Revisiting a Questionable "Best of the 2000s" List I Made in 2009

What was I thinking?

May 27, 2025

Back in 2009, I fancied myself a music writer—or at least, I wanted to be one.

I’ve written on the Tab before that I don’t really consider myself a writer. Frankly, I’m not very good at it. But I do believe that I’m good at a) listening to a lot of music to find gems and b) sharing that music with people who I think will enjoy it. Having to write my thoughts down in order to do so happens to be a necessary evil.

Regardless, back in 2008 I was living in Toronto and attending anywhere between 1 to 7 concerts a week (depending on the week.) The person running many of the shows I went to also ran an independent music website and would send promo CDs my way to review. The first review I submitted as proof I could put some words together was for Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks’ Real Emotional Trash (“Those who aren't willing to let Trash unfold will undoubtedly be disappointed upon first listen.” lol). The site ended up running a “best of the 2000s” piece in 2009 where all the writers submitted their favs and the ones with the most votes got ranked and blurb’d.

I stumbled upon my list in my emails the other day, and it was a trip to read. Looking back at my choices, they’re a mix of albums I truly loved and absolutely shameless posturing. It’s wild how I can pinpoint so exactly the albums that are included in my list because I felt like I either “had to” because of their status, or they were in “the conversation” at the time and even though I didn’t have any strong feelings about them, seemed like they needed to be there.

Another part of the list that sticks out, would be how dude-heavy it is. Back in 2009, I suppose I wasn’t thinking as actively about that kind of thing, unfortunately. I like to think slash hope I’ve improved a little bit on that front.

So, I thought it’d be fun to revisit the list, write a quick blurb about the records, try and figure out what I was thinking… and then maybe in a second piece I could try and create a brand-new list based on my current tastes.

Let’s have at it.

As always, feel free to reach out over on BlueSky or join the Rosy Overdrive Discord server where I can be found now and again.

You can also find me in the corners of Rate Your Music scrounging for obscure emo, hardcore, indie rock and pop punk.

Don’t forget: if you’re reading this in your email it will be cut off.
Read on the web for the full list of reviews!

Beck - Sea Change (2002)

This is actually one of six albums that I still have the blurb I wrote in 2009 for:

Everyone knows Sea Change as a great "break up" record, but it's really just a terrific record period. I doubt I'm the only one who will always remember the first time they heard "The Golden Age" kick in, or being blown away by the simplistic and beautiful slow motion video for "Lost Cause".

In 2009 I was 24 years old, so I fancied myself a tortured romantic and so of course Beck’s sad sack album was a big deal for me. If I had to be honest, while I do still enjoy a lot of Beck, a lot of this album is maybe a bit of a snooze for me these days. Probably a reason I only mentioned 2 songs when I wrote about it.

An album that I would call (off the top of my head) one with very high highs and some stuff I can’t really remember a whole lot about.

Four Tet – Rounds (2003)

Oh, another one I still have the original blurb for!

For a while, if someone asked me what my favorite song of all time was, I'd respond "Hands". There's something about the chopped up drum rolls cutting in and out, until they finally kick in time with the chugging bass that is just so damn perfect. And then you have a whole album of those moments following it.

I still stand behind this choice, because I will certainly never forget the first time I heard this record and how it changed the way I think about music and the way that “Hands” reveals itself really did blow me away.

Fugazi - The Argument (2001)

This is definitely one that just made sense then, makes sense now. A lot less chaotic an album from them but still absolutely stellar. “Epic Problem” will forever be one of my top 5 Fugazi songs.

Aesop Rock - Labor Days (2001)

Another one that meant a lot to me at the time, and that would still make sense today. Over the years, I’ve really grown to love Float (also from this decade) a whole lot as well, but this still makes sense as the kind of “canonical” Aes record.

Built to Spill - Live (2000)

When I made this list, I’m not sure if There Is No Enemy was either about to come out, or just had. Built to Spill are a seminal band for me in terms of growing my taste outside of the punk music I grew up on. They were probably the first “indie rock” band I fell in love with. For a long time this record was a holy grail for me on vinyl, and then in 2013 they re-released it for Record Store Day and of course I grabbed it. 20-minute cover of “Cortez the Killer” still absolutely rips.

