AllMusic Loves 2000
May 8th, 2009 | 9:16 am est |
With nine years covered in our AllMusic Loves series, hitting the current decade was only a matter of time. We start here with the first year, naturally, and we’ll knock out the rest and reach the end before the next decade begins. Prince rang in the year 2000 with “1999,” vowing he would never play it again (cough); Smashing Pumpkins closed it out by bidding farewell (cough, hack, wheeze). In between, pivotal albums were released by established artists like Radiohead and OutKast. Britney Spears and Eminem proved not to be flashes in the pan by producing commercially and creatively successful second albums. The underground provided some exceptional one-shots from Life Without Buildings and the Avalanches. At the year’s end, you were no doubt celebrating the triumph of having Your Hard Drive named Spin magazine’s Album of the Year, even if you did not own one filled with a thousand awesome and incorrectly-tagged MP3s encoded at 128 kbps.
John Bush
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Quasimoto - The Unseen
Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
Ian Brown - Golden Greats
Gonzales - The Entertainist
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Chappaquiddick Skyline - Chappaquiddick Skyline
Luomo - Vocal City
I-f - Mixed Up in the Hague, Vol. 1
Zed Bias - Sound of the Pirates
Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Saint Etienne - Sound of Water
Doctor Rockit - Indoor Fireworks
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Photek - Solaris
Wu-Tang Clan - The W
Jurassic 5 - “Quality Control”
Jurassic 5 - “Twelve”
Goldfrapp - “Pilots”
Quasimoto - “Microphone Mathematics”
OutKast - “So Fresh, So Clean”
Destiny’s Child - “Independent Women, Pt. 1″
Britney Spears - “Oops!…I Did It Again”
Brad Paisley - “Me Neither”
Badly Drawn Boy - “Fall in a River”
Ian Brown - “Set My Baby Free”
Chappaquiddick Skyline - “Everyone Else Is Evolving”
Life Without Buildings - “Young Offenders”
Wu-Tang Clan - “Careful (Click, Click)”
The New Pornographers - “Mass Romantic”
Saint Etienne - “Downey, CA”
Boards of Canada - “In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country”
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
White Stripes - De Stijl
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Green Day - Warning
Steely Dan - Two Against Nature
Super Furry Animals - Mwng
Ween - White Pepper
Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R
Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2
Peaches - Teaches of Peaches
Elastica - The Menace
Shelby Lynne - I Am Shelby Lynne
OutKast - Stankonia
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
Paul Simon - You’re the One
Supergrass - Supergrass
Radiohead - Kid A
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Merle Haggard - If I Could Only Fly
Paul Weller - Heliocentric
Supergrass - “Pumping on Your Stereo”
Madonna - “Don’t Tell Me”
Stone Temple Pilots - “Sour Girl”
Oasis - “Go Let It Out”
Bob Dylan - “Things Have Changed”
Britney Spears - “Oops! I Did It Again”
White Stripes - “Hello Operator”
Green Day - “Minority”
OutKast - “B.O.B.”
Eminem - “The Real Slim Shady”
Destiny’s Child - “Say My Name”
Queens of the Stone Age - “Feel Good Hit of the Summer”
Bloodhound Gang - “The Bad Touch”
No Doubt - “Ex-Girlfriend”
P!nk - “There You Go”
Heather Phares
Add N To (X) - Add Insult to Injury
Björk - Selmasongs
Blonde Redhead - Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
Chicks on Speed - Will Save Us All!
Clinic - Internal Wrangler
Elastica - The Menace
The For Carnation - The For Carnation
Friends of Dean Martinez - A Place in the Sun
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
The Microphones - It Was Hot We Stayed in the Water
Mirah - You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This
Optiganally Yours - Optiganally Yours Presents: Exclusively Talentmaker
Peaches - The Teaches of Peaches
Pram - The Museum of Imaginary Animals
Queens of the Stone Age - R
Smog - Dongs of Sevotion
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Aaliyah - “Try Again”
Air - “Playground Love”
Daft Punk - “One More Time”
Eminem - “Stan”
Green Velvet - “Answering Machine”
Jurassic 5 - “Improvise”
Madonna - “Music”
Moby - “South Side”
OutKast - “Ms. Jackson”
Radiohead - “Everything in Its Right Place”
Matt Collar
Teenage Fanclub - Howdy!
