Though the 00's will never, for me, equal the woozy heights of the 90's (the decade in which my love of metal was born, and in which I became a serious listener and collector of music), this list demonstrates the abundance of great music made this decade. These albums summon a ton of great and powerful memories, so compiling this list was like running the past 10 years through my head.


1. The Mars Volta--De-Loused in the Comatorium

Inestimable is the gulf between this record and the other greats that occupy this list. My favorite record of the 00’s, as well as one of my three all-time favorite albums, no LP this decade satisfies me so comprehensively, what with it’s kinetic mélange of progressive rock, punk fury, hailstorms of Latin percussion, and head-spinning psychedelia. Every song is a stone classic, but “Eriatarka” makes me lose my mind like no other.

2. Cave In—Antenna

Though Jupiter, another of this decade’s great records, seems the more obvious choice, I find myself returning more frequently to Cave In’s ill-fated major label debut. On Antenna, Cave In galvanize the spectral guitar textures of the previous album into hook-heavy modern rock songs, resulting in masterpieces the likes of “Youth Overrided,” “Joy Opposites,” and “Lost in the Air,” each one of which leaves the listener breathless and ecstatic.

3. Katatonia—Viva Emptiness

When I first heard 2001’s great Last Fair Deal Gone Down, I was arrested by the album’s directness and accessibility. You can imagine, then, the shock of my hearing “Ghost of the Sun” for the first time, a song urged into overdrive by hulking guitars and Daniel Liljeqvist’s nimble propulsion. The journey only deepens from there, giving way to the desultory vistas of "Criminals" and the laconic "A Premonition." My meager words could never do justice to the "Walking By a Wire"--"Complicity"--"Evidence" 1-2-3, though. One of the greatest sequences in modern music and Katatonia's absolute finest hour, such inexpressible grandeur must be seized and savored for as long as time will allow.

4. Dredg—Catch Without Arms

Following the Coheed/3/Circa Survive deluge of ’05, I discovered Catch Without Arms a year later. To call CWA a revelation would do the album supreme injustice. Though El Cielo is a deeper, more obviously impressive record, it pales next to the peerless songcraft of CWA, every hook more penetrating than the previous. Terry Date produces the band with typical sensitivity, giving the players an ocean-wide space in which to build their deeply earnest mini-epics.

5. Spiral Architect—A Skeptic’s Universe

Pretty much the be-all-end-all of tech metal, and certainly the most accomplished metal album of this decade. Tracks like “Spinning” and “Insect” continue to inspire humility in any musician privileged enough to hear them, and Oyvind continues to discourage any vocalist with aspirations of singing in a tech-metal band, such is his absolutely unrivaled performance on this disc. Though impressive their histrionics may be, my favorite moment remains the sublime guitar/vocal break in “Adaptability.”

6. Glassjaw—Everything You Wanted to Know about Silence

Or, Everything you wanted to hear in a post-hardcore record. Overwrought and emotionally self-involved, Daryl Palumbo finds himself on precipice of collapse and suicide, but through the sheer force of this music, he comes back from the edge. Without divulging too many gory details, I’ll say that this record did something similar for me during one of the loneliest, darkest times of my life. And, really, my emotional attachment to this record cancels out even the thinnest shred of objectivity. For listener’s who come to this record without that kind of investment, the proof is in “Siberian Kiss,” “Ry Ry’s Song,” and “Piano,” all of which I would identify—and quite confidently, at that—as some of this decade’s most powerful rock music.

7. Radiohead--Kid A

When, at the beginning of this decade, every advertisement trumpeted “new music for the new millennium” and “the future today,” Radiohead made an album that actually made good on those preposterous claims. Either the most song-oriented post-rock album or the most obtuse rock album, Kid A issues track after track of genuinely futuristic rock music, whether the isolationist balladry of “How to Disappear Completely,” the cubist electronic pop of the title track, or the melancholy cold rush of one of 20 or so all-time favorite songs, “Idioteque.” At any rate, the future is now available to us all.

8. A Perfect Circle—Mer de Noms

On a good day, Mer de Noms ranks up there with any TOOL record and, for the record, this album has received more play than any TOOL album. Basically, the first A Perfect Circle record is everything I crave in contemporary rock music: atmosphere, texture, depth, great melodies, etc. “3 Libras,” nine years later, still stands as one of the most beautiful songs of the decade. Frankly, Thirteenth Step comes in not too far behind the debut, but for sheer rock bliss, this album is nearly unbeatable.

