Here we go then…desperately trying to rein in my Pseuds Corner tendencies I present my top 15 albums of the noughties.
From the bottom…
15. 
Permission To Land by The Darkness (2003)
This sneaks in for two reasons: because 15 is a better number for a ‘top albums’ list than 14 and because it makes me smile. “Get Your Hands Off My Woman”, “Growing on Me”, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” and “Love Is Only a Feeling” are all great songs and if this album’s here because they’re propping the rest up then so be it!
14. Aerial by Kate Bush (2005)
I confess that this is an album I listen to when I want to listen to something that I don’t have to listen to. Much of it is beautiful and yet much of it fades before pushing itself into your consciousness. As such then, an album that’s good to do paperwork to but which also keeps offering little joys if you listen properly.
13. We Love Life by Pulp (2001)
We Love Life was a bit of a flop and ended up being Pulp’s last album but there are some great songs on here and emotionally it hangs together really well. Scott Walker’s production is great and Jarvis Cocker’s lyrics seem to be more personal (as with This Is Hardcore) than just naff social commentary.
12. Since I Left You by The Avalanches (2000)
Consisting of over 3500 samples Since I Left You is a reminder that sampling can be great and a joy to listen to again and again. In addition, it was also pointed out by a good friend of mine that at exactly an hour long (with no breaks) it’s a great album to do household jobs to!
11. Anoraknophobia by Marillion (2001)
Anoraknophobia was a return to form following Marillion’s late-90s output. Personally, there are songs here that particularly resonate: Quartz could have been written for a particular professional relationship I was enduring at the time, and setting off on a tour of the world listening to Map Of The World was goose bump inducing.
10. Through The Windowpane by Guillemots (2006)
I listen to Made-Up Lovesong #43 and Trains To Brazil a lot, but there’s also Little Bear and the beautiful If The World Ends here to savour. Like Aeriel above it’s not an album I listen to a lot in its entirety as it’s one for quiet times but when I do it’s a pleasure. This decade’s Graceland then…
9. Inside In Inside Out by The Kooks (2006)
Hmmm… I’m not sure what to say about this one. It’s just a lot of fun and I’m constantly surprised that the songs I like on here keep going right to end of the album! One for the car and for singing along to – if Through The Windowpane is this decade’s Graceland this is Kick. Moving on…
8. Alright Still by Lily Allen (2006)
I love Lily Allen. She writes great songs with great lyrics and is fun with a barbed edge. Alright Still is also about as close to Ska as I can bear to get! Another one for singing along to in the car. Alright Still was a soundtrack to our holiday in Hungary and, for me, ushered in 2007 as Year of the Horn.
7. Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac (2003)
This came out whilst I was in the process of leaving Seychelles and led to my first ever live gig (aged 29 – I know!) watching the Mac in Los Angeles-not a bad place to start! It’s a bit long at 18 songs and I tend to skip some of the Stevie tracks but there is much magic here and several songs that are still very special to me.
6. 1 2 3 4 by The Jeevas (2002)
I bet this doesn’t appear on many of these lists but music is personal and I love this. The opening track rips off (and betters?) Bowie and there are, in true Crispian Mills style, plenty of bits nicked from elsewhere. Nevertheless it’s a stripped down, sing-a-long sound that still makes me want to join a band.
5. Rudebox by Robbie Williams (2006)
My Top 5 could be in a different order each day depending on my mood but today Robbie comes 5th. Rudebox is the best thing he’s done since (including?) I’ve Been Expecting You. It’s Robbie doing pop music rather than poetry-to-music and there’s so much of him in here. Plus, The 80s and The 90s are beautiful.
4. Yoshimi Battle The Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips (2002)
Controversy! The album that includes Do You Realize?? only coming 4th! Another day though… ‘Yoshimi’ is an album that musically and lyrically can drive me to tears with its beauty. It’s difficult for me to explain how much I love this album. Just listen to it (and skip Track 4 if you must. I don’t but…)
3. Happiness Is The Road – Volume 1 : Essence by Marillion (2008)
‘Yoshimi’ has Do You Realize?? and Happiness Is The Road has the title track. It also has 9 other songs that like Innuendo & Out Of The Cradle 20 years earlier dragged my out of a pit of despair with a message of hope. “The greatest blessing that we have is the dawn of each new day.” Thank you Marillion.
2. Twelve Stops And Home by The Feeling (2006)
Nestled between albums full of deep emotional meaning comes The Feeling’s debut album. There is emotion here but it’s the music rather then lyrics that makes me love this one. Twelve songs (plus the excellent bonus track) with each as good as the last – doesn’t happen very often. They were rather good live too.
1. Strangefolk by Kula Shaker (2007)
Eight years after Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts, during which time the band split, did their own things and then re-formed with a new keyboardist, Kula Shaker popped back up with this. You can tell it follows Crispian’s stint with The Jeevas (see above) as it’s edgier and less mystical that their earlier albums, but the vibe is still all about universal love and you still know that they might like India a bit! I’ve put this first because it’s of the combination of music and lyrics. I’m a great fan of the Kula Shaker sound and this is them at their best, but lyrically too I buy into what Crispian Mills is saying. There’s social and political comment here that wasn’t seen on the earlier albums and it dovetails with how I am increasingly feeling about life, the world and everything. I’m sure people will tell me there are ‘better’ albums that have been released in the past ten years but music is subjective. To these ears and this soul Strangefolk mops up all the reasons I love music and stores them in one very enjoyable place.
And that concludes my albums of the noughties list. A quick scan of the net suggests that only one of them (Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots) is mentioned by anyone else anywhere. Ah well… Please feel free to tell me why I’m so out of touch with the music zeitgeist in the space provided below!
