by Kailee Parsons

2000

Radiohead, Kid A

What a better introduction to the 2000’s than Radiohead's fourth studio album, Kid A. The UK outfit's first number 1 in the US is a welcome breath of fresh air, renouncing many of the rock tropes of the 90’s many of which brought them to prominence while staying true to many of Thom Yorke’s electric, art, and classic rock influences. Kid A manages to be simultaneously a pivotal album in Radiohead's discography while setting the bar for the indie/ alt-rock scene to come as one of the best albums of the decade.

2001

The Strokes, Is This It

The Strokes debut album simultaneously shot the New York based band into the public eye and ushered in a new wave of indie rock, drawing from the simplistic chord structures of punk rock balanced perfectly with Julian Casablancas melancholic vocals. Despite having to remove the song New York City Cops from the albums US edition after the 9/11 attacks, Is This It manages to echoes the feelings of frustration and disbelief of the people of NYC. The Observer would later note the album's influence on alternative music and the scene surrounding it during the noughties, calling its release a “world-changing moment.”

2002

Bright Eyes, Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground

Channeling Oberst’s lyricism and angst into the bands most ambitious album to date, Lifted is packed with raw emotion and magnitude from front to back. Dense with imagery and symbolism, Oberst's raw vocals ascend next to the full orchestral arrangements the band recruited for this album. Still young in 2002, I didn’t hear the album until many years later, long after I was aware of the influence Bright Eyes had on indie rock, but anyone whose adolescence coincided with its release should count themselves lucky.

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2003

The Postal Service, Give Up

Of all the many noughties’ alternative albums with melancholy titles, The Postal Service’s Give Up is by far my favourite. The side project of Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and electronic artist Jimmy Tamborello, is the product of both artists sending tapes back and forth via the US Postal Service. The supergroup artfully combined the synthetic sound of the eighties and grunge of the nineties, bringing them into the digital age. Give Up was a much bigger success than expected, and it wasn’t long before the tracks snuck into the background of commercials and popular TV. Nearly twenty years later, I find myself returning to this album to cope with lockdown, perhaps because its energy is electric and upbeat while never coming across aggravatingly optimistic. As Will Hermes of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Ben Gibbard radiates claustrophobia, so the shut-in synth-pop of this side project fits him like a leotard."

2004

The Killers, Hot Fuss

Any list of the greatest albums of the noughties would be incomplete without the inclusion of The Killer’s debut album, Hot Fuss. It was the first band I heard live, reverberating through the arena with infectious confidence and confetti cannons. Though the album garnered both positive and negative reviews, it was the soundtrack of the childhood and awkward early teen years for most of us, and it’s hard to dispute the impact “Mr Brightside” had on popular culture. Whether on a night out at the Union or a nostalgic drive home with friends, we’re still not done listening to Hot Fuss, whether we like it or not.

2005

Sufjan Stevens, Illinois

What can be said about Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois? Both brilliant and chaotic, Illinois showcases some of the best of Stevens, from zany song titles to dreamy melodies; from a multitude of instruments and voices to a soothing voice and lyrics so heartbreaking that I can still barely listen to the album in one go (Where do I usually stop to wipe the tears off my face? “John Wayne Gacy, Jr” and “Casimir Pulaski Day”). It’s a good thing the rest of the album is so hopeful. It’s this blend of hope and sorrow that makes Stevens the perfect man for an indie film soundtrack. It’s no wonder; I’d become a director just to see it happen.

2006

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium

Since 1983, people have been getting the Red Hot Chili Peppers asterisk tattooed on their bodies, a testament to just how influential the band has been over the past forty years. For most of us, their ninth album, Stadium Arcadium, is the one we remember best, featuring singles such as “Dani California” and “Snow (Hey Oh)”. “Dani California” in particular spent fourteen consecutive weeks as number one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, while the album itself debuted at number one, a first for the long-running band.

2007

LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver

The infectious drumbeat throughout LCD Soundsystem's sophomore album will have you on your feet no matter who or where you are. This timeless dance-punk, indie-rock album got its name after James Murphy, horrified recording his own vocals, decided to cover the entire recording studio in silver fabric and tin foil. Sound of Silver is a refreshing escape which stands above its peers at such a disjointed time in mainstream music.

2008

Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes

Before Mumford and Sons and The Lumineers, there was Fleet Foxes. I’m not suggesting that Fleet Foxes alone ushered in the era, but Fleet Foxes released their self-titled debut album in 2008, and just like that, everything was folk. I’m probably biased given the band formed at my local high school just outside of Seattle, but they’re certainly one of the local bands I’m most proud of, and their influence outside of Seattle (with Fleet Foxes, they managed to secure a place at number 3 in UK charts) is well-deserved. Their following albums, Helplessness Blues, Crack-Up, and most recently, Shore, are equally excellent.

2009

Florence + The Machine, Lungs

It’s hard to dispute the power of Florence Welch’s voice. Looking like a forest nymph and sounding like a siren, Welch released Florence + The Machine’s 2009 debut album Lungs, propelled into the alternative music scene by the force of their own talent. With hits like “Kiss With a Fist” and “Dog Days Are Over”, Lungs fit perfectly into the energetic indie folk pop scene of its day.