9. Idlewild—100 Broken Windows

As I have found with so many other artists on this list, it was very difficult to choose a favorite Idlewild record. Had they included four or five of the Remote Part b-sides on the actual album, that record would have soared to the top. But they didn’t. And that’s alright, because it frees me up to include my introduction to the band, their astonishing second album 100 Broken Windows. Earnest, emotional, poetic, insanely catchy, this album rarely left my player during the first few years of this decade, and it’s a testament to its power that it still receives regular plays. For proof of this album’s power, look no further than “These Wooden Ideas” and “Idea Track,” two of the decade’s best rock songs, hands down.

10. My Vitriol—Finelines

A huge fan of the late 80’s/early 90’s dreampop/shoegazer movement, I’ve long lamented the genre’s cruel fate. When Britpop came to the fore in the mid-90’s, the record-buying population turned their attention toward more direct classic pop and away from the esoteric haze of Slowdive and the best Ride tracks. However, this staggering 2001 record synthesizes the textural miracles of shoegaze and deep, immediately arresting hooks and melodies. “Cemented Shoes” is the easy favorite, the best song Swervedriver never wrote, absolutely storming out of the gates with molten-chrome guitars and a melody that digs itself in from the start. So tragically, My Vitriol remains a one-album wonder.

11. Deftones--White Pony

As much as I love Deftones and 2006’s fantastic Saturday Night Wrist, White Pony introduced me to this band’s atmospheric rock-noir. Through some inscrutable transformation (a change in the house of flies, perhaps?), Deftones graduate to the ranks of the modern rock elite with this album, mixing into their rich broth notes of trip-hop, gothy post-punk atmosphere, and eerie sampled textures. Chino, though not a technically-gifted vocalist, pushes songs like “Digital Bath” and “RX Queen” to alpine heights with his spirited performances.

12. Ulver—Perdition City

How many bands have shed as many skins as Ulver and revealed, unfailingly, shape after fascinating, pleasing shape? From the folk-tinged black metal of Bergtatt to the post-David Sylvian pan-pop of Shadows of the Sun, Ulver have never failed to satisfy and stimulate. But of their output this decade, the pitch-black electronic cityscapes of Perdition City stand out most prominently. I could go with Blood Inside just as easily, but Perdition punches all the right buttons, culminating in the fantastic electronic pop of “Nowhere/Catastrophe.” Top track for me, though, would have to go to the amazing, piano-led “Hallways of Always.” Thanks also to Ulver for introducing a great many adventurous metal fans to the wonders of electronic music.

13. Rival Schools—United by Fate

Walter Schriefels’ amazing return to music ranks among the best indie rock albums of the decade, a totally arresting 12-song collection, full of the searing guitars and wrenched vocals that one can expect from a Schriefels outing. Not as incendiary as the two great records he made with Quicksand, but just as good as both, the live sound of the recording lends the album an increased immediacy. And how could anyone not lose it when the band kicks in on “Travel by Telephone?” Other total classics include “Favorite Star,” “So Down On,” and the poignant-but-triumphant “Undercovers on.”

14. Minus The Bear--They Make Beer Commercials Like This

I wouldn’t normally include an EP on a list such as this one (and, if pressed, I would have no problem including Highly Refined Pirates or 2005’s fantastic Menos el Oso), but this EP was so important to a two-month period of my life, that I couldn’t possibly not list it. Memories and attachments aside, this EP more than holds up to any objective evaluation, songs like “Fine + 2 pts.” and the laconically-moving “I’m Totally Not Down with Rob’s Alien” among the band’s best songs. As well, I would rank, very confidently, “Hey! Is that a Ninja Up There?” among my five favorite songs of the 00’s. I’ve probably done that here, in fact! And don’t let the irony fool you: this is serious-as-it-comes modern guitar pop.

15. Gordian Knot—Emergent

Production issues aside (the way compressed drums and guitars, mostly), Emergent takes the meditative beauty and contrapuntal wonder of the first Gordian Knot and shoots it through with even more inspired writing and arranging. Of course, the Cynic reunion may not have bore out its rich promise (as it did on Traced in Air), but here Malone gives us track after track of gorgeous Zen-metal. And Ron Jarzombek fan that I am, I always thought the mad Texan to be an ill fit for Gordian Knot, his freneticism cozying up awkwardly with the smooth contours of Malone’s writing. The group assembled for this album is a much more sensitive assemblage, and the results of this union continue to astonish.

16. Lost Horizon—A Flame to the Ground Beneath

Along with Nocturnal Rites, just about the only power metal band of the 00’s worth mentioning. Their first album was a complete revelation, a lightning rod of power and mastery, but the second album ups the ante in every respect. The genre has never known a more capable vocalist than Daniel Heiman and he displays his every strength on this album, particularly on the epic “Highlander,” where his wordless vocals summon warriors into battle-to-death. In fact, the instrumental pyrotechnics on display suggest a band-wide ability to perform way beyond the power metal idiom.