Nick Curran - Fixin’ Your Head
Phoenix - United
Marc Teamaker - Ping!
OutKast - Stankonia
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
D’Angelo - Voodoo
Movietone - Blossom Filled Streets
Radiohead - Kid A
Madonna - Music
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Shelby Lynne - I Am
Elastica - The Menace
PJ Harvey - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea
Mojave 3 - Excuses for Travelers
The Sea and Cake - Oui
Jim Roll - Lunette
Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Oasis - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
David Jeffries
Horace Andy - Living in the Flood
Beenie Man - Art and Life
Zed Bias - Sound of the Pirates
Big Moe - City of Syrup
Common - Like Water for Chocolate
Culture - Payday
Dead Prez - Let’s Get Free
Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
D.I.T.C. - D.I.T.C.
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
Green Velvet - Green Velvet
Moodymann - Forevernevermore
OutKast - Stankonia
Prodigy - H.N.I.C.
Radiohead - Kid A
Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 2
Armand Van Helden - Killing Puritans
Nicole Willis - Soul Makeover
Various Artists - Feel Like Jumping: The Best of Studio One Women
Andy Kellman
Arovane - Tides
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Erykah Badu - Mama’s Gun
Daniel Bell - The Button Down Mind of Daniel Bell
Zed Bias - Sound of the Pirates
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
D’Angelo - Voodoo
Gas - Pop
Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele
Gramm - Personal Rock
Herbert - Letsallmakemistakes
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City
Luomo - Vocal City
Moodymann - Forevernevermore
OutKast - Stankonia
Theo Parrish - Parallel Dimensions
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
Radiohead - Kid A
Tobias Thomas - Für Dich
Susumu Yokota - Sakura
Aaliyah - “Try Again”
Annie - “The Greatest Hit”
Black Box Recorder - “The Art of Driving”
Boards of Canada - “Amo Bishop Roden”
Philippe Cam - “Karine”
Cannibal Ox - “Iron Galaxy”
Closer Musik - “One Two Three (No Gravity)”
Herbert - “Leave Me Now”
Gustavo Lamas - “Jovenes”
Losoul - “You Can Do”
M. Mayer - “Amanda”
Memphis Bleek - “Is That Your Chick? (The Lost Verses)”
Metro Area - “The Art of Hot” (YouTube audio)
M.O.P. - “Ante Up”
MRI - “To Be Honest”
Newworldaquarium - “Trespassers”
Photek - “Mine to Give” (YouTube)
Recloose - “Can’t Take It”
Jill Scott - “Slowly Surely”
Spacek - “Eve”
Andrew Leahey
Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers - Honky Tonk Union
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - Furnace Room Lullaby
U2 - All That You Can’t Leave Behind
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Air - The Virgin Suicides
D’Angelo - Voodoo
Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
The Masticators - Masticate!
Neal Casal - Anytime Tomorrow
The Juliana Theory - Emotion Is Dead
Jason Lymangrover
At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Blonde Redhead - Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Broadcast - The Noise Made by People
Clinic - Internal Wrangler
Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
Erykah Badu - Mama’s Gun
ESG - A South Bronx Story
Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump
Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica
OutKast - Stankonia
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
Quasimoto - The Unseen
Radiohead - Kid A
Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun
Slum Village - Fantastic, Vol. 2
Thingy - To the Innocent
Ween - White Pepper
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Beck - “Mixed Bizness”
Boards of Canada - “In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country”
Björk - “New World”
Blackalicious - “A to G”
D’Angelo - “How Does It Feel?”
