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


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