Sleater-Kinney - One Beat (2002)

These days, I feel like S-K have totally fallen off. What happened with Janet Weiss was a bit of a no-turning-back point for me, and to be honest their last few albums have been total snoozes.

If pressed, I might even say One Beat is their last true masterpiece. Maybe I need to revisit The Woods, but the Dave Fridmann production on that has always struck me as a complete miss for the band’s vibe. I know everyone goes nuts for The Woods, and there’s songs on there I love, but I just have never clicked with it as a whole.

Again, maybe I need to try again. But One Beat remains an album I’d pick for this list.

Amon Tobin – Supermodified (2000)

Amon Tobin sits alongside something like Four Tet in terms of expanding my boundaries as a music listener. I still love them and would likely find a way to include them on a modern version of this list. I’ll also leave you with an anecdote: in Film School I recall getting amazingly stoned and going to the computer lab to work on editing my final project, listening to Amon Tobin (likely this album) but by the halfway point the music took turn and became incredibly overwhelming and anxiety inducing that I had to leave. Wonder if it was something like “Golfer versus Boxer” or “Deo”?

Okkervil River - Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See (2002)

Discovered Okkervil River around 2003 when I heard “Lady Liberty” on SomaFM (probably Indie Pop Rocks?) I remember thinking that the slightly out of tune horns was an odd choice but a weirdly endearing one. Immediately got my hands on this album (plus Down the River of Golden Dreams and Stars Too Small to Use) and they became one of those bands you obsess over. This is another one I think I’d include on a new list.

Radiohead – Kid A (2000)

Okay, here’s one of our first very clear inclusions of something that I felt like was “necessary” or “needed to be on the list” because of their “importance.” Radiohead have never been a band that I feel strongly about. I recall purchasing Hail to the Thief on CD because they were an important band people seemed like they were supposed to care about. I liked it. I enjoy Kid A just fine, but this is absolutely a “well if I don’t include it, I will be judged” pick.

Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030 (2000)

As a white dude getting into hip hop, you know that this would show up on my list. This album opened the door to investigating Dan the Automator, Del the Funky Homosapien, Kid Koala and also stuff like Dr. Dooom / Dr. Octagon etc. so there’s definitely personal importance here. I’d need to revisit to see how I feel about it as an “album” album these days, but I could see it hanging on a new list pretty easily.

Ted Leo / Pharmacists - Tyranny of Distance (2001)

Sensing some kind of early-2000s leaning in my picks so far. This is another all-timer for me, and often an album I’d describe as one I’d bring to a desert island. Fuckin’ phenomenal album!

Astronautalis – You and Yer Good Ideas (2005)

Again, as a white dude who dabbled in hip hop, this one landed at a particularly potent time in my life. I liked emo music, I liked backpack/abstract and storytelling-based hip hop, and this album had all that stuff going on. “Oceanwalk” is a quintessential MP3-era emotional indie-rap tune that is cheesy as hell, but still kinda hits for me.

The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (2000)

Going to use this space to re-iterate my opinion on an argument I’ve had in many bar rooms over the years: Electric Version is the better album. I’d pick that one for the next list, easily.

Anyway, my blurb from 2009:

A few years after "Mass Romantic" had come out, all my friends were fawning over the Pornographers. I didn't really get what the fuss was about until I sat down and gave it a good, solid listen. This is the kind of record you can put on at a party and no one will complain. I pretty much spent an entire summer listening to "A Letter to an Occupant" on repeat driving to and from work, struggling to sing along. Don't pretend like you've never done that too.

The Streets - Original Pirate Material (2002)

A lot of my favourite bands started with ambivalence or confusion. “Can this guy even rap? They’re just talking? What’s with the weird rhythms going on here? It sounds so low budget?” But I couldn’t stop listening to it. It quickly became a favourite, to this day. Definitely hangs on a modern version of this list.

Spoon - Kill the Moonlight (2002)

Ah ha, another one I wrote a blurb for in 2009:

When I heard "The Way We Get By" on a film set in College, I knew I had to get this record. Coming off a period where I listened to a lot of pop-punk and straight-forward indie-pop, Kill the Moonlight was kind of a turning point for me. I loved that the songs didn't always give you exactly what you were expecting, but still delivered in spades.

