2001

National Skyline
This=Everything
(Epic)

A lot of great albums came out in 2001, such as The Appleseed Cast’s atmospheric double album, Low Level Owl, a stunning return to form from The Brian Jonestown Massacre (Bravery, Repetition and Noise), outstanding albums from Frank Black & the Catholics, Juno, Moonbabies, my favorite New Order record, Get Ready, The Faint’s best, Danse Macabre and probably Mercury Rev’s best (All is Dream). Also, the absolutely stunning and haunting This=Everything by National Skyline, and great stuff from Pinback, S, The Shins, Spoon, Sparklehorse, The Strokes, Vincent Gallo and Weezer (despite its unfairly received hatred).

Those albums are mostly on the same page for me, but The Faint, BJM and National Skyline rise above the pack. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Bravery, Repetition and Noise, but as great as it is, it just isn’t quite as good as This=Everything, which is just so raw and haunting and beautiful and rainy and FUCKING PERFECT. Holy OMFG I love this album so much, so it gets the slight edge.

EDIT// I just realized that The Microphones’ absolute masterpeice, The Glow Pt 2., was released in ‘01 (I always thought it was 2002). While I think I am still going to barely pick This=Everything, this decision just got 10100000000x harder.

2000

Modest Mouse
The Moon and Antarctica
(Epic)

2000 was terrible for new music. Just a few good albums released, which include: At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command, The Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia, Deftones - White Pony, Engine Down - To Bury Within the Sound, Modest Mouse - The Moon & Antarctica, Radiohead - Kid A and… that’s it.

As much as I love the Dandys, I have to go with The Moon & Antarctica here — its sprawling conceptuality is so good and haunting and drunk and everything else.

as you are i am sure aware, i ttly love making lists. after reading sebastian’s list of albums for each year since he has been alive, i decided to traverse back in time and point out my favorite albums of the past few decades-worth of years.

here is a recap of the 1990s addition (comments and mp3s are somewhere else on this site. i am too lazy to link them, just go down a bit):

1999: The Faint - Blank-Wave Arcade
1998: Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
1997: Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West
1996: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Thank God For Mental Illness
1995: Hum - You’d Prefer an Astronaut?
1994: Weezer - Weezer
1993: The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
1992: Catherine Wheel - Ferment
1991: My Bloody Valentine - Loveless
1990: The Pixies - Bossanova

1999

The Faint
Blank-Wave Arcade
(Saddle Creek)

1999 was probably the worst year for music of the 90s. The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin, Built to Spill - Keep it Like a Secret, Juno - This is the Way it Goes and Goes, Wilco - Summerteeth, The Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs, Moby - Play, Misfits - Famous Monsters, and The Faint - Blank Wave Arcade were the only really good albums.

I went with The Faint (they were so damn far ahead of their time), although I definitely considered Famous Monsters, which is easily my favorite Misfits record (yes, I like Michael Graves’ Misfits more than Danzig’s).

1998

Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
(Merge)

Not even a question here. Despite great albums from Elliott Smith (XO), Garbage (Version 2.0), Girls Against Boys (Freak*on*ica), Mercury Rev (Deserter’s Songs), Silver Jews (American Water), Sparklehorse (Good Morning Spider), Smashing Pumpkins (Adore) and Stabbing Westward (Darkest Days); none of those are even close to the unequivocal brilliance that is Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea.

Not only the best album of the decade, this album could make a strong case for the best album ever made, EVER. I honestly don’t think Jeff Mangum could ever top the genius of this album.

1997

Modest Mouse
The Lonesome Crowded West
(Up)

There were some albums in ‘97 that were not only amazing but among the best of the decade. Look at this amazingness: Built To Spill’s Perfect From Now On, The Dandy Warhols’ Come Down, Deftones’ Around the Fur, Elliott Smith’s Either/Or, Grandaddy’s Under the Western Freeway, Modest Mouse’s - The Lonesome Crowded West, Pavement’s Brighten the Corners, Radiohead’s OK Computer, Three Mile Pilot’s Another Desert, Another Sea and Yo La Tengo’s I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One.

Are you effing kidding me???

As awesome as all those are though, This Lonesome Crowded West rises above the pack. I love the shit out of that album and it’s up there with Isaac Brock’s best work.

1996

The Brian Jonestown Massacre
Thank God For Mental Illness
(Bomp!)

‘96 featured Belle & Sebastian’s gorgeous debut, Tigermilk; my favorite Lemonheads record (Car Button Cloth); Failure’s swan song (also their best), Fantastic Planet; Weezer’s brilliant second effort, Pinkerton; Modest Mouse’s amazing debut; as well as great albums from Social Distortion, Polvo, Tortoise, Wilco, Killing Joke and Girls Against Boys.

Oh, and also, not 1, not 2, BUT THREE FUCKING AMAZING RECORDS BY The Brian Jonestown Massacre. BJM released Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request, Take It From the Man!, AND Thank God For Mental Illness in ‘96. And all in all, those are probably my three favorite albums of the year. The final of the three though, is the band’s defining moment. So so so so good, aka I<3 Anton.

1995

Hum
You’d Prefer an Astronaut
(RCA)

A LOT of fuckin’ awesome albums from 1995: The Brian Jonestown Massacre - Methodrone, The Dandy Warhols - Dandy’s Rule OK?, Elliott Smith - self-titled (his best), Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes (my fave), Pavement - Wowee Zowee, Radiohead - The Bends, The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Sonic Youth - Washing Machine, Sparklehorse - Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, Thurston Moore - Psychic Hearts.

And as if that’s not enough, probably my favorite album of all time — Hum - You’d Prefer an Astronaut. The decision would have been a hell of a lot harder if not for this amazing masterpiece of sonic orgasms. Thank you once again, Matt Talbott.

1994

Weezer
Weezer
(Geffen)

Not too many great albums in ‘94. I like Frank Black’s Teenager of the Year a lot, as well as Guided by Voices’ Bee Thousand.. Hole’s classic, Live Through This and Man or Astroman’s Destroy All Astromen!!. Pavement’s Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain and R.E.M.’s Monster are also pretty good. And of course Jeff Buckley’s lone full-length, Grace and also my favorite Girls Against Boys album, Venus Luxure #1 Baby

It doesn’t really matter though because ‘94 was the year of Weezer’s blue album, which is probably one of my top five favorite records ever written. This album pretty much singlehandedly defined the 90s for me. I still remember the first time I heard it, thinking: “holy shit music can sound like this??” As such, an easy decision here.

1993

The Smashing Pumpkins
Siamese Dream
(Virgin)

There weren’t really a lot of great albums in 1993, but those few were afuckingmazing! Frank Black’s sprawling solo debut, Mazzy Star’s So Tonight That I Might See, The Afghan Whig’s brilliant Gentlemen, Hum’s Electra2000 and New Order’s Republic.

Then, of course, the only two that I considered which are Nirvana’s high-point, In Utero, and the unbelievably awesome Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins. It was really hard to choose between these two, but, as much as I love love love love In Utero, the glistening Big-Muff distortion and shimmering perfection of Siamese Dream gives it the edge.