Detroit Grand Pubahs - “Sandwiches” (YouTube)
Doves - “Rise”
Elliott Smith - “Everything Means Nothing to Me”
Eminem - “I Am”
Enon - “Rubber Car”
The Hives - “I Hate to Say I Told You So”
Jurassic 5 - “Quality Control”
Ladytron - “Playgirl”
The Sea and Cake - “Afternoon Speaker”
Roni Size/Reprazent - “Ghetto Celebrity”
Sean Paul - “Infiltrate”
Shaggy - “It Wasn’t Me”
Sisqo - “Thong Song”
Takako Minekawa - “Sleeping Bag”
Yo La Tengo - “Cherry Chapstick”
James Christopher Monger
Stew - Guest Host
XTC - Wasp Star (Apple Venus, Pt. 2)
Virginia Rodrigues - Nos
The Gourds - Bolsa de Agua
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Jim Roll - Lunette
Brian Lillie & the Squirrel Mountain Orchestra - Good Luck Fire Chief
Air - The Virgin Suicides
Pinetop Seven - Bringing Home the Last Great Strike
Black Box Recorder - The Facts of Life
Radiohead - Kid A
Michael Penn - MP4: Days Since a Lost Time Accident
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Bad Livers - Blood & Mood
Clocker Redbury & Dusty Slosinger - Slosinger/Redbury
Ween - White Pepper
Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci - The Blue Trees
Bill Frisell - Ghost Town
The Gathering - If_Then_Else
Augie March - Sunset Studies
Björk - “Cvalda”
Thomas Newman - “Dead Already”
Belle & Sebastian - “Legal Man”
Warren Zevon - “I Was in the House When the House Burned Down”
Marah - “Faraway You”
a-ha - “Mary Ellen Makes the Moment Count”
The Aislers Set - “The Way to Market Station”
16 Horsepower - “Clogger”
Eliott Smith - “Color Bars”
The Handsome Family - “Don’t Be Scared”
Sunny Day Real Estate - “The Rising Tide”
Rachid Taha - “Qalantiqa”
The Hives - “Main Offender”
Robyn Hitchcock - “Viva! Sea-Tac”
Jayhawks - “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”
Neko Case & Her Boyfriends - “Furnace Room Lullaby”
Enya - “Lazy Days”
The White Stripes - “You’re Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)”
Iron Maiden - “The Wicker Man”
The Ghettobillies - “Line Dance Champion” (MP3)
Tim Sendra
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Beachwood Sparks - Beachwood Sparks
The Fletcher Pratt - Nine by Nine
The Go-Betweens - The Friends of Rachel Worth
Heavy Blinkers - Heavy Blinkers
Kittycraft - Catskills
The Lassie Foundation - Pacifico
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Noonday Underground - Self-Assembly
Phoenix - United
Saturday Looks Good to Me - Saturday Looks Good to Me
Shimmer Kids Underpop Association - Bury My Heart at Makeout Point
The Softies - Holiday in Rhode Island
This is my favorite song of 2000 (and possibly of all-time after “Steal My Sunshine”):
The Softies - “Me and the Bees”
Greg Heaney
Jurassic 5 - Quality Control
At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command
Ween - White Pepper
The Hives - Veni Vidi Vicious
OutKast - Stankonia
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Clinic - Internal Wrangler
They Might Be Giants - Working Undercover for the Man
Har Mar Superstar - Har Mar Superstar
J Mascis + the Fog - More Light
Man or Astro-Man? - A Spectrum of Infinite Scale
De La Soul - Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
The Apples in Stereo - The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Enon - Believo!
Elf Power - The Winter Is Coming
The Twilight Singers - Twilight as Played by the Twilight Singers
Thingy - To the Innocent
Mike Doughty - Skittish
Queens of the Stone Age - R
Previously
AllMusic Loves 1968
AllMusic Loves 1974
AllMusic Loves 1977
AllMusic Loves 1980
AllMusic Loves 1984
AllMusic Loves 1987
AllMusic Loves 1988
AllMusic Loves 1993
AllMusic Loves 1999
With all due respect, you really could have left off visiting “this decade” for another ten or twenty entries, or at least pay another two or three visits to the 1960s and 1970s–each–before hitting the ’00s.
damn, i thought i’d fine at least one more new 5 star album :(
err find*
I noticed Thousand Leaves Turn Inside You by Unwound is missing. as is the Argument by Fugazi.
I would add two personal favourites: Pearl Jam’s “Binaural” and Doves’ “Los Souls” a masterpiece which was poorly represented by only one song “Rise”, selected by Jason Lymangrover.
It’s nice to see Elastica’s “The Menace” was not forgotten. Such a great band…
Every day I’m reminded how far “out of the demo” I’ve strayed.
Today’s reminder was these listings from 2000.
* I meant “Lost Souls” by Doves.
I’d also add Placebo’s “Black Market Music” to the list.
Juliana Hatfield’s spectacular two-fer from that year, Beautiful Creature and Total System Failure, are ones that I still play fairly often (Beautiful Creature, especially).
I hope this raises Kid A to classic status with it being a favorite amongst so many.