Still love this album, but if pressed to pick a single album by the band, 2001’s Girls Can Tell would be the one for me these days.

Q and not U - Different Damage (2002)

Damn, a lot of 2002 on here huh? This album kicks all kinds of ass, and it’s a shame nobody else picked it back when the final list was compiled.

Love this album, easy one to keep on my list.

Oh No! Oh My! - Oh No! Oh My! (2006)

Adorkably folky indie-pop was in around this time, and while I didn’t bite on many of those acts, I put all my chips in on this self-titled exclamation-pointed release. This album has faded entirely from my rotation, but I still find some of this endearing.

My Morning Jacket - Z (2005)

Another blurb from 2009:

I remember seeing My Morning Jacket's "Z" everywhere and really liking the album art, but when I listened to it nothing grabbed me. About a year later I gave it another chance and loved every bit of it. It has wicked jams, it's catchy, packed full of reverb and atmosphere. All elements that I love to find in a great rock record. Do I need to say any more than: "Off The Record"?

Dunno about these days; hard for me to listen to MMJ and not picture John C. Reilly as the vocalist in my mind for some reason. I think some songs here still relatively jam, but I dunno about them as an albums band these days.

The Appleseed Cast - Mare Vitalis (2000)

Yet another band that was incredibly huge for me in my College years but that I don’t reach for all that often anymore. I still love this record though, along with Low Level Owl: Volume 1 and Peregrine.

I did include this on my 2 Albums for Every Year I’ve Been Alive project, so I imagine I’d include it here as well,

Elliott Smith – Figure 8 (2000)

I’m actually not sure if I’d include any post-2000 Elliott Smith albums on a new version of this list. I still listen to Self Titled and Either/Or a lot, but these post-2000s era albums are a bit spottier for me, personally.

Grandaddy – The Sophtware Slump (2000)

I’m torn on this one, because while I love Grandaddy, my favourites of theirs would be Under the Western Freeway and Sumday. I know this one is beloved, and I really like it too, but I don’t listen to it nearly as much as those other two. This strikes me as an attempt to pick their “important” album over one I enjoy listening to more.

The Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower - Dissertation Honey (2003)

This showing up on an “anti-hardcore” list on Rate Your Music had me revisiting it recently. This album continues to kick so much ass. Certainly one of my favourite bass performances on a record. Such a cool, sassy hardcore/noise/dance-punk adjacent album that seems unfairly overlooked these days. I easily prefer this one to their follow up, tbh.

Menomena – Friend and Foe (2007)

This also feels like a time and place album. This kind of exuberant, messy indie-pop bric-a-brac was hitting hard circa-2007 and I certainly got caught up in the hype. I think these songs are good though. “Muscle’n Flo” is a great opener. Does any song on this album remain as memorable as that one? Not sure I can say yes, even if some of them get close (“Air Aid”).

Album art still kicks butt though.

Call Me Lightning – The Trouble We're In (2004)

One of the ultimate bands to air drum to. Their masterpiece (When I Am Gone My Blood Will Be Free) wasn’t out yet when I made this list, but I guess that’s technically for the next decade list (2010s.)

Still, this album kicks all kind of ass and the opening track “We Be Dragons” is an all-timer Side 1, Track 1 for me.

Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein (2001)

Okay, another pick that feels like I was trying to seem cooler than I am. I can tell you that I listened to and enjoyed The Cold Vein in 2009 but it definitely isn’t an album that I feel like was one of my “favourites” back then.

This feels like “well I like a lot of underground hip-hop and this is the seminal album of the scene so I can’t NOT include it!” to me.

Thunderbirds are Now! - Justamustache (2005)

Unsurprisingly, nobody picked this album but me in 2009. I continue to believe that this is the most underrated album of the overstuffed dance-punk craze. Enormous hooks.

Koufax - Social Life (2002)

Speaking of wildly underrated bands! Another album I love to this day. I’ve written about it a lot, so I’ll leave it at that.

Guided By Voices - Isolation Drills (2001)

In 2009 I was probably still in the thick of my obsession with Guided by Voices, and really needed to include one of their albums as a signifier of my refined indie rock tastes. I do love this album—in particular the monster that is The Enemy—but I’ll need to revisit it to see if it’s something I’d keep on the list. If I’m picking one GBV album as my favourite, it’s probably Alien Lanes (bonus hot take: Bee Thousand is overrated.)

