Billboard critics pick, top 10 albums 2000-2010

[SW VandeCarr]

I've been good-naturedly criticizing the "stuck in the 70's" bias of the Best Songs thread even though I've been listening to the rock classics (and the classic classics) all my life. I thought I should get better acquainted with the "new stuff" (say since 2000 anyway), but don't know where to start. I checked out the Billboard's critics top 10 albums of the decade list and I'm embarrassed to say I'm only familiar with Radiohead, Amy Winehouse, JayZ, Eminem, and MIA. Of these, I only really like Radiohead and Winehouse. The other 4: Arcade Fire, Strokes, Wilco, and The White Stripes are terra incognito to me (Radiohead has two albums on the list). Arcade Fire's album "Funeral" tops the list. I listened to a couple of songs on the album and I wasn't blown away, but sometimes I need to grow into the music.

Any suggestions on what else I might listen to. I know music is very much a matter of personal taste but some of you might know of some great post-2000 songs that I'm missing. Thanks.

http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/266375/billboard-critics-top-20-albums-of-the-decade

 

[Evo]

Looks like a list of crap to me, but then billboards is mostly top 40 bubble gum junk music. Also, there was very little music in the 70's that was good. The best music of that genre was in the late 60's with a few albums by those 60's groups coming out in the very early 70's. I remember my best friend and I by 1973 saying good music had ended.

 

[DiracPool]

Also, there was very little music in the 70's that was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hphwfq1wLJs

 

[Evo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hphwfq1wLJs

Yuk. Never been a Rod Stewart fan.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Looks like a list of crap to me, but then billboards is mostly top 40 bubble gum junk music. Also, there was very little music in the 70's that was good. The best music of that genre was in the late 60's with a few albums by those 60's groups coming out in the very early 70's. I remember my best friend and I by 1973 saying good music had ended.

Well, I generally felt the same way about the current music scene until Amy Winehouse died two years ago. I knew almost nothing about Winehouse except for her "bad girl" reputation. However, I was surprised to discover her original music was based on her knowledge of jazz, r&b and Motown and that she toured with a full band. She also could really sing when she wanted to. Since then, I've been hunting around other such talent such as Adele with her almost operatic voice. However, I'm not really having a lot of success. BTW, when I said 70's, many of the best groups and artists of the late 60's were still very active in the 70's such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. .

 

[lisab]

I really, really don't care for 'classic rock'. Not sure why, but once I hear enough of a song I never want to hear it again.

Some years ago I made an effort to listen to new music. I found the local 'alternative' radio station and started spending time there. It was unpleasant at first but it turned out to be a great decision! There is some *great* music coming out these days.

Although it is weird sometimes, being nearly 50 and listening to that stuff. An acquaintance who is my age was complaining that her daughter had talked her into going with her to see fun. and I almost fell off my chair in excitement. She clearly thought I was nuts.

I don't post much music here -- not sure why. Maybe I should post more...?

Anyway that list is really bad, IMHO. Why do people even bother making lists of something that is so subjective?

 

[Evo]

I really, really don't care for 'classic rock'. Not sure why, but once I hear enough of a song I never want to hear it again.

Same here.

Some years ago I made an effort to listen to new music. I found the local 'alternative' radio station and started spending time there. It was unpleasant at first but it turned out to be a great decision! There is some *great* music coming out these days.

I also listen to alternative music.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
Any suggestions on what else I might listen to. ...

What I did, way back in me oldster days, was look at what had been on the the Rolling Stones Magazine chart, for more than a decade.

I do believe, that U2 was up there.

Don't listen to me. Don't listen to your friends. Don't listen to the radio. Don't listen to Billboard.

Listen to the trans-generational consensus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnD6ojjA0OA​

If the young and old can agree on something, then, well...

Namaste.

 

[nevere]

Bread - Aubrey

I switched the names with a girl i used to know, had a couple of drinks and watched as the tears begain to fall.



from what I've heard everything from 2000-2013 sucks.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Very big in the period 2000-2010 was the group, "Death Cab for Cutie". Their album, Transatlanticism received a lot of critical acclaim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transatlanticism

Their biggest hit, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," wasn't on that album, though. It still seems to be played everywhere, all the time, where ever Emo people gather.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Coldplay, Muse, and Radiohead. Other than that, modern mainstream music is all crap, especially rap and hiphop. There is still plenty of non-mainstream music that is brilliant though, you just got to dig deep nowadays to find it.

 

[OmCheeto]

...
from what I've heard everything from 2000-2013 sucks.

My good friend, passed away last year. He was as old as I.