Come on, guys…comment on your choices! It’s much more fun! And where the hell are Boss Hog (Whiteout), eels (Daises of the Galaxy), Fastball (Harsh Light of Day), ON (Shifting Skin - shoulda’ been HUGE!), and The Persuasions palatable Zappa palette - Frankly a Cappella?
Optiganally Yours? Now THATs unexpected haha
Hey Jason, I’d just like to point out that Ágætis Byrjun by Sigur Rós came out in 1999, not 2000
Surprised that someone who writes for this website would make such a mistake
Thank you David jeffries for acknowledging Like Water for Chocolate I was worried that would go unmentioned. Easily my favorite common album.
W,
We’re not being strict about original release dates. More people first heard the album in 2000, through the UK release on FatCat, or in 2001, when it came out on PIAS America in the US. I bought it in 1999, but the only option then — unless I’m mistaken — was Bad Taste in Iceland.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks James for including “Apple Venus 2″! What more can one expect from a pop album?
For my “what were you thinking forgetting this” comment I will offer up Domestica by Cursive
But I guess if you could only take one album of that style then yeah I guess atdi’s Relationship Of Command is better, even though its rated lower on yr site
Where is The Delgados - The Great Eastern? My personal favorite from 2000.
Music historians may view 2000 as “The Year of Napster” and the beginning of the end for Album Oriented Rock (AOR). Gray area file sharing began to supplant compact discs as the music format of choice for many. This trend sparked the introduction of Apple’s iPod in 2001, the consumerization of individual digital song downloads and the demise of traditional record stores.
2000 put enormous pressure on the recording industry flood gates as consumer demand for digital song downloads began to overwhelm the music industry. For the first time in nearly half a century, the single was primed to become an autonomous sales vehicle and a primary profit point for the music industry. Much to the dismay of the music industry, the single would no longer serve as merely a loss leader and a promotional vehicle for the more profitable full-length album. In a few short years, individual songs would be the primary vehicle for consumer music sales.
There were arguably a sparse number of high quality full-length albums released in 2000. It could be that waning interest in a wave of bubblegum teen pop left the record industry waiting for the next big thing. Or perhaps the entire music business was afraid of losing money when their latest releases showed up in mere seconds on Napster and other online file sharing services for free.
Below are my favorite albums of 2000:
Ryan Adams - Heartbreaker
Erykah Badu - Mama’s Gun
Björk - Selmasongs
Eddy the Chief Clearwater - Reservation Blues
Cursive - Domestica
King’s X - Please Come Home…Mr. Bulbous
Steely Dan - Two Against Nature
Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide
Swing Out Sister - Live at the Jazz Cafe
U2 - All That You Can’t Leave Behind
Warren
Boss Hog - “Whiteout” - sexiest single and video of the year! Crank it up and make merry with Martinez & Queens!
Warning. Definitely Warning. Still manages to be one of my most favorite albums. Green Day has yet to hit harder emotionally than they did with ‘Macy’s Day Parade’.
PHISH - “FARMHOUSE” - a gem of a studio album from a band that doesn’t always come through in the studio.
FATBOY SLIM - “HALFWAY BETWEEN THE GUTTER AND THE STARS” - Norman manages to grow up and freak out even harder at the same time.
AVALANCHES - “SINCE I LEFT YOU” - Sampledelic, humorous, soulful turntablism.
2001 would have been a better choice to select from this decade.
My personal favorites from 2000
Albums
The Gentle Waves - Swansong For You
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Blonde Redhead - Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
Sparklehorse - Distorted Ghost EP
The Essex Green - The Essex Green EP
The Carpenters - Singles 1969-1981
Claudine Longet - The Very Best Of Claudine Longet
Joy Division - The Complete BBC Recordings
Various Artists - Swinging Mademoiselle, Vol. 2
Various Artists - The Girls’ Scene
Various Artists - Blow Up A Go Go!
Various Artists - The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes & Villains
Kudos to Heather Phares for picking Optiganally Yours.
Greetings.
Happy to see someone remember Oasis Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, it’s such an underrated album, Go Let It Out is one of the best song of this decade.
Sparks’ “Balls” and Tim Finn’s “Say It Is So” were, for me, the major highlights of 2000. Also, Antony and the Johnsons’ self-titled debut should be mentioned. Beyond that, there is very little from this year I care to revisit.