The Beta Band - Hot Shots II (2001)

Listen, I love “Dry the Rain” too but the Three E.P.’s does not flow as an album. I mean, it’s three E.P.s tossed together. That shit is almost 80 minutes long! And if hard pressed, I can’t remember all that much of those E.P.s aside from a couple highlights. Sometimes I guess I just prioritize consistency and pacing above high-highs, and Hot Shots II just feels like a capital A “album” to me in comparison.

Madvillain – Madvilliany (2004)

I think if there’s anything to learn about myself from this list, is that when it came to hip hop and rap I really felt like I had to accept conventional wisdom. Another example of me liking an album, but not listening to it all that much. Obviously this is a stone cold classic! I just did not listen to this over and over. I mean, I listened to MM..FOOD way more, so why didn’t I pick that one?

Cursive – The Ugly Organ (2003)

This is an interesting one, because in my mind I sometimes think I prefer Domestica, because I listen to it more often. But then I put on this album and it still rips. I sometimes think in hindsight “oh it’s a bit spotty, has high highs and a couple filler/transitional songs” but then revisiting it’s like, nah this really stands up top-to-bottom still.

The White Stripes - De Stijl (2000)

I was never really a White Stripes guy, and while it’d be easy to look at this pick and think I was trying to lean into popular opinion, I really did fall hard for this, of all their albums. I think it still feels like the most well rounded expression of the different types of songs they made. Slide guitar stuff, jangly acoustic ditties (“Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise”), the barn burning rock songs (“Hello Operator”). “Little Bird” still remains a highlight of their discography for me. Would I put it on the list these days? Maybe not.

The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike (2004)

The Go! Team is one of those perfect examples of a band that immediately burned bright, but then simmered for years releasing incredibly consistent albums that I feel got overlooked because of how enormous their debut was. At the time it was probably hard to separate their follow-ups from this one, but around the time of SEMICIRCLE, I revisited their discography and realized how consistent it really is.

My blurb from 2009:

I honestly don't listen to "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" very often these days. On the rare occasion that I do throw it on though, I still get that same sugar-rush of excitement that I had when I was obsessed with it. The idea that just one guy was recording Sonic Youth-sounding riffs over a patch-work of samples and schoolyard chants in his parents kitchen was so cool to me. You'd be hard pressed to find a more fun and playful record released this decade.

Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek: Reflection Eternal – Train of Thought (2000)

This is another one I listened to a lot at the time, but haven’t heard in a while. I feel like thinking back on my hip hop listening in the 2000s, there are albums that drifted out of my listening rotation over the years and this would be one of those, despite it still sounding great.

I could see myself putting something like The Ecstatic by Mos Def, KMD or maybe some Jurassic 5 or Hieroglyphics’ Full Circle on the list these days. De La’s The Grind Date as well would likely be on my list of hip hop from this era.

Queens of the Stone Age - Rated R (2000)

Had a heavy, heavy QOTSA and KYUSS period of my life, and these days I’ll be listening to the latter more than the former. Still, this is their best record, no contest.

Broken Social Scene - You Forgot It in People (2002)

OK, here’s another one I feel like I need to care about mainly because I’m Canadian.

Did I listen to this a lot in 2003? Absolutely. Do I think much about this album these days? Not really?? That said, when you look at the tracklist for this on Rate Your Music and see all the bolded songs—“KC Accidental”, “Stars and Sons”, “Almost Crimes”, “Pacific Theme”, “Anthems…”, “Cause = Time”, “Lover’s Spit”—you remember how stacked this record is.

Around the time that this album (and Arcade Fire’s Funeral) came out, I had a real chip on my shoulder about indie rock. I listened to primarily punk, emo, etc. but my friends were through and through indie guys. Something about the way they treated what I listened to in comparison to their “real music” attitude rubbed me the wrong way. But then I’d hear something like this—or the Constantines—and I’d open up, little by little, to other types of music.

The Rapture – Echoes (2003)

Alright, yet another addition to this list that I don’t really listen to much anymore. Songs on this still absolutely bang - “House of Jealous Lovers”, “Killing”, “Echoes”, “Sister Saviour”, etc. But as an album that I want to listen to, top to bottom, in 2025? I dunno!

