and ambitious production. Hailed by fans and critics as the band's shining moment.
Animal Collective eschewed some of their avant garde tendencies for a slightly more accessible sound with 2009's Merriweather Post Pavilion (named after a concert venue near the band's hometown of Baltimore, Maryland). If you ever wondered what the combination of Beach Boys harmonies, psychedelic rock, and electronica would sound like, Merriweather Post Pavilion is the answer.
Their anthemic 2004 debut album made Montreal's Arcade Fire instant sensations and gave them some high-profile fans - U2 would use "Wake Up" as their walk-on music during their Vertigo world tour, and David Bowie would duet with them on the same song in 2005.
The sound of pop and punk combined by a band not yet out of their teens. Arctic Monkeys broke records in their native UK with their 2006 debut Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and its singles "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" and "When The Sun Goes Down", both of which topped the British charts.
Romantic electronica perfectly describes Australia's The Avalanches. Co-member Robbie Chater once described the band's 2000 debut album as "an international search for love from country to country".
When is an EP not an EP? When its Erykah Badu's 2003 release, Worldwide Underground. Nearly an hour of soul, funk and ambient sounds that found Badu skipping the mainstream, aiming instead for greater artistic heights… and reaching them.
Following the downbeat Sea Change, Beck returned with an album on par with his classic Odelay. With The Dust Brothers handling production, quintessential songs like "E-Pro", "Girl", and "Hell Yeah" help make Guero Beck's best of the decade.
Fans were ambivalent when Belle and Sebastian announced they would be working with hitmaker producer Trevor Horn (Seal, The Buggles). But rather than lose the charm of the band, with 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress Horn simply helped take their sound to a new sonic level, with songs like "I'm A Cuckoo" and "Step Into My Office, Baby" pleasing the die-hards while appealing to a new audience as well.
A band that takes their name from the seminal Canadian rock movie Hard Core Logo has got to rock, which is exactly what Billy Talent does on their debut album. In less than a decade the band has gone from headlining clubs to selling out arenas across the country. Their debut album and singles like "Try Honesty" and "The River" is where it all started.
2005's Monkey Business introduced the Black Eyed Peas to an entirely new audience as they infused their soulful sounds with a pop accessibility. "Don’t Phunk With My Heart" may have been the first hit, but it would be "My Humps" that would shoot the band into the stratosphere.
James Blunt's 2004 debut album , Back To Bedlam, made the English singer-songwriter a star, not to mention a hit with soccer moms around the world, thanks in no small part to the massive success of its third single "You're Beautiful".
A collective of Toronto musicians under the guidance of Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew, Broken Social Scene received worldwide notice for You Forgot It In People, which featured multiple instruments forming a Wall of Sound-style production. The album would go on to win the Juno Award for Alternative Album Of The Year.
In 2002, at 62 years of age, the King Of Soul joined forces with producer Joe Henry to record a masterful collection of songs from artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson, and Elvis Costello. The continuing power of Burke's voice and the quality of material would help Don't Give Up On Me score a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
While Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" has become a classic, there's more gold to be found on The Man Comes Around, most notably a non-ironic version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" and his poignant album closer, "We'll Meet Again". Sadly, less than a year after the album's release Cash was gone.
With a title borrowed from author Charles Bukowski, a guest appearance by The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie, and a sound that recalled Neil Young's classic Harvest, the second album from St. Catharines, Ontario native Dallas Green quickly wove its way into the fabric of Canadian roots-rock.
No one expected a live album from the 75-year old Leonard Cohen to be an instant classic, but that's exactly what happened upon the 2009 release of Live In London, recorded in front of 20,000 fans at the O2 Arena in 2008. A crack band, a joyful crowd, an exuberant Cohen, and 26 classics all add up to a quintessential addition to Cohen's legacy.
Following the slow build of their debut album, A Rush Of Blood To The Head was an immediate critical and commercial success upon its release in 2002. A giant musical leap forward with a greater emphasis on guitar tracks than the previous album, though few would argue the most memorable part of "Clocks" is its piano riff.
Viva La Vida is the album where Coldplay cemented their superstar status as one of the biggest bands of the decade. Working with producer Brian Eno, the band crafted instrumentals ("Life In Technicolor"), mood pieces ("Violet Hill"), and smash hits ("Viva La Vida").
Common joined forces with Kanye West in 2005 for Be, an album that critics would hail as the artist's best . The collaboration would result in beats so good that not only did they score Common some of the best reviews of his career, but Kanye would also use them for his own album, Late Registration.
Progressive and electro-house were in safe hands at the end of the decade with the release of Deadmau5's For Lack Of A Better Name, a diverse collection of music that is highlighted by the epic 10-minute closing track "Strobe".
After building a steady fanbase over the course of the decade, Death Cab For Cutie's Narrow Stairs found the band experiencing mainstream commercial success. The band blankets Ben Gibbard's dark lyrics with joyful sounds on "No Sunlight" and "You Can Do Better Than Me", but it's the nearly 10-minute "I Will Possess Your Heart" that earns Narrow Stairs its place on our list.
Producer Rick Rubin put his magic touch on a new Neil Diamond album and the result was the artist's most acclaimed in 30 years. A stripped-down affair that put the emphasis on songcraft, 2005's 12 Songs reminded the world why we cared about Neil Diamond in the first place.
The Dixie Chicks 2007 album was a direct response to the polarizing reaction fans and non-fans alike had regarding Natalie Maines' 2003 comments about then-President George W. Bush. Taking The Long Way is a passionate plea for tolerance, acceptance and openmindedness, wrapped in the unmistakeable sound of one of the biggest bands of the decade.
Bob Dylan's late career resurgence was ignited by Love and Theft. Working with his killer touring band, the self-produced effort incorporated 50's rock and roll, swing, jazz, and Dylan's own unmatched lyricism.
The eighth volume in Bob Dylan's ongoing Bootleg Series is also one of the most listenable efforts of his entire career. The collection spans nearly 20 years and dozens of previously unreleased or rare songs. As essential as any of his studio albums from the decade and required listening for anyone with an interest in the artist.
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