He liked this song. I thought it kind of sucked at first, but then...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQLGhPHzxjc

and I seem to remember that some youngsters like this song, also.

 

[micromass]

Looks like a list of crap to me, but then billboards is mostly top 40 bubble gum junk music. Also, there was very little music in the 70's that was good. The best music of that genre was in the late 60's with a few albums by those 60's groups coming out in the very early 70's. I remember my best friend and I by 1973 saying good music had ended.

Little good music in the 70's? What?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC86ZCtV6tI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwSZvHqf9qM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-b76yiqO1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12QZDSaBfps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx83eIVkKyo

Not sure what kind of 70's you lived in...

 

[Evo]

Little good music in the 70's? What?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC86ZCtV6tI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwSZvHqf9qM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfR_HWMzgyc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-b76yiqO1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12QZDSaBfps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx83eIVkKyo

Not sure what kind of 70's you lived in...

Kashmir was good. But Led Zeppelin was one of the 60's groups that I said released some decent songs in the early 70's.

 

[micromass]

Kashmir was good.

And the rest wasn't??

 

[Evo]

And the rest wasn't??

I take the 5th amendment.

 

[micromass]

I take the 5th amendment.

If you weren't a mentor, would have infracted this post.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

And the rest wasn't??

I remember I first heard Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing on a Florida beach in 1977.

 

[Evo]

The Cars were a good 70's group.

 

[OmCheeto]

If you weren't a mentor, would have infracted this post.

pardon my southparkian; "Mentor Fight!"

...



-------------------------------
ok to ban, infract, and yell at me, in any which order... :zzz:

 

[Evo]

If you weren't a mentor, would have infracted this post.

:tongue:

 

[atyy]

How about Tool's 10 000 days?

Or Steve Mackey's Ars Moriendi?

Or Vedder's Guaranteed?

 

[DiracPool]

Coldplay, Muse, and Radiohead. Other than that, modern mainstream music is all crap, especially rap and hiphop. There is still plenty of non-mainstream music that is brilliant though, you just got to dig deep nowadays to find it.

I notice that too. From the time grunge died up until about a few years ago, I thought everything pretty much sucked (except "I want it that way" by the backstreet boys ) But there's been some really good stuff coming out lately. The problem is that it is sporadic, disparate, and dis-integrated. So you do have to look for it and be industrious. What is lacking is some kind of movement for all of it to coalesce around, like the rock and roll movement of the 50's or the counterculture movement of the 60's. This is what the decentralization of the internet has taken from us. But it has given us much more in other ways. It just takes more work now. In the old days all you had to do was show up at the Monterey pop festival or Woodstock and it was all handed to you.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Orianthi is a new talent. She was selected to be Michael Jackson's lead guitarist for his "This Is It" tour not long before he died. She's very good technically but tends to "overplay" (although she doesn't here). Unfortunately she also tries to sing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDhV-xXDWsE

 

[DiracPool]

Since then, I've been hunting around other such talent such as Adele with her almost operatic voice. However, I'm not really having a lot of success.

If you want a contemporary female artist of the caliber of Amy and Adele, try Alicia on for size...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYZLWQVsCcg

If that performance doesn't move you you need your head examined.

 

[atyy]

Vienna Teng: Augustine. The drummer is Alex Wong.

3fdB5-19iVU[/youtube]

 

[SW VandeCarr]

If you want a contemporary female artist of the caliber of Amy and Adele, try Alicia on for size...If that performance doesn't move you you need your head examined.

For some reason I've been thinking she's been around longer than she actually has. Same with Christina Aguilera, Maria Carey and Macy Gray. They all have great voices and I do like Alicia Keys' phrasing and delivery better than Carey and Aguilera who tend to "showboat". But they're quite familiar. I think of them as established mainstream pop stars. I guess I'm looking for the non-mainstream alternative type who might nevertheless become a commercial success. I can't explain it but I would take Fiona Apple over Alicia Keys.

 

[DiracPool]

I guess I'm looking for the non-mainstream alternative type who might nevertheless become a commercial success. I can't explain it but I would take Fiona Apple over Alicia Keys.

And what? Amy and Adele are not mainstream? Even Fiona was as mainstream as the A-girls in her day. But, Fiona, oh, she sooo naughty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFOzayDpWoI

 

[Cthugha]

Of these, I only really like Radiohead and Winehouse.

Radiohead is fine? So let me guess what else you might like. If you follow the top albums list you posted to ranks 11-20 you find PJ Harvey on 14. "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" is a great album, almost happy in contrast to PJ Harvey's other records. Thom Yorke from Radiohead also lends his vocals to some of the songs.