2010

Two Door Cinema Club, Tourist History

Another album from my personal history, Tourist History summarises the end of my days in elementary school and recalls my entrance into the world of music that I found on my own, rather than having been introduced by my parents. Northern Irish Two Door Cinema Club burst into the scene with a sound that seems set on making listeners dance. If this list is any indication, the pendulum swings in music history, and when it does, it often swings not only by genre but by mood. While the last few years were dominated by the sound of sad folk, Tourist History attempts to cheer us up, and succeeds.

2011

Adele, 21

Ah, 21. It would be remiss of me not to include Adele’s second album, which debuted at number one in the UK and made Adele a household name. It also produced no less than five singles, broke Guinness World Records, and, funnily enough, won 21 awards out of 29 nominated. More importantly, it was playing on every radio station, in every shopping mall, by everyone from school children to my grandpa, who sent out a mass email to let his loved ones know the power-house existed.

2012

fun., Some Nights

Despite earning mixed and even poor reviews from certain critics, Some Nights nevertheless stands out in my mind as the soundtrack to 2012. Along with Taylor Swift’s Red and Lana Del Ray’s Born to Die, the general look of the year was a bold lip, a matching confidence, and a pair of sunglasses that happen to be asking about a scar, at least according to Nate Ruess. Some Nights is as enthusiastic as it is autotuned. An album just like its band name, I can’t help but agree that Some Nights is, well, ‘fun.’

2013

Arctic Monkeys, AM

Arctic Monkeys’ famed album AM is a kaleidoscope of sound, blending R&B, hip-hop, rock, and pop as seamlessly as one track blends to the next. AM is debatably the band’s most important album, as it saw their breakthrough in America and to worldwide fame. It’s also dark and edgy in a decidedly fun way, making it an instant hit and cult favourite of young people everywhere.

2014

Sun Kil Moon, Benji

Singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek’s unique blend of off-the-cuff storytelling and almost spoken-word delivery is backed beautifully by soft nylon string guitars in this perfect culmination of his craft. In this seemingly unrelated collection of songs, Mark manages to detail his love for his parents, a subpar day eating crab cakes and his reaction upon hearing the news that serial killer Richard Ramirez passed away from natural causes. Benji is both effortlessly human and beautifully poetic; it is the perfectly self-aware rambling on middle-aged fatigue and morality of a master in his prime.

2015

Tame Impala, Currents

Psychedelic rock band Tame Impala’s 2005 effort, Currents, celebrated universal acclaim from critics, winning high praise and comparisons to the first album on this list, Kid A. While I was still too young to accurately relate to anything Parker was singing, an album about transitions and growing older is never out of place in our formative years.

2016

Angel Olsen, My Woman

If Angel Olsen’s first two albums painted her in a lo-fi indie sad girl light, her strength as an artist shines in My Woman, my pick for 2016. As is made clear by my next few choices, the following years were dominated by indie “dream pop” tracks made by women, and for this, My Woman really set the stage. Along with Olsen’s emergence into her wider fan base, 2016 was obviously relevant as the year that Trump was elected as the President of the United States. Surprisingly, music played a key role in the news surrounding Trump in November, as several artists refused to play at his inauguration or allow their music to be used in his campaign.

2017

Lorde, Melodrama

Lorde’s second album, Melodrama, shows a marked departure from the simplicity of the first album, echoing the highs and lows of the album’s flashier theme. Written and produced with Bleachers/fun. member Jack Antonoff, Melodrama explores the aftermath of Lorde’s recent breakup, but less from a point of heartbreak than an exploration of being alone. It is this theme that makes it the perfect album, not just for a year stuck mostly inside, but as a melancholy celebration of our teen years and the joy, pain, and melodrama of growing up.

2018

Mitski, Be the Cowboy

There are so many Mitski albums I wanted to put on this list, but the most essential is 2018’s Be the Cowboy, featuring the standout single “Nobody.” Like the past two years, 2018 was absolutely drowning in strong female talent featuring that breathtaking, intoxicating, dreamy pop sound, rich with lyrics both bold and intensely personal, from Snail Mail’s Lush to Florence + the Machine’s High as Hope. This sound is dominating the alternative music scene, and if Be the Cowboy is any indication, it deserves to.

2019

Vampire Weekend, Father of the Bride

After their 2013 album Modern Vampires of the City, Vampire Weekend suddenly disappeared into the ether, like every other forgotten memory of younger teenage years. When it came to the end of the year Spotify Wrapped, however, it seemed I wasn’t the only one indulging in nostalgia with Vampire Weekend’s pleasant new surprise, Father of the Bride. A line at the start of “Sympathy” becomes the mantra of the album: “I think I take myself too serious / It's not that serious.” It’s fun, it’s allowed to be messy, and that’s exactly what we needed from an album released in 2019.

2020

Taylor Swift, Folklore

It makes sense given how much time everyone’s had this summer, but it was still a surprise when Taylor Swift dropped her first concept album, Folklore. Despite the fact that we’ve already seen seven albums from Taylor Swift, the sweet mix of folk pop, some harkening back to her early country days and some emulating her newer sound, in Folklore is all anyone’s talking about. If Taylor Swift’s productivity is enough to keep you creative during lockdown, that’s great. If not, at least you can cry to Folklore with the rest of us.