I am also quite fond of Go Kart Mozart’s “Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture”, but that is it.
and “Nixon” by Lambchop.
I’ve been reminded to check out some great 2000 records that slipped by me thanks to this post. So, you know… thanks.
Props to Jason Lymangrover for including my top three favorite records from 2000: Radiohead’s “Kid A,” Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s “Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven” and Sigur Ros’ “Ágætis Byrjun,” which I count as a 2000 record, as well.
He also included Outkast’s Stankonia, which gets love all-around, appropriately enough. But not so much “Let’s Get Free,” which is a brilliant record with only one mention here.
Now the requisite bitching: Where, I ask, is A Perfect Circle’s “Mer de Noms”? What a great record with gorgeous singles that got tons of play of rock radio. Q and Not U’s “No Kill No Beep Beep” is a often overlooked bit of Dischord Records post-hardcore.
My favorite records of 2000, you ask? Well…
1 Radiohead - Kid A
2 Sigur Ros - Ágætis Byrjun
3 GY!BE - Lift Yr Skinny Fists…
4 Q and Not U - No Kill No Beep Beep
5 U2 - All That You Can’t Leave Behind
6 The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
7 Outkast - Stankonia
8 A Perfect Cirlce - Mer de Noms
9 Aimee Mann - Bachelor No. 2
10 Dead Prez - Let’s Get Free
Honorable mentions:
Deftones - White Pony
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
Various - O Brother Where Art Thou?
Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Spring Heel Jack - Disappeared
what?! no bloodflowers?!
dear editors -
these lists are boring. there’s nothing visual and there’s no editorial accompanying your choices. it’s just more or less a word document list of albums that’ve been thrown together. your website is maybe the best music reference site online but features like this are way below par in my opinion. it’s hard to believe that they exist on the same website.
Bad Religion’s “The Process of Belief.” I was deciding whether to buy that or “The Arguement” and I’m glad I went with the former, because they’re my favourite punk band and I still don’t understand Fugazi.
Some of my favorite songs from the year 2000:
Richard Ashcroft: A Song for the Lovers
Badly Drawn Boy: The Shining
Coldplay: Trouble
The Dandy Warhols: Bohemian Like You
Elastica: Mad Dog God Dam
Fatboy Slim: Weapon of Choice
Goldfrapp: Utopia
Grandaddy: He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s the Pilot
Jurassic 5: Monkey Bars
King Biscuit Time: I Walk the Earth
Madonna: Music
Manic Street Preachers: The Masses Against the Classes
Mirwais: Naive Song
Oasis: Go Let It Out!
Overseer: Supermoves
Primal Scream: Swastika Eyes
Queens of the Stone Age: Feel Good Hit of the Summer
Radiohead: The National Anthem
U2: Elevation
I’d like to tout an album I recently discovered: Cave In’s “Jupiter”. On first listen you’ll probably exclaim “Foo Fighters”, but all the unique riffs, melancholic melodies, prog-infused multi-part songs, creative drumming & beautiful guitarwork+tones (kind of like a mixture between David Pajo’s and the Edge’s style with a bit of Syd Barrett thrown in for added spaciness) add up to create an otherworldly atmosphere and an example of “modern rock” done awesomely right (a few points knocked off for Stephen Brodsky’s occasional, unfortunate falsetto). Dammit, I would’ve been such a happy camper discovering this puppy at age 13! Still sounds great to this sophisticated palette though. Now where’s my Hannah Montannah CD?
The millenium year certainly wasn’t the big bang of a whole lot of new revolutionary sounds and styles for the 21th century. ‘T was more like business as usual. However, in retrospect 2000 turned out to be one of the better music years of the noughties.
Personal top 3:
01. RADIOHEAD-Kid A
02. BAD COMPANY-Inside the machine (drum & bass outfit, not the 70’s band)
03. GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR-Lifr yr. skinny fists like antennas to heaven
Titles not mentioned yet:
ST. GERMAIN-Tourist
MUDVAYNE-L.D. 50
AMON TOBIN-Supermodified
ANTI-POP CONSORTIUM-Tragic epilogue
TOTAL SCIENCE-Advance
DROPKICK MURPHYS-Sing loud, sing proud
JAZZANOVA-The remixes 1997-2000
PAPA ROACH-Infest
COMMON-Like water for chocolate
ARLING & CAMERON-Music for imaginary films
DILATED PEOPLES-The platform
JILL SCOTT-Who is Jill Scott ?