17. Deadboy & the Elephantmen--If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky

As a big fan of Acid Bath’s PTT (and as one who had not heard the Agents of Oblivion record—stupid me!), the 2001 Deadboy & the Elephantmen record was met with tremendous excitement. In some ways, I still prefer the immediacy and bare-bones sound of the demos to the rather more layered approach taken on the debut album. Having said that, Them I’m Lucky still stands as one of this decade’s most powerful collection of songs. Dredged through the bayou and dipped in pitch-black atmosphere, Then I’m Lucky sounds like Euphoria Morning or Sketches for my Sweetheart on a jagged trip. Tragic side-note: Dax wrote and made live recordings of thirty or so songs from 2003—2004. Had he properly recorded 15 or 16 of these songs, the results would have equaled one of the five best albums of this decade. Instead, Dax hired a sub-Meg White drummer and recorded a faintly horrible record of rockabilly and stripped down gut-bucket blues. His great 2007 solo record, We Sing of Only Blood or Love went some way to correct this, but not far enough.


18. Enslaved—Monumension

Choosing a favorite Enslaved record is like picking between white and black truffles. One could make very convincing arguments for Mardraum and Isa, but Monumension taps into an arcane dimension that is quite unlike anything in contemporary metal. Unhinged, hallucinatory waves of guitar effects give way to the bone-dry pummel of Dirge Rep’s wood-on-skin orchestra. To boot, Enslaved has never written a piece any more powerful than the mighty “Cromlech Gate,” which surges toward a thrilling climax of elliptical guitar strands and howled mania.


19. Extol—The Blueprint Dives

After having been blown away by 2003’s Believer-worshipping Synergy, I expected more tech-y death/thrash on the group’s follow-up. Shocked though I was at first, I came to obsess over The Blueprint Dives during the spring and summer of 2005. “The Pearl,” whose chorus is as moving as they come this decade, lured me in initially, but “Essence,” “From the Everyday Mountain Top,” and the deliriously catchy “Gloriana” kept me there. I would love to have heard where they may have gone next.


20. TOOL—Lateralus

They had me at the first riff. Subtle it may be, but the gloomy geometry of “The Grudge” sounds more like a mission statement than an opening track. Aided by the dependable ears of David Bottrill, TOOL’s third record builds on the dramatic excesses of its predecessor, 1996’s peerless Aenima. Here, more than ever before or after, the group roams around huge cavernous spaces, teasing out tricky rhythms (courtesy of another stunning Danny Carey performance), ear-tickling guitar textures, and, occasionally, terribly haunting melodies.


21.The New Pornographers--Twin Cinema

Another entry with a clutch of amazing records, TNP peaked as a power-pop powerhouse on this irrepressible 2005 masterpiece. Leveraging the strengths of the band’s cast of songwriters, leader A.C. Newman manages his most realized work to date, all the while sounding like giddy teenager. Boisterous, infectious pop aside, there’s wisdom and age in tracks like “Jackie, Dressed in Cobras," "Bones of an Idol, and “Use It.” On the next album, TNP turned toward a subtler, more symphonic approach, only because they had scaled the peak of adrenalized indie rock on this one.


22.Paradise Lost—Believe in Nothing

This one surprised me! I wouldn’t have expected to find a PL record in my Top 30, but when looking at sheer play-time, Believe in Nothing has received more than a fair share of spins in the last eight years. For rich, textured modern rock, albums don’t come much more dependable than this one. I love the goth overtones of 1997’s One Second and the fantastically-electronic Host, but Believe in Nothing takes the lessons learned from those records and fuses them with guitar power and Nick Holmes best performance. Look to “Mouth," "Control," and "Illumination" for maximum satisfaction.


23.Thought Industry--Short Wave on a Cold Day

The proliferation on this list of what I call “big modern rock” records indicates a tendency in my taste toward this type of record. From the left field hinterland of Kalamazoo comes one of most moving of these records. While the excellent Black Umbrella moved the band away from the schizophrenic prog-metal/rock of its first phase, its monochromatic sadness only barely hinted at the widescreen drama of Short Wave. Records like OK Computer and Fantastic Planet are good talking points, but Short Wave belongs to itself. Oberlin proves himself to be a totally masterful songwriter and arranger, working with a variety of styles, from feverish rock to exquisite balladry. Another tragically not-followed-up record.


