Recently, as part of their 25th anniversary, Pitchfork featured a list of the top 200 albums of the past 25 years as chosen by their readers. I’m not sure why they settled on 200 rather than 250, which is much cleaner given the anniversary and would have given more space for some of the records that many think were omitted. That’s why I’m here.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s a fine list, and I don’t have much to quarrel with it about really other than placement, since they appear ranked, which is always a fools errand.
That said, there were some really glaring omissions in my mind, as I’ll explain below. I’ve limited myself to 20 deserving albums that perhaps should have received more consideration. So, it we were to magically push the list to 25, that would still leave 30 more to add from those genres I don’t listen to enough to have an informed opinion about.
So here are 20 albums released between 1996 and 2021 that I think deserved more love, presented in mostly chronological order. Most, but not all, of these artists were omitted altogether.
I’ve broken the list into chunks to allow myself time to be thoughtful about my perceived omissions. This part covers the second batch (the aughts).
The Last Broadcast – Doves (2002)
We’ve definitely turned the corner out of anything that sounds like the 90s by the time we get to this album. I’m not sure exactly why this album received so little love from Pitchfork readers. I mean Pitchfork even said as much: “Doves’ fourth album is another sterling example of why Doves should be household names and why they probably won’t ever be.”
While this is their second album, it shows Doves coming into the sounds that the review so praises above. It’s all about a big chorus and a sound that is little bit askew of what you’d expect, very effectively so.
Shake the Sheets – Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (2004)
Another band that is a surprising omission given the love this received at the time across the music internets. This is probably Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ most solid piece of work end to end. Yes, he has some great song across other albums (and his solo album isn’t anything to sneeze at either), but this album is alike a murderer’s row of insanely great power pop verging on punk but never quite making it.
Of course, it received a decent score form Pitchfork review, but I’d bet the reviewer would like his string of underhanded compliments back for a little reframing now. This album has zero pretension. It is what it is, and it is insanely good at being that thing.
A Ghost is Born – Wilco (2004)
This is the first band (seems crazy, right?) that wasn’t omitted entirely from the original list. Of course Yankee Hotel Foxtrot had to make that list, else it would lose all credibility immediately (sort of like not including OK Computer). The difference between this and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is that this album evolves the direction that the band started down with it, and really refines it to its fullest (and then left it behind for future albums).
“Spiders (Kidsmoke)” may be the most Wilco track of this era of Wilco, as they switch tempos and sound levels like crazy for an incredible 10 plus minutes (and I usually hate such long songs).
Gimme Fiction – Spoon (2005)
Another band that did appear on this list for the excellent Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon deserved more than one entry out of 200 for their excellence for almost the entire span of the list. While I love Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga as much as the next person, I like Gimme Fiction even more.
This album is probably peak Spoon. They don’t stretch their sound much here, but what they present if the essence of what makes and has made Spoon for a long time. There really isn’t a weak song on the album, even more so than other albums of theirs.
Data point: when it came to acquiring a Spoon album on vinyl, this was my first and easy answer.
Open Season – British Sea Power (2005)
British Sea Power (now Sea Power) released their debut, The Decline of British Sea Power, in 2003. It announced a band with a lot of promise, even though it was uneven at times and couldn’t decide how much it wanted to go down the path of mimicking Joy Division, which was a major sound trend at time.
By the time Open Season arrived a couple of years later, all the toying with that sound was gone as they’d settled into something almost pastoral at times. A friend of mine remarked at the time they sounded more like peak Bunnymen than Joy Division, which I think is telling. More importantly, they stayed true to the sound they’d staked out for the entirety of the album. They’ve continued in this vein ever since, releasing good music, but never quite reaching the highs as their sophomore effort.
Separation Sunday – The Hold Steady (2005)
Wait! What? The Hold Steady was totally omitted from this list?! Unfair.
This album listens to me like a concept album following the life, primarily, of Holly (or Hallelujah), and over the course of it, it has so many great songs. From the beginning, it unfolds slowly until it’s crescendo in “How a Resurrection Really Feels.” In a lot of ways, this album brought the rock back to indie rock, reaching back for inspiration to the 70s for the guitar and organ or piano parts.
A lot of people would choose Boys and Girls in America, and I’ll give them that—it is more polished than its predecessor. But for me the raw power of Separation Sunday carries the day.
The Hold Steady at the Earl still may be the loudest rock and roll show I’ve ever attended in person.
Dear Science – TV on the Radio (2008)
Overheard: “I’ve heard the future of rock and roll: it’s TV on the Radio. And I like it.”
The original list lists Return to Cookie Mountain, which is a worthy inclusion. However, given the time frame the list covers, one album by TV on the Radio is at least one too few (also have. a listen to Seeds). It actually surprised me that this wasn’t the one that Pitchfork listeners choose instead of the earlier Cooke Mountain, this is where the band really cemented their sound and what they were about. With it they begin to expand into dance friendliness too in a way they hadn’t before (see, “Dancing Choose”), while retained the stilted aspects to their sound that had become a signature for them.
When it comes down to it, TV on the Radio are one of my top 10 acts of he last 25 years. So here’s a little love for them.
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea – Silver Jews (2008)
David Berman appears a couple of times on the list, once as Silver Jews and once as Purple Mountains (for the record release just before his suicide). That recognition is a good thing, but for my money, this album is his best as Silver Jews. By this time, all the torture of who’s playing with him? Pavement or someone else was a thing of the long past, so we could focus on the music and the music alone, which to be fair, we should have been doing all along.
This album captures sounds from all the genres that he was interested in from straightforward indie to what could only be styled Alt-Country. And there is no better song, if you had to pick one, that sums up Berman more than “What is Not but Could Be If.”
Succeeding parts will be added as I get to them. There’s no need to rush, and I want to be thoughtful about them.
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