LINKIN PARK-Hybrid theory
WOOKIE-Wookie (one and only 2-Step album classic)
Individual tracks:
AZZIDO DA BASS-Dooms night
MISS KITTIN & THE HACKER-Walk on by
DOM & ROLAND-Can’t punish me
The AZTEC MYSTIC-Jaguar
KONFLICT-Cyanide
M.J. COLE-Sincere
KYLIE MINOGUE & ROBBIE WILLIAMS-Kids
No ‘Argument’ ?!?!
Seriously, this might be the best single release of 2000. It unfolds unlike any Fugazi album, and sounds different every time I listen to it. It’s all over the map but very cohesive.
I mean, was this album even considered?
Umm I’m not so sure but the reason I think “Argument” is nowhere to be seen is cause it’s considered a 2001 release. At least I hope it’s because of this…otherwise I’m twittering the stuffing out of allmusic!!!!
I know it’s fashionable to dislike Coldplay, but Parachutes is a fantastic album and I would include it on my list.
2000 was a watershed year for me. I was an 18-year old freshman at UMass Amherst, fresh from the sticks, where I’d spent too much time listening to Aerosmith. Napster was new, and my roommate and I passed hours in our Christmas light tinted dorm room grabbing tracks and making mixes of singles to spin in his Jetta on road trips to Smith College. Ian snatched “Kid A” two months before its release and we listened to it every night. “Ágætis Byrjun” was perfect for writing papers during snowstorms and staring at the ceiling stoned. “Since I Left You” was the soundtrack for our beery parties. “Lift Yr. Skinny Fists…”, which I didn’t discover until the following fall, unlocked my limbs and mind (in conjunction w/ magic fungi). And U2, who I left at “The Joshua Tree” and “The Unforgettable Fire,” won me back with “All That You Can’t Leave Behind”, which Ian played repeatedly. The hip-hop heads down the hall bumped “Stankonia” for months, but they claimed “Aquemini” was superior (all I need is “Humble Mumble”). It was a pivotal time, leaving sleazy blooze and commercial radio behind to embrace gy!be, Radiohead, Sigur Ros and others.
Lots left to discover, I dig the lists and links, but as another commentor noted, editorial notes, anecdotes, visuals or external links would enhance the all text, straight-list format. More 60s and 70s lists would tickle your readers, too.
Was 2000 that bad a year for metal?
I will always love Nevermore’s “Dead Heart in a Dead World.” Great stuff! Definitely deserves a mention.
eric: I don’t believe you.
AMG: It is amazing that you can forget seminal records from Slobberbone (Everything You Thought Was Right), Richard Buckner (The Hill), North Mississippi Allstars (Shake Hands With Shorty), and David Johansen (And The Harry Smiths). I could go on, but I’ve had too much to drink and am giving my first listen to 21st Century Breakdown. Kudos to the many praises for Warning.
And Opeth’s magnum opus “Blackwater Park” came out in late 2000 I think.
Nice to see Life Without Buildings, Pram, and Broadcast. Mira’s “Dry” might have been my favorite song of that year. There’s not much else I really enjoy from 2000, though, at least not offhand.
No one’s going to mention Grandaddy’s Sophtware Slump? That’s discouraging.
I agree with Westfallen. Where is the Metal?!?!
Oh come on, nobody likes Coldplay? Not even one of the reviewers? I agree with Ben here, Parachutes is a fantastic record.
ermmm… only one mention of XTC’s Wasp Star?????
In rough order:
* Marah–Kids In Philly: Frantic, fun and bursting with ideas: Reminds me of a classic album from an entirely different time.
* The White Stripes–De Stijl: I was in my favorite local record store, which is (de) still there (I don’t do downloads or mail order) buying this, and one of the sales people opined: “This band has saved rock’n'roll.”