PJ Harvey's short time lover Nick Cave released "no more shall we part", one of his most underrated albums in 2001. He really shows his skills as a storyteller on that record.


A lot of people I know who like Radiohead are also into Icelandic weirdos Sigur Ros. The following song from their 2000 album Agaetis Byrjun is amazing:


If you do not mind a bit of electronic stuff mixed into the music, Portishead might be for you. Radiohead once covered the following song:


However, I am afraid all of these artist also already made music in the 90s.

 

[reenmachine]

I think rock in the 60s/70s were clearly the strongest era/genre for "modern" music.

At 22-23 years old I also started listening to some House music and I have to admit I've never stopped listening to it ever since.While I agree that rock is the best , it doesn't stimulate my brain as much as good House/Trance music does.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

And what? Amy and Adele are not mainstream? Even Fiona was as mainstream as the A-girls in her day. But, Fiona, oh, she sooo naughty

Here's the difference. Adele, Amy and Fiona all write (or wrote) their own very personal and distinctive music. Afaik the typical mainstream stars do not. Most have songwriting teams that crank out stuff for them to sing. They tend to sound similar (at least to me) and have that "pop groove" sound.

While I'm at it, it's easy and popular to criticize the critics. After all, music is very personal. However the Billboard critics did not include the most popular mainstream "divas" and male stars, just Winehouse and MIA. I like the former but not so much the latter although MIA's stuff is definitely "edgy". If they had included Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Bruno Mars or any other of a number stars, I would have ignored it and not posted it. These stars are more commercially successful than the ones on the Billboard top 10 list. (I didn't look at the second 10). It's clear that the critics have some sense of quality, distinctiveness and creativity even if you or I don't necessarily like all their choices. Radiohead got 2 albums listed and I think the "PF critics" generally agree with that.

Radiohead, JayZ and Eminem made their mark before 2000, so they're not really what I'm looking for.

 

[MarneMath]

Glad to see Arcade fire's album up there. Although I'm a bit bias since Will Butler and I used to jam together back when I had legs. I'm also really happy to see Elliott Smith on the top 20, because he was a really talented song writer who ended his life way to soon. Very unfortunate.

As a side note, is it bad that I hate every song micromass posted?*

*Not hate, but rather I listen to it once and never feel the need to listen to it again. Although Bob Dylan is one of my favorite folk artist ever.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Adele's music is by no means distinctive or original. It's the same pop crap that every other modern day pop artist puts out. The only difference is she can actually sing. I find it is nigh impossible to find an artist today whose songs have truly meaningful lyrics.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Adele's music is by no means distinctive or original. It's the same pop crap that every other modern day pop artist puts out. The only difference is she can actually sing. I find it is nigh impossible to find an artist today whose songs have truly meaningful lyrics.

And Adele didn't make the Billboard top 10, but she is still better than most of the rest, all things taken into account. If you want good lyrics (in the opinion of most critics) look at Amy Winehouse's "Love Is a Losing Game", a torch song if there ever was one.

For you I was a flame
Love is a losing game
Five story fire as you came
Love is a losing game

One I wish I never played
Oh, what a mess we made
And now the final frame
Love is a losing game

Played out by the band
Love is a losing hand
More than I could stand
Love is a losing hand

Self professed profound
Till the chips were down
Know you're a gambling man
Love is a losing hand

Though I battle blind
Love is a fate resigned
Memories mar my mind
Love is a fate resigned

Over futile odds
And laughed at by the Gods
And now the final frame
Love is losing game.

 

[DiracPool]

Here's the difference. Adele, Amy and Fiona all write (or wrote) their own very personal and distinctive music. Afaik the typical mainstream stars do not. Most have songwriting teams that crank out stuff for them to sing. They tend to sound similar (at least to me) and have that "pop groove" sound.

I think you have the "difference" in the wrong direction. We're talking about putting Alicia Keys in the same category as Adele, Amy, and Fiona as far as their distinctive singing and songwriting talent. Do you really think that Alicia doesn't "write (or wrote) her own very personal and distinctive music."? Alicia is a trained musician, if any of the above girls wrote her own tunes, it was Alicia. Typically, a true singer/songwriter plays some instrument and likes to play that instrument during their performances, even if it's more or less in a token fashion. The fact that Adele, Amy, and Fiona typically don't do so that leads me to think that their songwriting, while personal, is arranged by studio professionals hired by or in-house to the label. That's very different than crafting your own melodies and rhythms, which I'm sure Alicia has done on her songs. The other three girls probably just wrote the lyrics and were presented with various arrangements of music put to those lyrics to approve or disapprove.