My main memory of listening to this album circa 2003 or 2004: I was unbelievably stoned in Thunder Bay, walking around listening to this album on a discman plugged into a crappy speaker inside my friend’s backpack. The transition between “Echoes” and “Killing” sounded from that speaker like the CD had started skipping. I was so high that time was moving slow, so the second or two that starts the song felt like ages. But the bassline was playing over the CD skipping? How would that be possible? Then the guitar comes in and I realize it’s not a CD skipping at all.

If I could go back in time and revisit that (at the time mind blowing) feeling of realization, that’d make a list these days for sure, haha.

Pedro the Lion – Control (2002)

Bazan’s run of Pedro albums up until Control is pretty undeniable for me. This was my introduction to Bazan (via Location Is Everything Vol. 1) and really informed a lot of what I grew to love about the blurring of lines between indie rock and emo music. It’s storytelling, it jumps around in textures and tones, and when it needs to it can get you banging your head (“Second Best”).

Arctic Monkeys - Favorite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Over the years, I’ve had a number of “actually, [less popular album] is better than [their seminal work]” moments. Hell, I did it earlier with Electric Version. I’ll continue to do it with Insomniac (which remains better than Dookie.) And in pretty much every way, Favorite Worst Nightmare is a better album than Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Maybe it doesn’t have any songs quite as potent as Afternoon or Dancefloor, but it’s way more consistent as a whole. Zero skips on this thing.

The Bad Plus – These Are the Vistas (2003)

As you can tell, a lot of stuff on this list is important to me because of how it expanded or redefined the kind of music I listened to. The Bad Plus were one hundred percent the first jazz band I really got interested in, and it was for sure because of their covers. But this album didn’t fade into my memory as merely a stepping stone, I still fuckin’ love it and every song on here. Essential listening, as far as I’m concerned and definitely an album I’d include on a modern version of this list.

The Black Keys - Rubber Factory (2004)

Good lord, what is going on here?

This entry is what inspired my “What was I thinking?” sub-header on this post. Listen, I am not going to throw shade on The Black Keys or pretend like I didn’t listen to some of their music circa-2009. But something to clarify: no idea why I would pick this one over Thickfreakness or The Big Come Up or any other of their many albums, which in my mind have all blurred together. I do know I own The Big Come Up on vinyl somewhere, so you’d think that would be the one I picked?

But I never really truly cared about this band beyond “they’re a band some people like and ergo I like them too.” I guess I got sucked into the whole bluesy, rootsy influx of duos around this time? When Brothers came out, I was still lightly interested in the band particularly because I was intrigued whenever acts turned to Danger Mouse for production.

Still, I can’t even tell you the name of a single song off this album so I’m not so sure why I felt the need to include it here?

Minus the Bear – This Is What I Know About Being Gigantic (2001)

I know, total fucking hipster over here picking the debut EP over more than one definitive LPs the band would go on to release. Highly Refined Pirates and Menos el oso have incredible peaks, but this is still my fav set of tunes they put out, even with multiple instrumental asides clogging up the middle of the tracklist. To be honest, after this EP I’d also point to Planet of Ice as their second most consistent release. Depending on the day, I might even prefer that one and add it to this list in place of the EP.

Still, this is some of the most effective wielding of the tippy tappy mathrock approach to guitar riffing in indie rock; not too noodly, not too over-indulgent, still anchored to catchy melodies and effective bursts of energy.

Secret Mommy - Plays (2007)

A lot of what Secret Mommy (Andy Dixon of The Red Light Sting’s electronic side-project) was doing around this time remains unfortunately underrated. Much like Four Tet, hearing Secret Mommy’s hyper-chopped glitch-pop cracked my head open. How can someone take textures this abrasive and turn them into melodies?

On Plays, Dixon continued to move away from the abrasion, this time sampling friends performing musical improv on guitars, strings, horns etc. and using that as a foundation for their glitch-pop (as opposed to in the past when Dixon might sample, say, a recording of his wisdom teeth being removed.) The result is their most accessible record, and a great starting place for anyone unfamiliar with their work.