* Sue Foley–Love Comin’ Down
* Sleater-Kinney–All Hands On the Bad One
* Merle Haggard–If Only I Could Fly
* Robert Ward–New Role Soul
* Neko Case & her Boyfriends–Furnace Room Lullaby
* Bettye LaVette–Let Me Down Easy: In Concert
* Dave Alvin–Public Domain: Songs From the Wild Land
* Frankly a Cappella: The Persuasions Sing Zappa
* Mirah–You Think It’s Like This But Really It’s Like This
* Greg Brown–Covenant
plus: Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed” from the Wonder Boys
soundtrack
I can’t believe there’s only one mention of Supergrass in this entire feature - the eponymous album was released in 2000 stateside after all, but maybe that’s not widely known… Ah well, I guess that just leaves STE and me for now - couldn’t ask for better company! (And here’s three for Wasp Star! -A conspicuous absence on your list Mr. Erlewine!)
JSO: You caught me. “Get a Grip” is in my tape deck.
And “Done With Mirrors” almost did Ian in!
I agree with Joseph and think we could have gone without the 1999 or 2000 lists for a while. Then when the time comes the discussion about this era should start in 2002 with Oceanic by ISIS.
My favorite albums, circa 2000… In no particular order:
HARVEY DANGER, King James Version: for my money, one of the most under-rated and, maybe, misunderstood albums ever from one of the most under-rated and misunderstood bands ever. Clever, intelligent lyrics, and great music. Name-checks Jesus Christ, Morrissey and Kip Winger in one song, and calls it “Meetings With remarkable Men.”
SHANNON LYON, Summer Blonde: If there’s a better Americana album out there, I’ve never heard it… Well, maybe Lyon’s own Wandered, which followed a few years later. Brilliant.
CLEM SNIDE, Your Favourite Music: From the opening, haunting “Dairy Queen” to the closing, haunting cover of Richie Valens’ “Donna,” this is but one more incredible album in an incredible catalogue by the most consistent band (or musician) in the game today. Eef Barzelay never disappoints.
EELS, Daisies of the Galaxy: I always felt like Stephen Thomas Erlewine’s review of this on AllMusic completely and uncharacteristically missed the mark. To me, this is an eccentric genius operating at the top of his powers.
JOHNNY CASH, Solitary Man: Nine years on it still gets regular spins in my CD player… The man’s voice just got better with age. It might not be the best of the American Recordings series, but second (or third) best Cash still beats the best of most others.
RADIOHEAD, Kid A: I admit I didn’t really get it at first. Electronic music was never my thing. One night I was on a Greyhound bus traveling overnight, wide awake and sitting in the front seat, unable to sleep and watching he road and the landscape speed by… I put Kid A on and suddenly Everything really was in it’s Right Place. Sure, it dies a bit in the second half, but that first half is stunning.
RICHARD BUCKNER, The Hill: One 34 minute track, this album took one of my all-time favorite books of poems –The Spoon River Anthology- and made it even better.
YO LA TANGO, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out: Because even if the rest of the album was crap, “Our Way to Fall” is one of the best songs ever recorded… Thankfully, the rest of the album is great, too.
RADIO 4, The New Song and Dance / Q AND NOT U, No Kill, No Beep Beep: Combined, the best case for dance rock around. Two excellent albums that wore their influences on their sleeves, while being something all their own at the same time.
ENUFF Z’NUFF, Ten: Power pop stalwarts who never got their due. “There Goes My Heart” is certainly one of the best songs of the year, if not all time.
EMINEM, The Marshall Mather LP: Because it raised the bar from his bar-raising last album.
RANCID, Rancid: Yeah, Green Day’s Warning was good, but for my money Rancid is the best punk band in the game today, and this is one of the best pure punk albums of the last thirty years. Rancid’s been artier and poppier, but they’ve never been more ferocious.
GRANDADDY, The Sophtware Slump: An awesome album that launched the careers of dozens of copycats.
SMOG, Dongs of Sevotion: A high point in a great singer-songwriter’s catalogue.
COLDPLAY, Parachutes: I was working in a record store when this first came out. None of us had ever heard of them before, but the first time I played it I said “This is going to be HUGE.” And not just because it was populist, but because it was populist and awesome.
MARAH, Kids in Philly: A rootsy masterpiece from one of the most dependable bands around.
SLEATER-KINNEY, All Hands On the Bad One: Sleater-Kinney discovers pop music… Wow.
RYAN ADAMS, Heartbreaker: The return of the outlaw country songwriter. Adams’ high water mark… Maybe one day he’ll be able to reign himself in a bit and match it.