24. Jon Auer—Songs from the Year of our Demise

After fronting one of the greatest power-pop bands of all-time, The Posies, Jon Auer returns to magnificent form with his 2006 debut. So gorgeously moving, the album moves between lush balladry, orchestral pop, breathtaking melancholy rock (album standout “Bottom of the Bottle”), and beyond. Auer continues extends his high lyrical standards, as well, resulting in a wealth of penetrating writing. Never really given his due, this amazing album continues to occupy the sidelines of the indie-rock world, but is no less of an achievement for the fact.


25. Coheed & Cambria—Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star, Volume 1

Though not as thoroughly-good as the previous album, 2002’s In Keeping Secrets, Good Apollo nonetheless manages more lightheaded peaks than that album, beginning with “Ten Speed,” which surely contains one of the catchiest choruses this decade or any other. It was, in fact, that miraculous song that pulled me into the Coheed fray, after dismissing them as one more fish in an overcrowded emo ocean. That not being the case at all, this record dazzled (and still dazzles) me with its rich combination of pop and prog sensibilities. The Quartet at the end of the record does become a little ponderous, but perhaps only because of the record’s wildly inspired first half.


26. Anathema—A Fine Day to Exit

AFDtE’s only crime is that it succeeds Judgement, one of the greatest rock albums ever made. And while surely they fail to extend the brilliance of that masterpiece, they do manage to craft a frequently astonishing alternative rock album. Urged into greatness by the arresting opener, “Pressure,” AFD forges from there headlong into an abyss of moody textures and shadowy hooks. On the following album, A Natural Disaster, Anathema would continue to reduce their sound to a particularly dour essence, after which they would retreat from composition altogether. AFDtE, then, remains an album much like Alternative 4, providing a bridge from one era to another.


27. Arcturus—The Sham Mirrors

La Masquerade was one of those epochal game-changers that re-set the standards for an entire sub-genre. After several years passed, I figured, and with sound reason, that so had Arcturus, content to pass on the laurels of their grand 1997 achievement. News of a reformed Arcturus was met, at least by me, with some hesitancy. But the resulting effort, 2002’s The Sham Mirrors, quelled any doubts. Garm, a vocalist with an unfair amount of great showings, turns in a tremendous, expressive performance here. Though I’m not a great fan of Sverd’s sparkly piano sounds, Hellhammers’s acrobatic performance more than makes up for any other misgivings.


28. Agalloch—Ashes Against the Grain

After releasing a very good debut album and a smashing sophomore LP, Agalloch outdo even their own high standards with 2006’s Ashes Against the Grain, a record that leverages the melodic gifts of the debut and the depth and atmosphere of The Mantle. While much ado has been made of the closing trilogy, for my money, the earlier tracks generate the most excitement. The opening tracks “Limbs” and “Falling Snow,” in particular, filter the golden age of European atmospheric metal through the misty lens of contemporary post-rock. The album centerpiece, “Not Unlike the Waves,” galvanizes the emotional and melodic material to thrilling effect, resulting in one of those precious moments that seems suspended from time.


29. Maudlin of the Well--Bath/Leaving the Body Map

These two albums—released simultaneously—by America’s most accomplished avant-garde metal group continue to fascinate and astonish some eight years after its release. Though Kayo Dot, likewise, has released three albums of dense, challenging music, even at their best they can’t compete with the heights scaled by Maudlin of the Well. Folding in a variety of metal forms with forays into folk, alternative, and art music, the two hours of music comprised on these albums manages to be emotional, cerebral, memorable, and demanding. There’s also at work here a mid-90’s European sensibility that ties in Maudlin with an entire tradition of atmospheric metal music.


30. TNT—My Religion

I count myself as a part of the minority to absolutely loved Firefly and Transistor, but the sheer power and quality of their 2004 return, My Religion, defied all of my expectations. Song after bloody song of the most powerful melodic hard rock this side of early Talisman, My Religion maximises the supernatural strengths of Tony Harnell and guitar sorcerer Ronnie LeTekro, resulting in a breathless series of Olympic performances. From the pop-tastic “She Needs Me” to “Give Me a Sign,” with its hair-raising high-notes, to the Cheap Trick-meets-Queen “Satellite,” My Religion generates as many exciting moments as any other TNT record. Though I love the diversity of the two aforementioned albums and the great, subsequent All the Way to the Sun, Harnell and crew haven’t, in this decade, assembled a set of such consistently powerful songs as on this masterstroke.

Ten Amazing Album Bubbling Just Outside:

3—The End Is Begun

Maximo Park—A Certain Trigger

Sloan—Action Pact

Mayhem—Grand Declaration of War

Scott Walker—The Drift

Nocturnal--Afterlife

WHW--Of Empires Forlorn

Green Carnation--Light of Day, Day of Darkness

Vintersorg--Cosmic Genesis

Immortal—Sons of Northern Darkness

best to all,

Hunter