Do Make Say Think - Goodbye Enemy Airship the Landlord Is Dead (2000)

At the time I loved this album but it disappeared from my rotation over the years. I revisited it for a post on the Tab recently and damn has this one aged remarkably well!

I was definitely a listener who got caught up in the great post-rock explosion of the early 00s, but I very quickly got fatigue from the ultimately predictable style of quiet-loud post-rock that blossomed out of the popularity of bands like Explosions in the Sky. Maybe it is because I'm Canadian, but the Constellation strain of post-rock always seemed best to me.
Maybe [it’s because Do Make Say Think] were more digestible, taking what seemed like epics and squashing them into more manageable track lengths. And doing so, without sacrificing their ability to impress, or feel like journey's of themselves. It only takes three minutes and twenty one seconds of "The Landlord Is Dead" to explode, but it's earned and exciting without dragging its feet.

Why? - Elephant Eyelash (2005)

This was one of the biggest question marks in my mind when I looked at this list. How would Why? hold up 20 years later? Around this time I had friends that were super into cLOUDDEAD, and I dug some of that stuff too. When I first heard Why? I think I hated it. Had no idea what to do with it. Eventually, it wormed into my brain.

I think the hookiness of Elephant Eyelash really helps. Despite some of the borderline cringe-inducing lyrical moments here (jamboricks on RYM in the comment box accurately says: “I grew out of Why, but this is such an instant hit of nostalgia that it almost makes me wince.”) the songs are just incredibly memorable from a melody perspective. Revisiting this and so many little moments pop back into my mind as fresh as they ever were (“What I want / What I want / What, oOoh!”).

The description list on RYM for this is wild, lol: sexual, cryptic, anxious, abstract, introspective, quirky, passionate, suicide.

Holy Fuck - LP (2007)

I have a memory of visiting Holy Fuck’s MySpace (or something similar) page and the bio saying “find something in the trash... plug it in”. I really related to that. In fact, some time before ever hearing this band, a friend and I recorded some noisy baloney using stupid keyboards and even titled one song “Holy Fuck”. So an album by established Canadian musicians (Contrived, The Holy Shroud, Wintersleep) performing with noisy trash was right up my alley. I think this album has some absolutely killer highlights, but it’s another one for the “am I going to sit down and listen to this in its entirety in 2025?” pile.

Battles - Mirrored (2007)

As a fan of adventurous music and math rock, I had been following Battles via EP C and B EP so I was pretty stoked when this was released. This also feels a bit like recency bias to me. Not because this wasn’t rightfully heralded (it was) but because I was probably trying to reach for recent albums already certified as classics circa 2009. Again, you play me some songs from this and I’m going to agree that they are pretty sick but I’m not reaching for this these days.

Beach House - Devotion (2008)

I didn’t care much for Beach House when it was released, because I was still a little bit reactionary when it came to indie rock’s next big things—especially when they felt coated in some kind of pretense. Oh, some droney haunting dream pop from hipsters you say? Fuck you. But then I actually listened to Devotion (in particular “Heart of Chambers”) and I changed my tune. On the right kind of day, this album still hits hard.

The Ruby Suns - Sea Lion (2008)

Oh, what a disappointment The Ruby Suns ended up being for me. This record was the exact kind of Neo-Psych I needed circa 2008. Everybody else could keep Animal Collective, this was my jam. The Beach Boys meets modern indie psych? Sure! In the wake of Merriweather Post Pavilion though, the Ruby Suns pulled a “promising band decides to sound like every other band using synths” with Fight Softly though, unfortunately. What a thoroughly unmemorable album that one is. It still stings!

Dillinger Four - Verses God (2000)

Over the years, I feel like this has become the black sheep of the Dillinger Four discography.

A bit of a stop-gap between their masterpiece, and 2002’s fantastic Situationist Comedy. I’ve seen people describe this as one of their weaker moments, but for me it’s right up there with the best of them. Maybe that’s because it landed in front of me at a formative time, or maybe it’s because in my College years I preferred the crunch and heft of this to the scrappier Midwestern Songs of the Americas (a very wrong opinion I rightfully grew out of very quick.)

Regardless, one of the best punk bands of all times, and one that I’m finally going to get to see live this year. Hell yeah.

That’s it, that’s all. Be excellent to one other.