And the best individual songs:
“Bird That You Can’t See,” by The Apples in Stereo
“Slow and Steady Wins the Race,” by Pedro the Lion
“How the Stars Got Crossed,” by Radio 4
Yeah, Jody, I always felt STE’s review of Daisies of the Galaxy was uncharacteristic, a judgment better reserved for Souljacker (that is, until I discovered World of S#!t)
I’m more into the MRI and Luomo choices: they still stand so well. And I would add also the “PS: I love you” beautiful album that Kid 606 made, and the Clicks+Cuts compilation. And a personal favourite: Monophace - Cinemascope: I still think this is their most inspired work, despite their Misc., Clubsessel or Niederflur tracks.
And Nathan Haines also released “Sound travels” that year. The songs quality varies, but the wonderful “Long…”, one of the better and more touching broken beat tunes, is there. Now, back to my cave.
I also second the previous reviewers’ mention of Nevermore’s “Dead Heart in a Dead World” and Opeth’s “Blackwater Park.” Both of these albums were shining beacons of true metal during a time that was very unfriendly to real metal. I am glad that James Christopher Monger mentioned The Gatherings “IF_Then_Else,” an album that would have been huge if more people could have heard it. He also mentioned “The Wicker Man” by Iron Maiden, a comeback single so good, it completely washed the stale taste of the Blaze Bayley albums from our musical palettes.
Outside of metal, I did love “De Stijl,” and “Stankonia,” but didn’t hear them until a few years after. I got Eminem’s “Marshall Mathers LP” the day it came out.
My favorite 2000 LPs:
White Stripes - De Stijl
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP
Green Day - Warning
Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R
U2 - All That You Can’t Leave Behind
Coldplay - Parachutes
Placebo - Black Market Music
Juliana Hatfield - Beautiful Creature
Why does allmusic fear metal?
My favourites of 2000:
-Jerry González: Los Piratas del Flamenco
-Moby: Play
-Andrés Calamaro: El Salmón
-PJ Harvey: Stories From the City, Stories from the Sea
2000 was undoubtedly the worst year for music in the 2000’s. 2001 was when garage rock revival and electroclash became really big, and that’s when I really felt the 2000’s started musically. Most albums from 2000 just felt like 90’s leftovers. I do, however, have a few favorites…
Coil - Contant Shallowness Leads to Evil
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Kylie Minogue - Light Years
Malice Mizer - Bara No Seidou
Outkast - Stankonia
Peaches - The Teaches of Peaches
Primal Scream - XTRMNTR
Shiina Ringo - Shouso Strip
Erlewine’s continued employment baffles my mind.
While you can debate the merits of any critics specific list here, one thing is clear looking over all these titles. 2000 was a rather weak year for music. Only Felt Mountain jumped out at me as a truly significant release–Of the artists I am familiar with here, none of these titles are true standouts in the respective catalogs of these artists even though they might be considered nice albums. How strange a year would be of such little significance for so many.
My favourites form 2000:
Broadcast - The Noise Made By People
Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain
Life Without Buildings - Any Other City
Music - Madonna
Return of Saturn - No Doubt
Oasis - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
Peaches - The Peaches of Teaches
Queens of The Stone Age - rated R
The Avalanches - Since I Left You
U2 - All That You Can Leave Behind
A Perfect Circle - Mer de Noms
Poor year…
Ulver’s Perdition City = best album of the year.
robn, it’s comments like yours that baffle my mind. Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a superb critic. Period.
Agreed T. Wing. He’s introduced me to so much of my favourite music.
As always, under-appreciated, and overlooked Peter Case released Flying Saucer Blues in 2000. It is one of my all time favorite CD’s. I never get tired of listening to it.
Morphine “The Night”
i love that tune
Favourites of 2000, in no particular order;
Bjork-Selmasongs
Badly Drawn Boy-The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Lambchop-Nixon
Outkast-Stankonia
Yo La Tengo-And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out
Radiohead-Kid A
Blonde Redhead-Melody Of Certain Damaged Lemons
Weakerthans-Left and Leaving
The For Carnation-S/T
Belle and Sebastian-Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
Basically, I’ve yet to find a year in my lifetime where there weren’t at least ten albums that made my day a little lighter…
Just throwing in that Elliott Smith´s “Figure 8″ came out in 2000.
I´d prolly rate it far down to the bottom of a list of all of Smith´s records (including the Heatmiser ones, where “Dead Air” and “Mic City Sons” are awesome) -
But it´s still classic stuff and a very good record.