Favorite Albums of the 21st Century
(A snapshot of my personal 21st century musical canon, inspired by this list of my 21st century literary canon, which was itself inspired by this list in La Vanguardia by Jorge Carrión. I know the album has fallen out of favor in the streaming age, but it’s still the format by which I tend to purchase, listen to, and evaluate music. Here I constrained myself to one album for each release year. I eliminated compilations from consideration but not live albums, and indeed a few live recordings made the cut: the Coil and a-ha releases, along with an archival live album by Dexys Midnight Runners. Several unusually fruitful years forced me to remove albums that would have made the list if they had been released a little earlier or later. (Sorry, Rivers by Wildbirds and Peacedrums; sorry, Plastic Planet by Modified Toy Orchestra; I love you, but 2010 was just too competitive.) I’m sure this list will change considerably after a few years have gone by and I uncover various albums I’ve overlooked.)
2000: Coil Presents Time Machines by Coil
2001: Duck-Rabbit by Alog
2002: The Execution of All Things by Rilo Kiley
2003: Blemish by David Sylvian
2004: Handsome Devil by Jim Bianco
2005: Insen by Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto
2006: Melody Mountain by Susanna and the Magical Orchestra
2007: The Projected Passion Revue by Dexys Midnight Runners
2008: Alas, I Cannot Swim by Laura Marling
2009: Ceramik City Chronicles by Jarle Bernhoft
2010: Mimikry by ANBB
2011: Antologie by Solveig Slettahjell
2012: White+ by White+
2013: Birds Requiem by Dhafer Youssef
2014: LP1 by FKA twigs
2015: No Need for Another History by Hiperson
2016: You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
2017: MTV Unplugged: Summer Solstice by a-ha
2018: J.S. Bach: Six Suites for Viola Solo (BWV 1007-1012) by Kim Kashkashian
2019: Tunes 2011-2019 by Burial
2020: Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
2021: The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
2022: Silfurberg by Modified Toy Orchestra
2023: Kintsugi by Martin Dupont
— December 22, 2022